12-29-2010, 01:18 PM
Hi,
The crest was made of hair moss, a species of Ploytrichium Juniperum which grows in the local area. As suggested by its name, the plant grows long strands which look similar to horse hair, and can be easily woven. Around 1120 “hairs” were used to make the crest.
Bundles of around ten strands were folded to be doubled up, then stitched together until there was a length of around 58 cm, which was then in turn folded over to give a curved length of 29cm.
The “hairs” at this stage were around 23 cm long and were then trimmed, with taller strands in the middle, and the sides tapered to around 10 cm at the end.
The crest was found in the ditch of the Period 1 fort at Vindolanda, so was lost or discarded around AD 85-90, and probably belonged to a member of the 1st Cohort of Tungrians, an infantry regiment that were later stationed at Housesteads fort. (Information about the crest taken from Vindolanda Excavations 2001 & 2002 Excavation report, section by Barbara Birley)
The museum at Vindolanda is closed for refurbishment at the moment, but hopefully will reopen on March the 12th.
The crest was made of hair moss, a species of Ploytrichium Juniperum which grows in the local area. As suggested by its name, the plant grows long strands which look similar to horse hair, and can be easily woven. Around 1120 “hairs” were used to make the crest.
Bundles of around ten strands were folded to be doubled up, then stitched together until there was a length of around 58 cm, which was then in turn folded over to give a curved length of 29cm.
The “hairs” at this stage were around 23 cm long and were then trimmed, with taller strands in the middle, and the sides tapered to around 10 cm at the end.
The crest was found in the ditch of the Period 1 fort at Vindolanda, so was lost or discarded around AD 85-90, and probably belonged to a member of the 1st Cohort of Tungrians, an infantry regiment that were later stationed at Housesteads fort. (Information about the crest taken from Vindolanda Excavations 2001 & 2002 Excavation report, section by Barbara Birley)
The museum at Vindolanda is closed for refurbishment at the moment, but hopefully will reopen on March the 12th.
Sion McElveen
