Loculus (satchel)
Encyclopedia
Satchel (bag)
A satchel is a bag, often with a strap. The strap is often worn so that it diagonally crosses the body, with the bag hanging on the opposite hip, rather than hanging directly down from the shoulder. They are tradionally used for carrying books....
. Satchels were carried by Roman legionaries
Legionary
The Roman legionary was a professional soldier of the Roman army after the Marian reforms of 107 BC. Legionaries had to be Roman citizens under the age of 45. They enlisted in a legion for twenty-five years of service, a change from the early practice of enlisting only for a campaign...
, as a part of their sarcina
Sarcina (marching pack)
Sarcina is a Latin word meaning a marching pack as carried by Roman Legionaries, the heavy infantry of the Roman legions.Most of a legionary's equipment other than his arms and armour would, in early times, have been consigned to a baggage train and borne by mules and carts...
or luggage.
No loculus has survived in entirety although some small portions of leather found at Bar Hill (Strathclyde, Scotland) have tentatively been identified as parts of a loculus. The object is primarily known from illustrations on Trajan's Column
Trajan's Column
Trajan's Column is a Roman triumphal column in Rome, Italy, which commemorates Roman emperor Trajan's victory in the Dacian Wars. It was probably constructed under the supervision of the architect Apollodorus of Damascus at the order of the Roman Senate. It is located in Trajan's Forum, built near...
.
The loculus is thought to have measured about 45 by and was likely made from leather
Leather
Leather is a durable and flexible material created via the tanning of putrescible animal rawhide and skin, primarily cattlehide. It can be produced through different manufacturing processes, ranging from cottage industry to heavy industry.-Forms:...
. It is just the right size to be made in one piece from a single goat
Goat
The domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep as both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over three hundred distinct breeds of...
hide although calf leather is also possible. The bag is reinforced by diagonal straps. In the centre of the front of the bag these straps held a bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
ring with a mushroom-shaped stud that holds the triangular flap closed. At the top corners were two plain bronze rings used to suspend the bag while it is carried on the carrying pole or furca.
The loculus was probably used to store rations and a legionary's personal effects.
There have been many attempts to reconstruct the loculus for historical reenactment
Historical reenactment
Historical reenactment is an educational activity in which participants attempt torecreate some aspects of a historical event or period. This may be as narrow as a specific moment from a battle, such as the reenactment of Pickett's Charge at the Great Reunion of 1913, or as broad as an entire...
.
