Level 3 - Life in Roman Sussex - Personal Life-style

Personal Life-style

Clothing

Most information relating to people's clothing in Roman Britain derives from rare chance survivals of certain fabrics and fittings, together with human representations on figurines. Wool was the most common material for garments, probably dyed with bright colours such as purple, russet and blue, using plant dyestuffs such as woad or weld. Unfortunately, there are few indications of clothing styles in Sussex, but judging by evidence elsewhere in Roman Britain it is likely that tunics were popular with both men and women. They may have been belted at the waist, and a number of buckles have shown up on sites such as Bullock Down. However, aside from the military, it seems that belts would usually have been simple cloth cords, without buckles.
The position of brooches on the skeletons of buried bodies can sometimes the style of dress worn by the deceased.

The only clothing type to have survived in Sussex is footwear, with leather sandals being found preserved at the Seddlescomb iron-working site and in a grave at Hardham.
Shoe-making was a specialist craft and there were a number of different types common in Roman Britain, ranging from light sandals to layered and nailed shoes and boots. Impressions in clay tiles have given some indications of shoe shape and structure.