Late Roman Belt Help

[Conmacc]

My new project is a later period military belt, one of the wider ones seen in the early to mid 4th Cent.

I'm having trouble deciding on the placement of straps and buckles. I've seen a few in which the smaller strap (I believe it's referred to as a 'billet') passes directly over the top of the opposite wide end to reach the buckle, and a few in which the strap passes under the wide end and then up through a hole to reach the buckle.

Are both of these interpretations accurate?

If anyone here has any advice or pics they'd like to share, I'd be most grateful.

[Robert Vermaat]

Hi Nick,

First of all, please add your real name to your signature - forum rule, remember?

I have both solutions. 't's difficult to say which was accurate or not, since we have no belts to match that solution, just the metalwork.

[Conmacc]

Yeah... I noticed that I'd not activated my sig after I posted. hopefully it's corrected now.

I have both solutions. 't's difficult to say which was accurate or not, since we have no belts to match that solution, just the metalwork.

That having been said, do you have a personal preference as to which method is more practical?

[Robert Vermaat]

I think that the best solution is adding the buckle to one end, and attach a small strap to the other end, but leave a bit of belt (20 cm) to go under the other end. That will ensure that the belt can be worn by bigger and smaller persons than you (same with gaining and losing weight, etc.) The smaller strap then goes over the opposite end through the belt - that way it always pushes the belt to your body, and it won't stand out in a weird way.

My old belt, where I attached the small strap directly to the right end:


My new belt:
http://www.romanarmy.com/rat/download.php?id=1417

[FAVENTIANVS]

http://geocities.com/ivarmaelstrom/cingulum.jpg

[Conmacc]

Thanks for the advice, gentlemen. Hopefully I'll be able to post pics of my own very soon.

[Conmacc]

Finished the belt. It's very basic, and I need to tinker with it here and there, but I'm pleased with the outcome.





Budget and time restraints prevented me from acquiring the fancier hardware, so I manufactured my own. I still need to soften up the edges of the buckle a bit more and add some frogs.

Again, thanks for the advice.

[FAVENTIANVS]

Looks good! And the chain-mail too!

[Robert Vermaat]

Looks good. Just watch that watch! hock: :wink:

[Chuck Russell]

like the color. very well done!

[Conmacc]

Thanks, guys.

Didn't notice the watch until I'd posted.
Now I'm gonna have to dig through a mountain of academic journals to document the thing.