Artists made many different kinds of paints, some of which still exist today. Painting skin, hair, and eyes was popular among both men and women. In addition to dyeing fabrics, the Romans also used paint to decorate their bodies. The classic example is the toga, which was white until the 4th century BC when it was allowed to darken with use. However, not all dyes were expensive, and most Romans wore bright attire. Experiments with tunics designed and worn this way show that this not only narrows the neck slit but also makes the front of the slit hang down lower, as well as produce the draping effect portrayed in sculpture ( Sumner, 36-36, 40).Exotic textiles, such as silk damasks, transparent gauzes, gold cloth, and elaborate embroideries, were available at a cost, as were brilliant, costly colours like as saffron yellow or Tyrian purple. The method to narrow the neck slit when not doing fatigues is also indicated on Trajan's column: fabric behind the neck was bunched up and tied off with a cord. This means the neck slit was larger than what is often suggested. These dimensions come from original instructions, in an order placed for tunica - yes, it is huge, no, you don't have to make yours thusly, but why not? Also, with this larger size, one would gain more padding under the lorica…Īs the tunica and belt were important for recognizing a soldier, one form of punishment for a miles was public humiliation by him making him stand around the front gate of the castra with his tunica unbelted, as shown here.ĭepictions on Trajan's columns of soldiers doing work fatigues indicate that the tunic could be worn with the right arm protruding from the neck slit to bare the shoulder. There are many theories on the size, but in Graham Sumner's book, Roman Military Clothing I, he states it would be big and baggy, ca. White tunica with clavi could be worn for parties or special scenarios, while an undyed tunica would have been worn for fatigue work or off-duty wear. Some reenactor units, following this evidence, wear tunica that are either dyed with madder or a modern deep red dye that approximates what could be achieved with madder for all military activities. ![]() What evidence exists for the First Century AD, suggests that Roman legions wore red dyed tunics for war, white tunics for formal occasions such as parades, and undyed tunics for other uses. Sumner lists all of the known evidence for the colors of military clothing arranged in chronological order ( pages 121-32). There is a big disagreement among both scholars and reenactors, as to the color of Roman military tunica, or whether different colors were worn by differing units or military ranks, or for different occasions. leaving a lot of excess material at the sides which gave tunics the baggy appearance depicted on period sculpture ( Sumner, 27-28, 30-33). ![]() The military tunica was shorter than the civilian style in that it ended above the knees when it was pulled up under the belt tunics for male civilians usually covered the knees.Īlthough tunics were made in different sizes to fit different individuals, they were usually very wide and wider than they were long. The cloth extended beyond the shoulders and covered the upper arms. Openings were left for the arms and head. with selvedges on all four edges) and sewn together at the sides and shoulders ( Graham Sumner, Roman Military Clothing, 20). In the 1st Century AD, tunics appear to have been made from two rectangular pieces of cloth woven to the desired dimensions ( i.e. The basic item of Roman military clothing was the tunica.
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