I'm just having fun reading this thread right now, but here's my next question written in the midst of fevered delirium...
wheeee!!!
With regard to massed infantry formations employing shield and sword (or any other weapon, for that matter), assuming right-handers predominated in the population as they do today, would the formation have been arranged with a common sword-side and shield-side, or would the markers at the extreme sword-hand side of the formation (assuming an oblong formation for simplicity's sake) have switched their sword and shield hands? This small detail seems to be taken for granted by everyone, but in fact, if the sword-side markers used the same hands to employ sword and shield as all their mates, it would imply an asymmetrical formation. While not necessarily a bad thing, it would mean that things were possible on one side that weren't possible on the other and an enemy might be able to exploit this. Again, I speak of course of basic formations.