tanning methods?

[Anonymous]

List,<br>
What sort of tanning methods were most prevalant with the Romans? In particular what sort of tanning method would they have used for their trousers(feminalia?-remember, I'm just getting started here!). Just curious as to what was used...<br>
SMc <p></p><i></i>

[Anonymous]

Vegetable tanning was used which involved soaking the leather into a solution made from the bark (usually) of a tree or a plant rich in tannic acid. Leaves and roots can also be used.<br>
[url=http://www.philipsburgtannery.com/tannproc.htm" target="top]www.philipsburgtannery.com/tannproc.htm[/url]<br>
<p></p><i></i>

[Anonymous]

Antonius,<br>
Thanks, I've seen several references to vegetable tanned leather while surfing the web but I was wondering if there were any other methods used. Dealing with 19th century(and earlier) North American Indians you'll come across braintan which is a method using the brians of the animal to tan it's hide... I wondered if there was anything like that being used by the Romans or any of the barbarians? Thanks again!<br>
SMc <p></p><i></i>

[Matthew Amt]

Avete!<br>
Carol Van Driel-Murray is one of the big Roman leather experts, so if you can find her articles (in JRMES, etc.) they will be helpful. I recall her mentioning "tawed" leather as well as vegetable-tanned, though I don't remember if she defined it or how. Might have been an alum tanning process.<br>
<br>
The Romans also used rawhide for certain items--I have a growing suspicion that shield facings were more often rawhide than tanned leather, which would make them much stronger. But I don't know what sorts of archeological analyses would reveal whether something was tanned or not, or if a piece of rawhide might have been "tanned" over the centuries by the chemicals in the ground or water which preserved it. Probably a lot of famous finds haven't been analyzed, so you can't necessarily trust them if they say a shield has "hide" or "leather" on it. (Not that there are many shields that survive!)<br>
<br>
Also, I'm not sure there is direct evidence for leather trousers, though it's a possibility. Wool works better for an infantryman trying to keep from freezing! As I understand it, the spelling is "femEnalia", related to "femen" meaning femur or thigh, NOT to "femIna" which means woman.<br>
<br>
Valete,<br>
<br>
Matthew/Quintus, Legio XX <p></p><i></i>

[Anonymous]

Brain tanning? That is interesting..<br>
I've surfed a bit and according to a french site, true tanning appeared around 1000 BC with the use of alum.<br>
Another method of tanning was to rub the skin with birch bark and then rub it with birch oil. This is what is known as "cuir de Russie". It's mainly used today for book binding.<br>
I've read a long time ago that the wreck of an early nineteenth century russian merchant ship was found containing shoes made of "cuir de Russie". The shoes were washed with clear water, then oiled and the leather regained all its characteristics..<br>
But as far as leather is concerned, we do have a specialist.<br>
Aitor, someone needs your expertise here.... <p></p><i></i>

[aitor iriarte]

Antoninus, many thanks for your high regard on my knowledge but it is not so vaste!b<br>
As for tanning methods, I can only add that rawhide desn't stand well water and humidity and the surviving archeological items come from dry climates, like the Qasr-Ibrim fort in Nubia.<br>
It is rather stiff too, not proper for garments.<br>
Leather trousers should be made of tanned leather, therefore. If I recall well, oiled leather or alum tanned leather do not survive in water-logged conditions as vegetable tanned leather does. In any case, it is strange that, so far, no parts of leather trousers have been recovered from the big military dumps. But that could be just a matter of chance...<br>
<br>
Aitor <p></p><i></i>

[Anonymous]

So I guess using braintan would be a no-no? I'm not familiar with alum tanned leather but braintan has a feel and consistency very similar to chamois but is usually smoked to prevent it from hardening and turning back into rawhide when it gets wet. And like I said I'm just getting into this so I'm going off of what I've heard/read so far... I was under the impression that the cavalry wore leather femenalia, is there any documentation to support this? I appreciate y'alls help here... look forward to hearing more from you on this topic!<br>
SMc <p></p><i></i>

[Anonymous]

The only reason why I'd favor leather over wool for riding breeches is the fact that riding on horseback with woolen breeches will get your thighs peeled off raw in no time.. The constant rubbing there needs very soft material.<br>
However it may depend on the type of saddle. The problem would not occur with a "soft cushion" type of saddle, I guess.<br>
Leather is also far more resistant to rubbing than cloth. Another advantage is that leather breeches --or chaps, or pants with a leather bottom-- will stick better to the saddle and will help the rider keep his seat.<br>
But I am pretty sure that by that time people had developed different tanning methods to obtain different results such as various hardnesses of leather, suede leather, glove leather and so on.<br>
The thing that didn't exist yet was the modern chrome tanning method. <p></p><i></i>