Notes:As a postscript to this thread:

(Cool, H.E.M. Roman Castleford Vol I. The Small Finds. pp.297-298) 

It seems van Driel-Murray did overlook/chose to ignore an interesting detail of the above pattern: all straps on the right side (inner side) of the shoe are quite a bit shorter than those of the left side. She copied this for her pattern in Stepping Through Time for the straps around the ankle, but not for those around the foot. The intention of the original design, however, obviously was that the ridge line would not run upwards over the center of the foot and lower leg, but rather devide the foot in a 2/3rds - 1/3rds manner with a line running straight upwards starting somewhere over the big toe. This is something not normally seen with caligae AFAIK. More interesting even is that this antcipates the design of the "Allendale" boots found at Vindolanda, which van Driel-Murray calls "reminiscent of the caligae" (Vindolanda. Vol III, The Early Wooden Forts. p.33) as well as that of many of the later carbatinae which also show decidedly different strap/lacing loop lengths for the inner and outer sides. Also note that the double back seam is indicated with this pattern.

I finished the first attempt of one of the caligae fuond at Mainz and thought to be early 1st century AD (you can see the original at: http://www.ledermuseum.de/DLM/vollbild/seiten/03.htm)

This time I did the back seams more closely to the originals, thin yarn for the outside with 1 stitch/3mm and thick yarn for the inside with 1 stitch/6mm, see pics below. I also used thicker leather as advied by Carol vanDriel-Murray and by my own recent observations of an original, about double the thickness of the leather I used for the caligae described above, i.e. around 4mm. I again attached thin leather strips inside and outside to protect those seams, the ouside one this time with 2mm broad strips of parchment (also an interesting material to work with). I narrowed the back seam strip as much as possible, it is now only 17mm broad, which is within the upper range of the originals.

Lessons learned: the front is a bit too open I think, I will need to move the straps a bit forward in the future. Also the boot could be a little bit higher.

Here are a few pics:

outside seam

inside seam



outside seam protection

and some more pics:

Updated list for works on roman shoes I studied so far:

Busch, Anna Lisa: Die römerzeitlichen Schuh- und Lederfunde der Kastelle Saalburg, Zugmantel and Kleiner Feldberg. Saalburg Jahrbuch 22, 1965.

Cüppers, Heinz. Die Römer an Mosel und Saar. Schuhmacherhandwerk. 201-205

Driel-Murray, C. van: 'Shoes in perspective', in Unz, C. (ed.) 1986: Studien zu den Militärgrenzen Roms III, Stuttgart, 139-45

Driel-Murray, C. van and Gechter, M.: 'Funde aus der Fabrika der legio I Minervia aus Bonner Berg', Rheinische Ausgrabungen 23, 1983, 1-83

Driel-Murray, C. van: Das Ostkastell von Welzheim, Rems-Murr-Kreis. Die römischen Lederfunde. Stuttgart: 1998

Driel-Murray, C. van: Romeinse leervonsten uit Vechten. Westerheem/29. 1980. 349-355.

Driel-Murray, C. van: Dead Men's Shoes. in Schlüter, Wolfgang. Rom, Germanien und die Ausgrabungen von Kalkriese. 1999. 169-191.

Driel-Murray, C. van: Römisches Schuhwerk. in Ludwig Wamser (Hg.). Die Römer zwischen Alpen und Nordmeer. Mainz 2000. 150-154

Driel-Murray, C. van, John Peter Wild et al.: Vindolanda. Research Reports, New Series. Vol. III The Early Wooden Forts. 1993

Driel-Murray, C. van: Footwear in the North-Western Provinces of the Roman Empire. in Goubitz/Van Driel-Murray/Groenman-van Wateringe: Stepping Through Time. Archeological Footwear from Prehistoric Times until 1800, Zwolle 2001.

Driel-Murray, C. van: The Leatherwork from the Fort. in Cool, H.E.M. and Philo, C.: Roman Castleford Excavations 1974-85. Volume I: The Small Finds, Yorkshire Archaeology 4, Wakefield 1998. 285-303

Driel-Murray, C. van und Jan K. Haalebos: Ein römisches Getreideschiff in Woerden (NL). in: Jahrbuch des römisch-germanischen Zentralmuseums Mainz 43/1996. 490-496.

Fremersdorf, Fritz: Ein Fund römischer Ledersachen in Köln. Germania 10/1926. 44-56

Gansser-Burckhardt, A.: Das Leder und seine Verarbeitung im römischen Legionslager Vindonissa, Basel 1942

Göpfrich, Jutta: Römische Lederfunde aus Mainz. Offenbach: 1991

Goette, Hans Rupprecht: Muleus, Embas, Calceus. Ikonographische Studien zu römischem Schuhwerk.Jahrbuch des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts 103, 401-64

Goldman, Norma: Roman Footwear in Judith Lynn Sebesta, The world of Roman costume. Madison, Wis. 1994. 101-129

Groenman-van Waateringe, W.: Romeins lederwerk uit Valkenburg Z.H., Groningen 1967

Lau, Otto: Schuster und Schusterhandwerk in der griechisch-römischen Literatur und Kunst. Bonn 1967

Miller, Louise, John Schofield and Michael Rhodes: The Roman Quay at St Magnus House, London. Special Paper No. 8 of the London and Middlesex Archaeological Society 1986

Musee du Louvre, Departement des Antiquites Egyptiennes. Catalogue des Chaussures de L'Antiquite Egyptienne. 2000

Robertson, Anne, Margaret Scott and Lawrence Keppie: Bar Hill: A Roman Fort and its Finds. British Archaeological Reports 16, 1975

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cheers,

Martin

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Martin Moser