Crossed belts

[M. Demetrius]

Well, you can make small S hooks from paper clips. Just enough strength to support the belt from the lame of your choice above. Nearly invisible. 4 should do the trick.

[MARCvSVIBIvSMAvRINvS]

And all very historically accurate...

NOT !

M.VIB.M.

[P Sertorius Scaevola]

I agree with M.Vib.; rather pull your own wire and fold to a longitudinal double loop of uneven length. Then unfold and beat out to a straight piece of wire. Finally form into an elongated s-shape. That should work AND is more historically accurate :grin:

[M. Demetrius]

If you want to pull and bend your own wire, instead of using a modified modern wire, I don't see why that would be more accurate. We don't know have the least idea how they accomplished this task, so one conjecture is no better or worse than another. Paper clips are ubiquitous, and used for all sorts of "non-paper clip" functions.

The only difference I see between using a modified paper clip and a home-made S hook from hand-drawn wire is a couple of hours of time, and perhaps a different metal for the wire. Neither metal hooks nor leather strings are provable historically.

We know they did something, but we don't know what. Do whatever seems to work for you, and is the least visible, and don't advertise too much what you've done, and it should be fine. If another reenactor asks what you did, just tell them you had to come up with some solution to keep the belts up, and ask if he has a better one. If he does, use that method. If he doesn't, but just wants to criticize yours, smile and nod, and go on about your business, doing what works best for you.

[MARCvSVIBIvSMAvRINvS]

We need to find some Roman Legionary skeletons in full armour, and fast!



M.VIB.M.

[Magnus]

Sheet brass or steel...1/32" brass, and I've also seen 18 ga. steel used as an "S" hook will also work, and will probably hold up better than wire. Unless you are just planning on standing around in your armour.

[Titvs Statilivs Castvs]

I'm sorry, but I don't quite see why this is needed. I even have a spatha hanging from my (only) waistbelt. It stays relatively good in place.

Edit: speaking of a hamata in this case, forgot this was about seggies, sorry!

[Nurglitch]

This may depend on the construction of your armour. The DSC I have seems to be converging towards the lower edge, with each segment being slightly smaller. When you tighten your belt around the second segment, just below the thong hoops, it also tightens the first segment, forming a slide. If the lorica is oiled (and mine always is) the belt goes "whooosh!".

I don't know about wire, the thongs seem to work just fine. You can try to drive them around the second segment, so they wrap around the belt tightened there, but then you need someone to tie them for you and the belt will still stretch them a bit and sag. Hoops hanging from the third segment down are big enough for you to be able to drive the belt through them without help and will hold it just fine - they do for me. And leather thongs are probably what each soldier had in abundance.

[M. Demetrius]

Edit: speaking of a hamata in this case, forgot this was about seggies, sorry!

:lol: :lol:

[PhilusEstilius]

I would say that all this talk about hooks and thongs appears to be a bit of a cheat, if your segmetata edges have been correctly rolled and not just bent over like some of the cheaper makes.
Why not try out another way of cheating that does not show itself, this is where one gets a piece of thick wire just a couple of inches long that can be hammered into the front and rear edge on one girdle piece.
The heavy bit of wire is hammered into the rolled edge until there is only a quarter of an inch sticking out both front and rear you put in the rear pin into the other girdle plate then tie your belt, that is where you measure and have the belt tight now you take hold of the two halves of the girdle at the front and spring in the front pin.
With a correctly rolled edge to the seg' the belt is tight and will not come off, in fact I have even tried to drag the belt off and it's almost impossible, the armour is held perfect and the pins are never seen it's cheating yes but hooks look terrible in my view.

[Nurglitch]

"Cheating"...?

Segmentata was not manufactured on an assembly-line with tight computerised quality control. It is a fairly safe bet at least some of the soldiers would have to deal with precisely this problem. How would they do it? If you take what was available to them and try to come to the most logical solution you may (emphasis on "may") get it right. Of course we will never know, as any thongs if ever used won't ever be found and they wouldn't have left any traces on the recovered segmentata sections. I personally think the solution I've copied from a friend is the very minimal one, getting the most out of small amount of work and just a few thongs.

[P Sertorius Scaevola]

My post on 'authentic' wire was an obvious prank of course, as I hope you've all understood. As for sound reasoning; the easiest way of solving the gravity pull is to us longer thongs on the lowest set of loops and use the excess to tie the belt in place. If we find HJ's fully clad skeleton ( hasn't one just been found in the Netherlands?)it will probably show exactly that

[MARCvSVIBIvSMAvRINvS]

If you mean the skeleton in Velsen, he was wearing no mail, but did wear belts and dagger....

M.VIB.M.

[PhilusEstilius]

The skeleton in the well at Velsen was wearing a very decorative dagger, one that I have produced several times but I think the belt was only singular and had in fact been up graded with silver sheet possibly after having a new dagger to hang upon it.

[MARCvSVIBIvSMAvRINvS]

He was found in here:

http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9G...Ba5T3WKJHw

His head:



His dagger:

http://62.221.199.163:5294/imageproxy.as...height=750



Dont have the image with the guy in the barrel at hand, indeed a single belt...

M.VIB.M.