Re-enactors in full kit showing use of a 1st-2nd century AD Roman Testudo formation to allow troops to mount a wall

You're being attacked by mounted archers? Testudo.

You're attacking mixed infantry? Testudo.

You're taking a hill defended by auxiliaries? Testudo.

You're mounting a wall? Believe it or not, testudo.

We have the best empire in the world. Because of tetsudo.
When a problem comes along, you must testudo!
Riding a futuristic motorbike through the streets of neo Tokyo? Oh, no, my bad, that's TETSUO!!!

I imagine someone slipping and stabbing their homie in the arm. Like, aye fucking Jeb hold onto something ya clumsly drunken mule.

But do they make the Transformers sound when they combine into a ramp?

That's really cool

Ramp Assemble!

Wouldn't it make more sense to overlap the shields the other way, to transfer the weight of the guy down and into the ground? I'm assuming they tried both ways and the other way has problems that I'm not seeing, but I'm not seeing it.

I wonder if this way around was to help the climber get a foothold above the shield whilst being shot at.

My imagination tells me they'd be sprinting up there whilst having arrows shot at them, so anything to get their foot on would be handy.

Maybe the other way around they'd be more likely to catch their foot under the shield in front of them too, tripping them up.

The above is all just my imagination though so hopefully there's someone better read around here that can answer more accurately.
- That would make sense, yeah. I suppose you can see that on the picture too, he's standing on the shield boss of one shield and the edge of another. It still seems like it would be very heavy for the guy at the top, but I suppose they don't spend that long standing there, maybe.
I guess I'm not seeing what you mean by overlapping the shields the other way?
- The way they are currently set up the bottom shield is in front of the shield above it, so that when it gets pushed on it is supported by the next shield (which is again supported by the next shield, and so on).
  
  It feels more intuitive that the shield should overlap the other way (instead of the top of your shield being supported by the next shield, the bottom of your shield would be supported by the previous shield) because the final shield in the row has to be the heaviest to hold and the first one is supported by the ground.

What if we built some stairs, rolled out up to the wall and iunno call the stairs "testudo" ? Because I'm seeing a few OSHA violations in just this picture. No one is wearing high visibility gear. That wall could collapse at any time, and their ramp is not handicap accessible!

I mean it’s really cool and all bou I wouldn’t like to be that lonely guy on his way to taking the wall solo.

Bravery in battle could get you military awards and bonuses - or even better, promoted. Under the Imperial Roman military, a legionary made about as much as a well-paid-but-unskilled urban laborer did per year. A centurion made 16x that. And centurions were promoted from the ranks - primarily for bravery, skill, and good conduct. See where this going?

Someone tells me that hopping up and soloing a bunch of barbarians for a minute or two until backup climbs up the testudo after me could net 16x pay (and 16x the retirement bonus, and 16x the share of the plunder) for the next ~20 years of my career, you bet your ass I'd at least consider it!
- That's a neat piece of information, I didn't know it was like that. Still, you need to still be alive in order to collect that wage. I guess that I will be one of the fellas under the shields.

Everything is chill until the Gravedigger jumps into your fort using the testudo.