08-09-2013, 09:58 PM
Hi Matt,
Yep, there is an extensive report (in Dutch) and yes, a good number of leather shoes (14 seperate ones, most classed as military footwear) and part of a shield cover were also found in the same riverbed as the spatha and the spear. You raise a good point, which is why I checked that data before going out on that limb :-). The beltfittings were indeed also present, but not in direct association with the spatha. Being a riverbed, it is presumed the finds were lost overboard or rejected as garbage near the quayside of the Roman castellum.
Oeps, forgot: A soft wood like basswood soaks up linseed oil like a sponge (hahahaha, just tried), so I presume a scabbard well oiled would also be capable of withstanding moist conditions. Now, when using cherry or chestnut or walnut, a well oiled scabbard is even more resitant to damp, as these are hard, dense woods. Still, I can see the use of leather as an extra "weathershield", but am trying to figure out how many scabbards indeed had a leather cover. This could both be a matter of taste and/or of finance. A finely made scabbard with nice, glossy well chosen wood could be equally or even higher prized as one of pinewood with a leather covering.
Yep, there is an extensive report (in Dutch) and yes, a good number of leather shoes (14 seperate ones, most classed as military footwear) and part of a shield cover were also found in the same riverbed as the spatha and the spear. You raise a good point, which is why I checked that data before going out on that limb :-). The beltfittings were indeed also present, but not in direct association with the spatha. Being a riverbed, it is presumed the finds were lost overboard or rejected as garbage near the quayside of the Roman castellum.
Oeps, forgot: A soft wood like basswood soaks up linseed oil like a sponge (hahahaha, just tried), so I presume a scabbard well oiled would also be capable of withstanding moist conditions. Now, when using cherry or chestnut or walnut, a well oiled scabbard is even more resitant to damp, as these are hard, dense woods. Still, I can see the use of leather as an extra "weathershield", but am trying to figure out how many scabbards indeed had a leather cover. This could both be a matter of taste and/or of finance. A finely made scabbard with nice, glossy well chosen wood could be equally or even higher prized as one of pinewood with a leather covering.
