The design on the shield is interesting. I came across somewhere a book on the history of all the various Roman legions (astounding that enough documentation has survived to allow someone to do that) and I assume the shields helped identify the units. I wonder whether soldiers were always the ones to crucify people--I think "private" (by slaveowners, say) crucifixions were done by contractors, and the army only got involved in political cases. That lends credence to the idea that Jesus was a "Zealot", or associated with them, and Pilate wasn't just catering to the whims of Jewish leaders. There is a novel called "The Gospel According to the Romans", which has this theme and depicts the tax-collector apostle Matthew as a Roman "mole" in Jesus' circle.
