The overall design, and especially the tabs, indicate that the shield did not have a wooden backing or other reinforcement, though one shield from Lough Gur is believed to have been backed with leather (which was initially written off as dried peat). The embossed design and folded rim impart some stiffness, but some have suggested that the shields were too flimsy for combat. In a 1952 archaeology experiment by John Coles, a reconstruction was made from copper hardened to match a Yetholm-type shield, and it was hit with a replica bronze sword. The shield was cut in two by a single stroke. However, experiments by Barry Molloy and Kate Anderson have pointed out that bronze, the original material used, is substantially harder than even the hardened copper used by Coles, and that he appears to have used a much thinner sheet of copper than in the original designs. Additional design features such as small handles with only about 110 mm for the fingers to grip, have also been cited as evidence that the shields were not used for combat.