02-18-2007, 08:33 PM
Here's a little roundup on what I know of in terms of finds of pouches/purses/leather bags (that you might perhaps want to base your own equipment on):
Larger, rectangular bags with side panels as found on the Comacchio ship wreck. A variant also from that ship is a bag simply consisting of one folded or two sheets of leather, front and back. For carrying these can have a shoulder strap and/or handle.
Drawstring bags: These can be made of just one (circular) piece of leather like the one found at Vindolanda (discussed here) or of several pieces witha front and back. Of these several have been found, e.g. at Bargercompascuum, again on the Comacchio wreck (see link above), at Vindonissa or at the Cave of Letters in Israel. Size can certainly vary, but from the finds one could say that a height and width of 25-30 cm seems to have been common.
We also of other types of smaller bags, one being of a rectangular, purse-like form without any means of closing tight besides a leather flap. Then there is a bag or container that seems to have been made especially for stowing writing tablets, examples of which have been found at Vindonissa and Vindolanda. Both of the above types have side panels with the main body being made of one sheet of leather.
For all the tyes of bags described above, decorational stitching and/or leather applications are a common feature, as well as the usage of variously colored/dyed leather.
One thing that to my kowledge has not been found so far is any kind of bag with belt loops as a way of attaching/carrying. On a discussion about the existance of such a type of bag see pages 2 and 3 at the Notebook Bag thread.
There is probably more of those finds out there than what I could find and have reported on over the last few weeks, so if you happen to know of any other finds, please let me/us know!
Literature:
Berti, Fede. Fortuna maris. La nave romana di Comacchio. Bologna, 1990.
Schlabow, K. Der römische Münzschatz von Bargercompascuum (Drenthe). II. Der Geldbeutel. Palaeohistoria 5, 1956: 81-87.
Yadin, Yigael. The Finds from the Bar Kokhba Period in the Cave of Letters. Jerusalem, Israel Exploration Society, 1963.
Vindolanda. Research Reports, New Series. Vol. III The Early Wooden Forts. Carol van Driel-Murray, John Peter Wild et al. 1993
Groenman-van Waateringe, W.: Römische Lederfunde aus Vindonissa und Valkenburg Z.H.; ein Vergleich. Gesellschaft pro Vindonissa. Jahresbericht 1974, 62-84
Baatz, D. "Lederne Gürteltaschen römischer Soldaten", Archäologisches Korrespondenzblatt 13, 1983: 359-61
Schultze, M. "Spätkaiserzeitliche Gürteltaschen mit Knebelverschluss", Archäologisches Korrespondenzblatt 12, 1982: 501-9
Larger, rectangular bags with side panels as found on the Comacchio ship wreck. A variant also from that ship is a bag simply consisting of one folded or two sheets of leather, front and back. For carrying these can have a shoulder strap and/or handle.
Drawstring bags: These can be made of just one (circular) piece of leather like the one found at Vindolanda (discussed here) or of several pieces witha front and back. Of these several have been found, e.g. at Bargercompascuum, again on the Comacchio wreck (see link above), at Vindonissa or at the Cave of Letters in Israel. Size can certainly vary, but from the finds one could say that a height and width of 25-30 cm seems to have been common.
We also of other types of smaller bags, one being of a rectangular, purse-like form without any means of closing tight besides a leather flap. Then there is a bag or container that seems to have been made especially for stowing writing tablets, examples of which have been found at Vindonissa and Vindolanda. Both of the above types have side panels with the main body being made of one sheet of leather.
For all the tyes of bags described above, decorational stitching and/or leather applications are a common feature, as well as the usage of variously colored/dyed leather.
One thing that to my kowledge has not been found so far is any kind of bag with belt loops as a way of attaching/carrying. On a discussion about the existance of such a type of bag see pages 2 and 3 at the Notebook Bag thread.
There is probably more of those finds out there than what I could find and have reported on over the last few weeks, so if you happen to know of any other finds, please let me/us know!
Literature:
Berti, Fede. Fortuna maris. La nave romana di Comacchio. Bologna, 1990.
Schlabow, K. Der römische Münzschatz von Bargercompascuum (Drenthe). II. Der Geldbeutel. Palaeohistoria 5, 1956: 81-87.
Yadin, Yigael. The Finds from the Bar Kokhba Period in the Cave of Letters. Jerusalem, Israel Exploration Society, 1963.
Vindolanda. Research Reports, New Series. Vol. III The Early Wooden Forts. Carol van Driel-Murray, John Peter Wild et al. 1993
Groenman-van Waateringe, W.: Römische Lederfunde aus Vindonissa und Valkenburg Z.H.; ein Vergleich. Gesellschaft pro Vindonissa. Jahresbericht 1974, 62-84
Baatz, D. "Lederne Gürteltaschen römischer Soldaten", Archäologisches Korrespondenzblatt 13, 1983: 359-61
Schultze, M. "Spätkaiserzeitliche Gürteltaschen mit Knebelverschluss", Archäologisches Korrespondenzblatt 12, 1982: 501-9
Cheers,
Martin
---------------
Martin Moser
http://www.legio8augusta.de
Leatherwork Through the Ages Homepage
Leatherwork Through the Ages Facebook Page
Martin
---------------
Martin Moser
http://www.legio8augusta.de
Leatherwork Through the Ages Homepage
Leatherwork Through the Ages Facebook Page
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