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The Reuse of Textiles in the Roman World

In this chapter I examine evidence for the reuse of textiles in the Roman world. Two principal sources of evidence will be considered: archaeology, and the written record. Typical of the archaeological evidence are the rags from rubbish deposits at Berenike, a Roman port on the Red Sea coast of Egypt, and (at the opposite corner of the Empire) from ditches and occupation layers in the fort of Vindolanda close to Hadrian’s Wall. Survival of textiles, it need hardly be emphasized, is wholly dependent on climatic and microclimatic conditions, leading to a skewed distribution pattern across the ancient world. I suggest that the life cycle of a textile comprises six phases: manufacture, primary use, maintenance, primary reuse, secondary reuse, and discard. Romans may appear to display an ingrained ‘make-do-and-mend’ attitude, although such a mindset seems to be at variance with the consumerism which scholars have detected in some Roman contexts. The whole topic manifestly deserves closer scrutiny in the future.