Roman Empire: Burning shield — 85 BC
”In the consulship of Lucius Valerius and Gaius Marius a burning shield scattering sparks
ran across the sky at sunset from west to east.” (Pliny: Natural History Book II, Chapter XXXIV.) The description matches the behavior of an ordinary meteor. There is also a date problem with this item. The consulship in 85 BC was held by Cornelius Cinna III and Papirius Carbo I, not the people mentioned. The only consulship held by two people named as in Pliny’s claim, C. Marius VI and L. Valerius Flaccus, was in 100 BC. Several sources were checked, including Who’s Who in the Roman World by John Hazel (Routledge UK, 2002, 110). Valerius did, however, become a suffect consul in 86 BC, which may be the source of the error.
Source: Case: W462