Roman Sandals

[Sheilajeanne]

 Nice!

Saw a few of those when researching Roman sandals for the statue. Because Vindolanda was so wet, I think it's produced more well preserved Roman shoes than any other dig!

But that green shoe, the one you posted the modern duplicate of, is definitely the prettiest I've seen.

It was found at a Roman fort in Saalburg, Germany  

Edited December 8, 2021 by Sheilajeanne

[chuck123wapati]

17 hours ago, Sheilajeanne said:

 Nice!

Saw a few of those when researching Roman sandals for the statue. Because Vindolanda was so wet, I think it's produced more well preserved Roman shoes than any other dig!

But that green shoe, the one you posted the modern duplicate of, is definitely the prettiest I've seen.

It was found at a Roman fort in Saalburg, Germany  

It sure is. i would love to find something on the actual construction techniques certainly some archeogeek had to have done that. I'm still looking lol.

[fredk]

9 minutes ago, chuck123wapati said:

It sure is. i would love to find something on the actual construction techniques certainly some archeogeek had to have done that. I'm still looking lol.

Look for books by Olaf Goubitz. 

Especially Stepping Through Time. Archaeological footwear from prehistoric times until 1800 ( https://www.abebooks.co.uk/9789089320025/Stepping-Time-Archaeological-Footwear-Prehistoric-9089320024/plp )and Op lage schoenen in de kou

Also, From the Museum of London; Shoes and Pattens  Medieval finds from excavations in London ( https://www.amazon.co.uk/Shoes-Pattens-Medieval-Excavations-London/dp/1843832380/ref=pd_lpo_3?pd_rd_i=1843832380&psc=1 )

I have the first and last books on my book shelf and they have what you seek

I have this book in PDF form. Its about 388 pages in PDF. Hard copy of the full book costs about £300. Smaller 'section' books cost about £25 each

Leather and Leatherworking in Anglo-Scandinavian and Medieval York

17 hours ago, Sheilajeanne said:

 Nice!

Saw a few of those when researching Roman sandals for the statue. Because Vindolanda was so wet, I think it's produced more well preserved Roman shoes than any other dig!

It was partly that and that the items were in a garbage dump that the Romans tried to burn. The outside burnt and sealed off the interior

[Sheilajeanne]

Ohh, I remember that now! They even found written papyrus records that had been preserved!

[fredk]

Not papyrus but birch and alder wood 'post cards' - the Vindolanda Tablets, or Letters. Thousands of them

[chuck123wapati]

12 hours ago, fredk said:

Look for books by Olaf Goubitz. 

Especially Stepping Through Time. Archaeological footwear from prehistoric times until 1800 ( https://www.abebooks.co.uk/9789089320025/Stepping-Time-Archaeological-Footwear-Prehistoric-9089320024/plp )and Op lage schoenen in de kou

Also, From the Museum of London; Shoes and Pattens  Medieval finds from excavations in London ( https://www.amazon.co.uk/Shoes-Pattens-Medieval-Excavations-London/dp/1843832380/ref=pd_lpo_3?pd_rd_i=1843832380&psc=1 )

I have the first and last books on my book shelf and they have what you seek

I have this book in PDF form. Its about 388 pages in PDF. Hard copy of the full book costs about £300. Smaller 'section' books cost about £25 each

Leather and Leatherworking in Anglo-Scandinavian and Medieval York

It was partly that and that the items were in a garbage dump that the Romans tried to burn. The outside burnt and sealed off the interior

Thank you !! I will look these up. 

[zuludog]

Search around on t'Net for things like Roman Reenactment Groups, Reenactment Group Directory, and so on; there are loads of them, worldwide, in USA, and Britain; I'm sure they would help you. Here's a start - https://www.romanempire.net

I visited Hadrian's Wall a couple of years ago, when there was a Reenactment Group (forgotten which one) giving demonstrations at Vindolandia. They use & make authentic clothing & equipment

One of their members was making and showing Roman footwear, and I was pleasantly surprised at how well made, substantial, and modern looking they were. He used modern awls, knives, needles etc, but said that his next stage would be to identify, & source or make leatherworking tools from the Roman period, and then use them to make replica footwear and other leather items in the future 

Also Search YouTube for 'making roman footwear' ; there are a few videos

Edited December 9, 2021 by zuludog

[chuck123wapati]

37 minutes ago, zuludog said:

Search around on t'Net for things like Roman Reenactment Groups, Reenactment Group Directory, and so on; there are loads of them, worldwide, in USA, and Britain; I'm sure they would help you. Here's a start - https://www.romanempire.net

I visited Hadrian's Wall a couple of years ago, when there was a Reenactment Group (forgotten which one) giving demonstrations at Vindolandia. They use & make authentic clothing & equipment

One of their members was making and showing Roman footwear, and I was pleasantly surprised at how well made, substantial, and modern looking they were. He used modern awls, knives, needles etc, but said that his next stage would be to identify, & source or make leatherworking tools from the Roman period, and then use them to make replica footwear and other leather items in the future 

Also Search YouTube for 'making roman footwear' ; there are a few videos

Thank you i will! I am hunkering down for 6 months of cold, wind and snow so will have plenty of time.

[zuludog]

These might be useful, at least for a start  and giving you an idea -

https://reenactorsmarket.co.uk

Living History societies, associations and reenactors (historic-uk.com)

 

[Sheilajeanne]

I've been following the TV show, Digging For Britain, and one of their episodes featured a cavalry re-enactment group. It was amazing to see the lengths to which this group went to make everything absolutely authentic! They travel around Britain, doing re-enactments for different events. You can see a video below. 
The re-enactment group begins its thing at about 44:35, though there are interesting bits about the group and the Roman cavalry's gear interspersed throughout the whole video.

The archaeologists digging up forts that had a large cavalry presence had a hard time figuring out just how the horses and soldiers were quartered. Eventually the figured out the soldiers slept in the stable, with their horses! There were pits in the floor to help deal with the horse urine and drain it away!  Having worked in a riding stable, and knowing how foul the stable smells first thing in the morning before being mucked out, I don't envy them!

Edit: there's a section specifically on Vindolanda that begins about 35 minutes in.

 

Edited December 9, 2021 by Sheilajeanne

[Sheilajeanne]

Those books are REALLY pricey! 

By exploring the 'Historical Re-enactment' forum on Leatherworking, I've come up with quite a few useful videos. For the Roman period, this one is probably the best: 

The other videos mostly deal with Roman caligae, the sandals worn by the Legions, which, of course, are pretty impractical for our climate. And they also look like they'd be a nightmare to make. (Sorry, cutting narrow strips of leather isn't one of my favourite things!)

Here's another page, with a number of good links to how to do the 'hands on' stuff! https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=making+Roman+shoes

 

Edited December 14, 2021 by Sheilajeanne

[Sheilajeanne]

This video shows close-ups of that lovely green woman's shoe, and shows it looks like it was repaired several times: 

It also shows the modern duplicate that Chuck posted earlier.

 

Edited December 14, 2021 by Sheilajeanne