New
The Tortoise framed art print with a dark wood frame on a warm stone-coloured wall
The Tortoise framed art print with a natural wood frame above a walnut desk in a home office
The Tortoise framed art print with a black frame leaning against a red brick wall
The Tortoise hanging art print on a black wooden hanger above a desk between dark oak bookcases
The Tortoise: an illustration of the Roman testudo formation of locked shields, with diagrams of it seen from above and from the side
The Tortoise, hanging print of the Roman testudo formation of locked shields, 16x24″, on a dark wood hanger
The Tortoise, hanging print of the Roman testudo formation of locked shields, 12x18″, on a dark wood hanger
The Tortoise, hanging print of the Roman testudo formation of locked shields, 24x36″, on a dark wood hanger
Printed in the USA Made to order, shipped domestically
Free US Shipping Tracked to your door
Arrives Perfect Damaged? Free reprint or refund
Pax Romana Art

The Tortoise

The Roman Army · Republic and Empire

1.012 kr1.352 kr Save 340 kr
Opening offer · Ends Nov 22
Choose formatFramed print
Choose frameBlack
Choose size Size guide 16x24″

Free US shipping. Made to order: at your door in 3–7 business days.

or
  • Visa
  • Mastercard
  • American Express
  • PayPal
  • Apple Pay
  • Google Pay
  • Printed in the USA. Made to order and shipped in the USA.
  • Free US shipping. Tracking included on every order.
  • Shatterproof plexiglass. Framed prints sit in a pine frame, FSC-certified, and arrive ready to hang.
  • Magnetic wooden hanger. Posters come with a pine hanger; the magnets hold the print.
  • Arrives perfect — guaranteed. Damaged or defective? Free reprint or refund.
Details & specs

Framed print

  • 12-color fine art printing with fade-resistant pigment inks
  • Smooth matte fine art paper, 200 gsm
  • Pine wood frame, FSC-certified paper and wood
  • Shatterproof plexiglass
  • Arrives framed and ready to hang, hanging kit included

Hanging print

  • 12-color fine art printing with fade-resistant pigment inks
  • Smooth matte fine art paper, 200 gsm
  • Pine wood frame, FSC-certified paper and wood
  • Shatterproof plexiglass
  • Arrives framed and ready to hang, hanging kit included
  • Sizes: 12x18″ · 16x24″ · 24x36″
  • Orientation: Vertical
  • Medium: Fine art paper
  • Style: Military plate
  • Era: Timeless
Shipping & returns

Made to order and printed and framed in the USA. Produced in 1–2 business days, delivered 2–5 business days after that — 3–7 business days door to door. Free US shipping, tracked.

Damaged, defective or the wrong item? Email a photo within 7 days of delivery and we send a free replacement or a full refund. Because every piece is made to order, change-of-mind returns are not accepted.

Shipping policy · Return & refund policy

Size guide
The TortoiseFramed print · Black · 16x24″ 1.012 kr 1.352 krSave 340 kr
Printed & framed in the USA Framed & shipped domestically
Free US shipping Tracked to your door
Quality guarantee Damaged? Free reprint or refund
Made to order Printed for you in 1–2 business days
The Tortoise: an illustration of the Roman testudo formation of locked shields, with diagrams of it seen from above and from the side
The Tortoise
The Roman Army · Republic and Empire

A Roof of Shields

The testudo is the best-known Roman formation. Its name is Latin for tortoise, and the men who formed it were protected the way the animal is, by a shell. Livy, Caesar and Tacitus all mention it, most often in attacks on walls, where soldiers had to work at a gate or a rampart while stones and missiles rained down. Tacitus describes legionaries forming it under the walls at Cremona in AD 69.

The fullest description comes from the historian Cassius Dio, writing in the early third century AD. Telling of Mark Antony's retreat from Media in 36 BC, he explains how it worked: men with the long curved shields stood on the outside, and those inside raised their shields over everyone's heads. Dio says the roof was so strong that men could walk on it, and that over a hollow even horses and vehicles could cross. In that retreat, he says, the Parthians took the formation for a sign of exhaustion, came in close to finish the Romans off and were driven back with losses.

The piece

The plate builds the formation three ways. Above, the tortoise itself, a long red shell of shields with gilded rims and bosses, faces just visible in the shadow under the roof. Below, a plan and a side view, numbered and keyed like an engineer's drawing, show how each rank held its shield. The eye moves from the living formation to the diagram and back.

Materia · The materials

Fine art paper, framed or hung.

01

Pine frame

Black, dark wood or natural wood, FSC-certified. Framed prints arrive framed and ready to hang, hanging kit included.

02

Fine art paper

Framed prints: 200 gsm smooth matte paper, printed in 12 colors with fade-resistant pigment inks.

03

Shatterproof plexiglass

Protects the print in transit and on the wall.

04

Magnetic wooden hanger

Posters: 250 gsm museum-quality matte paper between pine hangers in black or dark wood. The magnets hold the print, so you can swap it any time.

Size guide

Find the right size

This piece, to scale, above an 84-inch sofa. Pick a size, or a format and frame above, and the wall follows.

The Tortoise: an illustration of the Roman testudo formation of locked shields, with diagrams of it seen from above and from the side
Sofa · 84″ / 213 cm

Which size?

Sizes are the artwork's. Frames and hangers add a little around the edge.

Above a sofa or bed, art looks best at about two-thirds of the furniture's width, hung 8 to 10 inches above it.

Keep exploring

Find your next piece of Rome

This piece's collection first. Pick a style, a format or another collection for the rest.

The Republic The Empire The Legion Emperors The Eternal City The Fall Byzantium Barbaricum Sacra Acies Maps of Rome Stemma The Stoics
See all Acies