Following Friday's post, I found Roger Moorey's catalogue of finds. It was embarrassingly easy and I don't know why my earlier searches didn't turn it up, but here goes anyway. Although most of what's shown is in the form of line drawings, it's still a rich gallery of objects common to our time period.
An important note on time periods: The site as a whole comprises several phases. Deve Hüyük I seems to be Neo-Assyrian, while Deve Hüyük II is Achaemenid. There's also a few Arsacid-period graves in phase II; these are termed Deve Hüyük III. Therefore if you're interested in any particular object, you need to confirm which phase it belongs to.
Moorey states, on the basis of the long sword and hilt fragments from Persepolis (see OIP #69), that the flanged dagger was used throughout the Achaemenid period. He also lends some credence to something I've long suspected, that this dagger is the same as the "Elamite" dagger worn by robe-clad Persians and Elamites in period art.
There's a lot of highly decorated pottery, including several "flasks" shaped like pointed amphorae but without handles. A canteen broadly similar to the ones from Persepolis but slightly different in detail is here described as a "pilgrim flask," while another, highly decorated glazed one is considered to be of Egyptian influence.
Those looking to add more flare to high-class impressions may look to the variety of bronze bracelets, anklets, rings and earrings, many of which should be simple to fabricate from metal rod or strips with annealing and filing. Beads of all sorts of materials appear, as well as small, ceramic human head and animal pendants.
Among toiletries are a pair of tweezers, several circular bronze mirrors, and tubes and applicator sticks for kohl, a kind of eyeliner. The kohl tubes and sticks are not necessarily feminine accessories, as Xenophon claims that Astyages, like other Median men, wore "pencillings beneath his eyes." (Some of the attached codes may clarify this but I'm only skimming for the time being.)
Achaemenid bronze bowls, rhytons, iron akinakai, sagarides, arrowheads, tanged javelin heads, a second gorytos cover decoration, snaffle bits, arm fibulae and cylinder seals mostly reinforce what we already know. One socketed trilobate arrowhead is attached to a bronze chain for some reason, and most of the spearheads run to proportionally rather narrow, though they may have corroded at the edges. There's also a bronze bell described as a horse fitting.
Showing posts with label canteen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label canteen. Show all posts
Monday, February 29, 2016
Thursday, July 16, 2015
One more leather canteen
After reviewing the various craft supplies I'll have to order for Marathon 2015, and paying off a huge ER bill from that little eye accident in May, I've decided I can't afford a custom ceramic canteen.
That being the case, and what with waiting on some final decisions before finally putting in those orders, and my hands getting bored, I decided to make another leather canteen instead.
Although veg-tanned (and therefore molded) leather is probably not accurate for the Achaemenid period, I could at least aim for a better shape. The one I made for Marathon 2011 is a blobby trapezoid with ears on either side of the neck, made according to the shape of the remaining leather scraps I had at the time, without thought to accuracy. This new one is based on a clay canteen shown in OIP 69, plates 71 and 72 (pages 293 and 295 of the PDF).
This shape (I've always thought of it as "turtle-shaped") isn't very convenient; at just under four and a half inches/11.4cm across plus more than a quarter-inch of seams all around, it's a bit awkward to hold in your hand, but contains only around 14 ounces of water, a little more than a standard can of soda or beer. One of the tapered bottle shapes would probably be more practical.
The leather is a Tandy economy shoulder, which I've been using up gradually over several years. It seems to have been discontinued, but that's just as well because I don't like it and it's too heavy (around nine ounces) for most uses I put it to; I had to skive the pieces here by about a third.
In the original, the earholes were actually vertical, and grooves in the sides of the body indicated that the carrying cord passed all around the lower two thirds of the canteen. I didn't think this would be practical to reproduce in leather; I think it would be prone to break.
.This time around, I made the stitch holes with a thin hobby awl rather than a drill or Dremel, and stitched with artificial sinew instead of dental floss (they're basically the same thing, but artificial sinew is much thicker). It was a tight fit; I had to yank the needle through with a pair of pliers each time, but it was worthwhile because the seams don't appear to leak at all this time. Just to be on the safe side, I went ahead and flash-sealed the inside seam with beeswax and melted more into the outside seams (which should also hopefully shield the artificial sinew; a lot of its own wax rubbed off while hot after the initial soak).
That being the case, and what with waiting on some final decisions before finally putting in those orders, and my hands getting bored, I decided to make another leather canteen instead.
Although veg-tanned (and therefore molded) leather is probably not accurate for the Achaemenid period, I could at least aim for a better shape. The one I made for Marathon 2011 is a blobby trapezoid with ears on either side of the neck, made according to the shape of the remaining leather scraps I had at the time, without thought to accuracy. This new one is based on a clay canteen shown in OIP 69, plates 71 and 72 (pages 293 and 295 of the PDF).
The leather is a Tandy economy shoulder, which I've been using up gradually over several years. It seems to have been discontinued, but that's just as well because I don't like it and it's too heavy (around nine ounces) for most uses I put it to; I had to skive the pieces here by about a third.
In the original, the earholes were actually vertical, and grooves in the sides of the body indicated that the carrying cord passed all around the lower two thirds of the canteen. I didn't think this would be practical to reproduce in leather; I think it would be prone to break.
.This time around, I made the stitch holes with a thin hobby awl rather than a drill or Dremel, and stitched with artificial sinew instead of dental floss (they're basically the same thing, but artificial sinew is much thicker). It was a tight fit; I had to yank the needle through with a pair of pliers each time, but it was worthwhile because the seams don't appear to leak at all this time. Just to be on the safe side, I went ahead and flash-sealed the inside seam with beeswax and melted more into the outside seams (which should also hopefully shield the artificial sinew; a lot of its own wax rubbed off while hot after the initial soak).
Thursday, December 26, 2013
Revised recommendations on leather goods
Based on my last post regarding the unlikelihood of vegetable-tanned leather in Achaemenid times, here is what I've come up with for leather goods:
Materials
Personally I would accept brain-tan or the nearest affordable equivalent as a substitute for other fat-cured leathers. The nearest affordable equivalent may include chrome-tanned "buckskin" or glove-tanned if it's of similar physical properties, but, as always, check your group's authenticity standards before buying. I advise against suede or roughout (which are harder to clean; additionally, I believe machine splits are a 19th-century development) and, obviously, anything with an overtly unnatural finish.
I consider rawhide a given for any period. Also, if you already have pieces of kit in veg-tan that you've sunk a lot of money and work into, my feeling is keep them. Again, ask your group's leaders.
Gorytoi
Archaeological finds have indicated that they were made of soft leather supported with a wood spine or frame. So use fat-cured or equivalent. I imagine the type seen at Persepolis and frequently on Greek pottery, with a straight bottom and curved upper edge - the standard for Persian soldiers in our period - had a curved wooden spine sewn into the upper edge. This also means that the floppy-looking fringe seen hanging from gorytoi in Greek battle art may in fact be the same fitted cover seen at Persepolis; it is attached to the gorytos at the top edge, or just draped over it during battle.
Using soft leather also makes it unlikely that they were painted, unless the ancients had some method of painting dye directly onto the leather which I have been unable to discover (painting dye is a real technique but I'm told it's a modern one). The crenellated borders shown in Greek art would probably have to be appliqued in a contrasting leather or fabric, which is done most easily before the main seam is closed.
Scabbards
Wood, or some other hard, solid block of material carved to shape (as in the ivory one from Takht-i Sangin). The akinakes scabbard is attested as having been covered in embossed sheet metal. Otherwise, plain wood will make a good surface for carving. I could also imagine that a facing of glued fabric or parchment (thin rawhide) was used to add strength. All these materials will accept paint better than cured/tanned leather, too. Possibly, lighter sheaths (as for belt knives) were rawhide, maybe with a soft leather or fabric cover.
Shields
Shields of stick-and-hide construction, like the crescent ("taka") and pavise ("spara"), should almost certainly be rawhide, which resists puncture and cutting better than leather and which was used in the Dura-Europos shields that share the same construction method. I have heard it suggested to paint a thin layer of wax on top of the finished shield to prevent water absorption.
Shoes
The Persepolis reliefs and Alexander Sarcophagus seem to disagree about the presence of separate soles on the ankle-strapped shoes. It may be that both interpretations are correct: Again, I am reminded of these shoes' resemblance to Plains moccasins, which were produced both with integral (soft) and separate soles. Separate soles may have been soft leather or hard rawhide. The lack of additional soles on the shoes at Persepolis may explain why it was desirable to have a band running under the middle of the shoe, for arch support. In this use I'd be willing to accept veg-tanned leather for rawhide for expediency.
Ankle straps were fairly wide, and were likely soft leather thongs. I believe the greater width compared to modern leather laces was necessary because the latter are made of a firmer material (albeit not "rawhide" as they are often labeled; real rawhide is too stiff for shoelaces).
Other
Herodotus mentions Persians as having leather clothing (I.72) and this is plausible if it is a very soft buckskin-like material, though I believe that the assertion that leather made up all or even the majority of their clothing in Cyrus' day is an exaggeration; they had, after all, been settled in old Elam for several centuries and raised plenty of sheep. So I still recommend fabric first. Bags and pockets may also be either fabric or soft leather.
In the absence of moldable leather, drink containers should either be soft (like wineskins) or ceramic. Most of the clay canteens from Persepolis were flattened spheres with short necks, essentially like modern ones, even sometimes having cord ears (see OIP 69); those without ears could be carried in bags. I'm open to the possibility of gourd or wooden canteens, but won't actually recommend them until seeing some evidence.
There is only one item which I haven't found a solution for yet: the weapon belt. Because it has to support the weight of a fully-loaded bowcase, it must be a firm material with little stretch, so fat-cured leather would seem a bad choice, but it also has to flex to be worn like a belt, so rawhide doesn't look like a great idea either. In lieu of good evidence about what they were actually made of, I must continue to recommend veg-tan for this use alone.
Materials
Personally I would accept brain-tan or the nearest affordable equivalent as a substitute for other fat-cured leathers. The nearest affordable equivalent may include chrome-tanned "buckskin" or glove-tanned if it's of similar physical properties, but, as always, check your group's authenticity standards before buying. I advise against suede or roughout (which are harder to clean; additionally, I believe machine splits are a 19th-century development) and, obviously, anything with an overtly unnatural finish.
I consider rawhide a given for any period. Also, if you already have pieces of kit in veg-tan that you've sunk a lot of money and work into, my feeling is keep them. Again, ask your group's leaders.
Gorytoi
Archaeological finds have indicated that they were made of soft leather supported with a wood spine or frame. So use fat-cured or equivalent. I imagine the type seen at Persepolis and frequently on Greek pottery, with a straight bottom and curved upper edge - the standard for Persian soldiers in our period - had a curved wooden spine sewn into the upper edge. This also means that the floppy-looking fringe seen hanging from gorytoi in Greek battle art may in fact be the same fitted cover seen at Persepolis; it is attached to the gorytos at the top edge, or just draped over it during battle.
Using soft leather also makes it unlikely that they were painted, unless the ancients had some method of painting dye directly onto the leather which I have been unable to discover (painting dye is a real technique but I'm told it's a modern one). The crenellated borders shown in Greek art would probably have to be appliqued in a contrasting leather or fabric, which is done most easily before the main seam is closed.
Scabbards
Wood, or some other hard, solid block of material carved to shape (as in the ivory one from Takht-i Sangin). The akinakes scabbard is attested as having been covered in embossed sheet metal. Otherwise, plain wood will make a good surface for carving. I could also imagine that a facing of glued fabric or parchment (thin rawhide) was used to add strength. All these materials will accept paint better than cured/tanned leather, too. Possibly, lighter sheaths (as for belt knives) were rawhide, maybe with a soft leather or fabric cover.
Shields
Shields of stick-and-hide construction, like the crescent ("taka") and pavise ("spara"), should almost certainly be rawhide, which resists puncture and cutting better than leather and which was used in the Dura-Europos shields that share the same construction method. I have heard it suggested to paint a thin layer of wax on top of the finished shield to prevent water absorption.
Shoes
The Persepolis reliefs and Alexander Sarcophagus seem to disagree about the presence of separate soles on the ankle-strapped shoes. It may be that both interpretations are correct: Again, I am reminded of these shoes' resemblance to Plains moccasins, which were produced both with integral (soft) and separate soles. Separate soles may have been soft leather or hard rawhide. The lack of additional soles on the shoes at Persepolis may explain why it was desirable to have a band running under the middle of the shoe, for arch support. In this use I'd be willing to accept veg-tanned leather for rawhide for expediency.
Ankle straps were fairly wide, and were likely soft leather thongs. I believe the greater width compared to modern leather laces was necessary because the latter are made of a firmer material (albeit not "rawhide" as they are often labeled; real rawhide is too stiff for shoelaces).
Other
Herodotus mentions Persians as having leather clothing (I.72) and this is plausible if it is a very soft buckskin-like material, though I believe that the assertion that leather made up all or even the majority of their clothing in Cyrus' day is an exaggeration; they had, after all, been settled in old Elam for several centuries and raised plenty of sheep. So I still recommend fabric first. Bags and pockets may also be either fabric or soft leather.
In the absence of moldable leather, drink containers should either be soft (like wineskins) or ceramic. Most of the clay canteens from Persepolis were flattened spheres with short necks, essentially like modern ones, even sometimes having cord ears (see OIP 69); those without ears could be carried in bags. I'm open to the possibility of gourd or wooden canteens, but won't actually recommend them until seeing some evidence.
There is only one item which I haven't found a solution for yet: the weapon belt. Because it has to support the weight of a fully-loaded bowcase, it must be a firm material with little stretch, so fat-cured leather would seem a bad choice, but it also has to flex to be worn like a belt, so rawhide doesn't look like a great idea either. In lieu of good evidence about what they were actually made of, I must continue to recommend veg-tan for this use alone.
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