[Regia-NA] belts & bikinis

[rmhowe]

CR Mayhew Comcast Account wrote:
> Hazel--
>  
> You mentioned a few iron belts loops have been found in situ up in the 
> North of England.  I've not heard of them before.  Can you be more 
> specific?  I'm very interested in finding out more about them!  Thanks!
>  
> --charlotte mayhew
>  
> p.s.  I think I do have leather bikini evidence...but they're way out of 
> the Regia period.  (I know you're all cryin' in your ale...)

Only the bottom, found in a Londinium Roman well, dark color
as preserved anyway. I have a couple separate pictures of them
somewhere, maybe three or four.

Generally only alum treated leather, like goat or kid for
gloves was white. See process description in the Ciba Review
guide on Medieval Leather (but the process apparently goes
back to the Romans from the terms used.).
The rest seems to have been dark brown from oils/stuffing
(rendered tallow) or grey/black from vinegar/rust up until
we first see actual leather dye formulas for colors in the
Plictho in late medieval/renaissance period.

Absence of proof is not proof of absence.

However, there is almost no physical proof for early medieval
pants or underwear either. But we know they wore them from
illustrations.

The metal belt loops I know of primarily were like a rectangle
with two internal projections to keep the main body of the
belt in place behind them and leave a generally larger forward
space for the tongue to pass through.  These were movable from
what I know of them. I expect though they would have to be put
on before either the buckle or the strap end or the belt pinched
to thin it so it could get over the two projections inside the
rectangle. Master Raymond sells a set from quietpress.com
and it's tight for most modern belts.

The Gokstad ship man had a belt loop if I recall. A good illustration
of it and the Buckle is in du Chaillu's the Vikings 1883.

Magnus