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Ancile

Ancile \An*ci"le\, n. [L.] (Rom. Antiq.) The sacred shield of the Romans, said to have-fallen from heaven in the reign of Numa. It was the palladium of Rome.

Wiktionary
ancile

n. (context historical Roman antiquity English) The sacred shield of the Ancient Romans, said to have fallen from heaven in the reign of Numa. It was the palladium of Rome.

Wikipedia
Ancile

In ancient Rome, the ancilia ( Latin, singular ancile) were twelve sacred shields kept in the Temple of Mars. According to legend, one divine shield fell from heaven during the reign of Numa Pompilius, the second king of Rome. He ordered eleven copies made to confuse would-be thieves, since the original shield was regarded as one of the pignora imperii, sacred guarantors that perpetuated Rome as a sovereign entity.

The ancilia were in the keeping of the Salii, a body of twelve priests instituted for that purpose by Numa. The Salii wielded them ritually in a procession throughout March.