12-12-2011, 04:59 AM
Hi!
First, thanks to all of you - you have a fantastic resource here!
Second - I hope this isn't to off topic, but I'm finding a real derth of civilian Roman stuff online. But since I keep having Google searches leading me to you, I figure this is as good a place as any to get started.
My primary interest so far is Rome herself in the 1st century BC, esp. the decades between Sulla and Caesar. Secondarily, first and second century AD Roman Britannia sounds fascinating.
Can I ask for help in starting to get a costume together? Most everything I've seen is awful general - just "wrap some light wool around you, tie it off and belt it, and find a couple fibulae." I'm used to 18th century reenactment with a lot more detail, so I'm a little flummoxed at just how... simple it seems, at least until you get to the well to do levels. I keep thinking "this can't be right...it's too simple!"
Do we know -
1. Those "buttons" at the top of the dresses - I'd be shocked if they were real button buttons - could they be some kind of "tie off a pebble in the folded fabric" fastener of some kind? Do we know for certain? Can I presume the waist tie is a tied cord of some kind, not a belt proper?
2. I see scads of fibulae, presumably original, on eBay - mostly crossbow type. Is that a military pattern? Civilan? Do we have any idea who used which patterns when? For that matter, is there a good survey for what kinds of jewelry were used when, at what social strata?
3. Finally, do y'all have any favorite sources for civilian life in the first century BC?
Thanks so much!
(and I'm still admiring those ornamented pugios you soldier guys are carrying. Pretty!
)
First, thanks to all of you - you have a fantastic resource here!
Second - I hope this isn't to off topic, but I'm finding a real derth of civilian Roman stuff online. But since I keep having Google searches leading me to you, I figure this is as good a place as any to get started.
My primary interest so far is Rome herself in the 1st century BC, esp. the decades between Sulla and Caesar. Secondarily, first and second century AD Roman Britannia sounds fascinating.
Can I ask for help in starting to get a costume together? Most everything I've seen is awful general - just "wrap some light wool around you, tie it off and belt it, and find a couple fibulae." I'm used to 18th century reenactment with a lot more detail, so I'm a little flummoxed at just how... simple it seems, at least until you get to the well to do levels. I keep thinking "this can't be right...it's too simple!"
Do we know -
1. Those "buttons" at the top of the dresses - I'd be shocked if they were real button buttons - could they be some kind of "tie off a pebble in the folded fabric" fastener of some kind? Do we know for certain? Can I presume the waist tie is a tied cord of some kind, not a belt proper?
2. I see scads of fibulae, presumably original, on eBay - mostly crossbow type. Is that a military pattern? Civilan? Do we have any idea who used which patterns when? For that matter, is there a good survey for what kinds of jewelry were used when, at what social strata?
3. Finally, do y'all have any favorite sources for civilian life in the first century BC?
Thanks so much!
(and I'm still admiring those ornamented pugios you soldier guys are carrying. Pretty!
)
