#sacred shield

• Ancile — A sacred shield from the 7th century BC, oval with indented sides (ancile or figure-of-eight shape), which Roman tradition held fell from heaven during the reign of King Numa Pompilius as a pledge of Rome's eternity; to prevent its theft, the sovereign ordered the craftsman Mamurius Veturius to forge eleven identical copies, all twelve shields being kept in Mars' temple and carried in annual ritual dances by the Salii priests.