Vindolanda glass "bangle" - whsts it for?

[Caballo]

This bead/ bangle is a replica by Tillerman of a bead found at Vindolanda that I bought yesterday at TORM. The Batavian link from Vindolanda was one I couldn't resist.


Its made of glass with a thin blue and white glass rope around the circumference.

So what could it be?
Ring? Too fragile.
Pendant? Possible.
Gaming token? Possible.
General decoration? Glass too fragile.
Toggle? Could handle (at most) a very fine linen small scarf, and not a wool one (I tried).

However, heres a thought. The inside is wide, and what would glass be good for? Taking the drawstring of the snap sack (made extremely well by Tadius of Comitatus), I attached it, and drew it tight.



Works like a dream, with the glass helping pull the opening tighter. The thongs run very nicely through the central hole.

As you can see, it also allows the thin decoration to be seen (maybe a unit or personal identifier, or maybe just decoration). And it won't rust etc given exposure to rain etc, plus is protected by the leather from most bangs. And it could be used for any drawstring, from bags to pouches.

I can't prove it, but it certainly seems a practical and workable solution. And a simple one. Look forward to your thoughts?

[jvrjenivs]

wow, thats a nice thing. Lovely.

Is this the supplier you mean? [url:1glejaf8]http://www.tillermanbeads.co.uk/[/url] Can't find it on their website

[mcbishop]

I can't prove it, but it certainly seems a practical and workable solution.

The quintessence of experimental archaeology!

Mike Bishop

[Caballo]

Yes, its from Tillerman. Really good work.

The quintessence of experimental archaeology

- thanks Mike . My heads swelling is only brought back down to earth by my inability to spell "whats" in the title......

[MPoole]

Hi, everyone,

We're just back from TORM, and were sent the link to this thread by Paul (thank you very much!). What a fascinating use for the bangle, thank you for sending us the link. We apologise for the fact that they're not on the website yet, as they are fairly new and to be honest, it's a case of not being home much the last few weeks to get them photographed for listing. We've always felt that they had some use other than just being decorative, and one idea we'd had was that they could be used for toggles on cord, perhaps holding together more than one cord but we're not familiar with Roman kit so weren't sure how they would be used. Seeing one in use like that is fantastic, it's certainly one of the best approaches to the question of how to use them that we've seen yet.

They are based on the Vindolanda finds, we have been sent some more information on them over the past few weeks, so we will post all the collated information and the beads as soon as possible.

Again, thank you, Paul, for the link and for such a great image of the bangle/armlet in use.

Mike and Su Poole

[Epictetus]

Great looking bangle! In fact, it is so good looking that I wonder why it would be used to fasten a draw string on a knapsack. Forgive my inexperience, but were such sacks decorated or adorned in some fashion?

[Caballo]

Forgive my inexperience, but were such sacks decorated or adorned in some fashion?

No need to ask forgiveness, I think the answer is that we just don't know. However, the sheer volume of beads found at the Roman military sites seems to indicate that they were being used for decorative/ practical purposes. They do seem to have liked their bling.... :roll: