Caligae Construction

[Martin Moser]

Not much to add to what Ivor wrote above. You could say that calcei tend to be a bit more refined when it comes to the techniques employed IMHO. I personally think that work/time was factored higher than material. Roman shoes overwhelmingly use one piece uppers and that inevitably means more waste. Medieval shoes OTOH often show small pieces sewn on here and there to make up a missing corner or so that you just would get out of that last bit of leather left from a hide - something that you rarely see with Roman shoes. So probably the supply of suitable leather was rich and stable in Roman times (also think of the enormous quantities that must have been available for tents and shield covers for the military.