Soldiering On

Opening Day at Archaeolink was wet and windy but, all in all, a good day. The visitors that chose to ignore the weather forecast seemed to enjoy themselves, which is what it's all about.

Our Roman outfits worked well and I received a very nice compliment from one lady, although I do need to make myself some Roman shoes (black Magnum work boots are not quite authentic). My palla, which is quite a fine weave wool, was surprisingly good at blocking the cold wind when we did venture outside. As the photos of me do not really show my Roman jewellery I have included a picture of the two soldiers instead. You can just see the bottom of some of my handiwork (ie. braccae) covering my husband's knees.


Maybe next time round there will be a photo of me that I'm not embarrassed to share. But I wouldn't recommend holding your breath.

With Needle in Hand ...

I'd really forgotten how satisfying hand sewing can be. And surprisingly quick if you don't have huge numbers of seams and hems, which is mostly the case with ancient Roman clothing.

My husband's braccae and my son's trousers and over tunic have appeared almost as if by magic. My peplos, however, is a little discouraging. Not only do I have multiple seams and edging to do since the modern fabric I'm using has to be cut to size (as I lack slaves to weave me fabric of the perfect dimensions) but my outfit also bears more than a little resemblance to a sack. It would appear that, contrary to the somewhat skimpy Roman fancy dress costumes that proliferate on the Internet, ancient Roman women took a great deal of trouble to wrap themselves in vast quantities of fabric. Not that I should be surprised, statues of clothed Roman women sometimes show no more than face and hands beneath a tower of folds. But the presence of pleats and folds may well be my answer. I hope that after repeated washing, folding and flattening I may get my fabric to drape in a vaguely attractive manner.

If all else fails my consolation is this, my huge swaddling of cloth should at least keep me warm while the winds howl through the tents of our small Roman camp. And I am already considering a second outfit, made with a much finer and lighter linen (that I have yet to source) in case we actually get some sun this Summer.