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The
information known from the ancient authors about Thracian clothing is not very
exhaustive and concerns mainly the differences. Thracians made their clothes
from hemp, flax or wool, usually in natural colours. The lexicographer Hesychius
notes that they also wore coloured or embroidered clothes, or clothes made of
fabrics in different colours. It was Herodotus who first described their multicoloured
hooded cloaks, called zeira. They reached
the ankles and were made of thick woolen fabric, decorated with single or double
coloured stripes, meanders and lines of buds (fig. 1). Usually the zeira
have an attached hood and are fastened under the chin.
Other outer garments mentioned by Ovidius and worn by the Getae in
Moeasia are the fur coats, worn by women and men alike. According to this author,
people protected themselves against the freezing weather in Dobrudjha by wearing
loose “Persian” pants, like the ones pictured on the later monuments
from tropeumi Adamclisi and on the Trajan’s Column.
According
to the written literary tradition (Herodotus, Xenophont), high
boots of deer skin with an upturned upper part are characteristic of the
Thracians (fig.2). Polux claims that these are their own invention
and could also be decorated in the upper part with triangles or other cut-out
shapes.
Another typical element of the Thracian costume mentioned by the ancient writers
is the leather hat of fox skin, which covered
the ears and reached down to the neck (fig. 2) (Herodotus, Xenophont).
Another type of caps worn by the Getae and the Dacians are the pointed fur caps
– “pilose”, made of felt or leather, with the fur worn outside. They
were a sign of noble descent and belonging to the priesthood class.
Unfortunately, the clothing described by ancient writers (except for that on
the Greek vessels with red figures) is not confirmed by the images coming from
Thracia itself. A rather different costume is featured there, with a lot of
“Barbarian” elements. There are a large number of applications on metal vessels
and other objects of toreutics or on tomb murals, which give an idea of what
the Thracians’ traditional clothing was like.
The data about 5th – 4th c. BC show that Thracians’ clothing differs significantly
from that of their neighbours, the Greeks. One of the best examples is provided
by the applications from Letnitsa, Lovech region. They feature women’s
clothing which consists of a long-sleeved, long, loose and strongly pleated
garment with a lot of folds. On the application, which also shows a three-headed
dragon, the upper part of the garment is smooth, frilled at the neck, and the
lower is pleated and decorated with round motifs (fig. 3). It is even possible
that this is a separate skirt, put on over an undershirt. Examples of skirts
can also be seen among the Dacian examples of clothing depicted on Trajan’s
Column.
The female figure on another application from Letnitsa
also wears a long frilled garment (fig. 4). It can be seen how the loose dress
forms fake sleeves and falls down in large folds, unfortunately not very successfully
recreated. In both cases it is very hard to judge whether the dress was belted
or fell down loosely.
The clothing depicted on the small jug with the goddess
riding a lioness from the Rogozen treasure, Vratsa region, is slightly different
(fig. 5). There, the extremely loose chiton or shirt forms fake short sleeves.
A cloak similar to the himation is draped over the left shoulder. Similar
loose and long undershirts can be witnessed in later periods as well. For example,
among the reliefs from Adamclisi, there is a female figure wearing a loose long
robe frilled at the neck, which forms fake sleeves and is tied with a linen
belt at the waist.
Another possible interpretation of the clothing on the jug from Rogozen is that
it comprises a very long stripe of cloth and is wrapped around the body, similar
to the modern sari, which covers the shoulders and whose end falls loosely to
one side. The jug is dated to the middle of 4th c. BC. The goddesses depicted
on the rhyton from Poroina (Romania), which is dated to the end of
4th and beginning of 3rd c. BC, are wearing almost the same costume. The repetition
of one and the same attire on different monuments is a prerequisite for assuming
that such clothes were actually worn during this period.
The
clothing on the phalera from Galiche, Byala Slatina region, dated at 2nd
– 1st c. BC, should be reviewed separately (fig. 6). This is the first example
of a dress with straps – a tunic (soukman), probably worn over a smooth undershirt,
with a rich decoration. It is very loose and falls down in thick folds. Its
straps are slightly lowered at the shoulders and the neckline is shaped through
a band with ornaments of the type “running wave”, which goes through the middle
of the dress and probably reaches its lower end. Additional decoration of triangles
is visible along the straps and neckline.
The ornament of 8 rings, similar to torques, strung on top of each other on
the neck is of special interest. They, together with the hairstyle of two plaits,
which cannot be found in other female images from Moesia, are signs of belonging
to a different ethnic group. The location of the treasure in Northwest Bulgaria
relates it to the tribe of the Triballi, who were under strong Celtic influence.
This is probably the reason for the differences in the clothing and ornaments
of the figure from the phalera, as well as the presence of numerous
torques.
The
Yakimovo treasure, Montana region dated to 1st c. BC is from the same region
(fig. 7). The female figure on one of the silver phaleras is wearing
similar clothing to the one described above. The pleated dress also falls down
in thick folds. The neckline is decorated with triangles and the strap is visible
on the left arm. However, the plaits here are replaced by large curls. The
second phalera from this treasure has the image of a man and is
of high-quality craftsmanship (fig. 8). The bearded figure is wearing a cloak,
fastened with a round fibula on the right shoulder. No chiton or tunic
is visible beneath it, which means that the cloak is worn with nothing underneath.
The man is wearing torques on his neck, which again relates him to the Celtic
traditions.
All monuments from Northwest Bulgaria described so far show that in comparison
with the rest of Moesia, this is a zone of different clothing, which is probably
related to the ethic differences.
The
men’s clothing which can be seen on the applications from Letnitsa is even more
interesting. They depict horsemen wearing tight trousers,
which cover the feet as well (fig. 9). The upper part of the body is enveloped
in a tight-fitting long-sleeved garment which reaches the waist and is belted.
Similar images can be seen on Trajan’s Column, where they have been interpreted
as Sarmatae. However, this fashion was most probably widespread and covered
the whole Carpathian-Danube region, as well as the steppe part of Ukraine. A
scaly chain-mail, which reaches to the middle
of the thighs, is put over the above described clothing (fig. 10).
Similar clothing is depicted on a small jug from Rogozen. The horseman there
is wearing the same tight-fitting trousers covering the feet and a cloak of
the himation type. It is crossed at the chest and forms a skirt, which
reaches the knees. The similarity in the clothes from the Letnitsa applications
and on the jugs from the Rogozen treasure is of interest.
The clothing depicted is not everyday one but military, for horsemen who in
all cases are high up in the social hierarchy. Trousers, however, are also characteristic
of the Getae from North Bulgaria and are evidenced both by Ovidius
and the Tropeum Traiani (Adamclisi) monuments and Trajan’s Column in
much later times.
At the same time, the adoption of the purely Greek
fashion in clothing must be noted. Naturally, it was characteristic of the
Greek colonies along the west Black sea coast (fig.11), where the closed communities
of Hellinistic settlers preserved their own style of clothing, although according
to Ovidius they adopted the local fashion of wearing trousers to protect themselves
from the cold.
During the Hellinistic period an increasingly widespread adoption of the Greek
fashion can be observed on Thracian territory. Examples can be seen in the murals
from the Kazanluk Tomb and the images on the small jug from the treasure from
the village of Borovo, Russe region. There, the Maenads and other characters
from Dionysus’s circle are clad in typical Greek clothing. The dancing Maenad
is wearing an Ionic, loose, embroidered belted at
the waist chiton with a hem reaching the thighs (fig. 12). Another
figure, also in an Ionic embroidered chiton
has a mantle tied at the waist (fig. 13) – a custom which can be observed in
later times among the Dacian women depicted on Trajan’s Column.
With the establishment of the Roman rule in Moesia at the beginning
of 1st c., changes took place in the settlement structure and cities appeared,
settled both by Roman citizens and local people and residents from other provinces.
At the same time, a large number of soldiers from all parts of the Empire occupied
the camps and settlements near the camps along the whole limes. All this led
to a change in the composition of the population – a prerequisite for the mixture
of different cultures and traditions, including clothing.
The information we have about clothing during the Roman Age comes from the tombstones
and statues of honoured citizens in the cities. There are, however, very scarce
data about the local population. Only the images from Tropaeum Trajani
in Adamclisi and Trajan’s Column can shed light on what this clothing was like,
provided, of course, that we assume that the residents of Moesia wore similar
clothing to that of the residents of Dobrudzha and the areas to the north of
the Danube river.
The least amount of data available is about 1st c. There is a tombstone
from Kunino, Vratsa region (fig. 14 а and b)
on which there is a woman with a long chiton to the ground, belted under
the chest and a himation over her head. This combination is classically Greek
and demonstrates the influence of Hellinism on clothing.
In 2nd c. the typical Roman fashion spread in the cities, consisting of a tunic
and pallium (palla). Similar clothing is worn by the sitting
figures on the tombstone from the Roman colony Ratiaria (present-day
village of Archar, Vidin region) (fig. 15). From 2nd c. on, a characteristic
of the outer garments in North Bulgaria is the lack of the classical draping.
This refers them to the pallium and palla and not the himation,
which remains predominant in South Bulgaria. Usually the cloak is small in size
and the female figures do not wear it over the head.
Other tombstones from Ratiaria depict cloaks with fastening, most often of the
type laena. Similar examples can be found in other Roman cities along
the limes, like Durostorum (present-day city of Silistra)
(fig. 16) and village of Gorna Beshovitsa, Vratsa
region (fig. 17 а and b).
Long-sleeved tunics became widespread during 3rd c. A
sarcophagus from Dolna Beshovitsa, Vratsa region (fig. 18) shows characteristic
of these circles and second half of 3rd c. clothing. It consists of a long tunic,
over which a collobium is worn. The head is covered by a small shawl,
most probably a palla. The same monument shows the typical of the time
military clothing – a short knee-length belted tunic and a cloak with fastened
at the shoulder of the type laena.
A relatively large number of statuary images have been found in Moesia.
Predominant among these are the statues of citizens wearing togas, called togatus.
In contrast with Thrace, however, there are no figures wearing himations.
The earliest statue is from the time of Nero (54 – 68) and comes from the legionary
fortress of legio V Macedonica by the village of Gigen,
Pleven region (fig. 19). It is of a man with a short-sleeved loose tunic
and toga. The marble statue from the tomb-mausoleum from Ludjene (present-day
Chavdartsi), Lovech region has also been dated. The toga is widely draped, which
is characteristic of the early 2nd c. A similar statue is known from the times
of the Antoninus from Durostorum.
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Another
type of male statues is that of the military. The
torsos from Chiren, Vratsa region (fig. 20) and from Mala Kutlovitsa, Montana
region have been preserved. Both feature the long-sleeved tunic, belted with
a wide military belt with a round buckle, and a cloak over it, fastened with
a fibula on the right shoulder. Similar clothing is characteristic of the soldiers
during 3rd c. A torso from Oescus, kept at the National Archaeological Museum
in Sofia is from a statue of a soldier on a horse. He is depicted in an anatomical
chain-mail, worn over a leather one and a tunic and covered with a sagum,
fastened on the left shoulder (fig. 21). The statue was built at the end of
2nd or very beginning of 3rd c.
Probably the male bust from Novae (Svishtov)
is of a military clerk (fig. 22). He is wearing a loose, pleated tunic and has
a sagum fastened on the left shoulder.
Most often the female statuary images from North Bulgaria repeat the Large
Herculanean Type. Much more rarely is pictured the Small Herculanean
Type of female statues. There are known only two cases. All these statues come
from the large Roman cities or their surrounding areas - Ratiaria
(fig. 23), Ludjene (present-day Chavdartsi), Lovech region, Vurbovka, Sevlievsko,
Byala Cherkva, Veliko Turnovo region (fig. 24),
Tsarevets, Svishtov region (fig. 25).
All images observe the canon and show a woman wearing a long chiton
reaching the ground and a himation, which completely covers the right
arm and is wrapped around the left one. The sculptures date back to different
periods – from 1st c. to the end of 3rd c. and do not have a significant importance
for defining the clothing since they are replicas of an earlier Greek statue.
Nevertheless, they evidence the Romanization of the population, which was adopting
the universal Roman culture to a larger and larger extent.
The
same holds true for the Small Herculanean
Type known from Oescus and Svishtov (fig. 26). Only the draping
of the himation is different. It completely covers the right shoulder
and both ends are held at the left shoulder by the right hand.
The statues type “togatus” and “Large or Small Herculanean” come from the mausoleums,
which were built in the big villa rustica sorrounding the Legion’s camp of the
Legio I Italica in Novae, or in the territory of the roman town Nicopolis ad
Istrum. This shows that, they were connected with the roman citizans. The lands
they were became as a veterans of the roman army or as the state officials.The
statues themselves were probably made and imported from the Greece or Asia Minor.
The other possibility is they were prepared of the artists, who were been comming
from these regions.
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In terms of clothing, the Black Sea region remains a separate
group. The images feature the same type of clothes,
which for the men consist in a loose chiton with fake sleeves and a classical
draped himation, rolled at the waist and draped over the left shoulder and arm.
In all cases it ends with a tassel (fig. 27, 28).
The women are wearing long chitons, belted under the chest and with
a himation over the head, covering the right arm. The images of servants
on the tombstones show that they, too, wear chitons and the women have
a very long hem, which reaches the middle of the thighs, and are belted at the
waist. The men servants are wearing short knee-length chitons, belted
at the waist, sometimes also with a long hem.
The tombstones from Varna and the Varna region are dated at 1st to 3rd c. and
show invariability in clothing. The Greek combination of chiton and
himation remains unchanged until the end of 3rd c. The names registered
on the stones are mainly Thracian and from Asia Minor, which shows that the
ethnic composition in the Hellinistic cities along the Black Sea coast remains
almost unchanged, together with the classical Greek fashion.
If we use the date of the metal parts of the clothing ( brooches and belt’s
buckles) can make the following conclusions: in the province Thrace was thraditional
the elemnts of the Greek clothing and it was reflected in the province Moesia.There
were the metal parts only by the travelling clothing – mantles and cloaks. As
opposed in the daily life the people prefered the drapered clothing – chimation
or palium. Only the soldiers use the mantle with buttons are the usualy
clothing. By this kind of manthle the metal brooches were wide currency. The
same was by the belt’s buckles and other decoration, which were favour for the
militaryman up to 4th century AD.
Amoung the roman brooches (fibula) from Moesia can be fix all known
type. A special feature were the imported articles and them from North Italy
and nowadays Northwestern part of the Switzerland dominated during the 1st century
AD. There were spead those which were prodused in Dalmatia or Pannonia too,
but they were less (Plate I). From the 2nd
century AD predominate the local shape of the brooches, which were known only
from Moesia and Dacia. Some single esemplares of them were spred in Pannonia
too ( Fig. 29) (Plate
II).
.
A number of conclusions about the changes in clothing can be drawn from the
reviewed monuments from North Bulgaria. Most probably the Thracian attire of
trousers and a short outer garment was preserved amongst the local population.
The images from Adamclisi and Trajan’s Column can also be said with a great
degree of truth to refer to the Bulgarian lands. This line of thought should
also be followed regarding women’s clothing. Probably the loose shirt, worn
like a dress, continued to be used not only among the Dacians, but also among
Getae women.
On the other hand, however, there is a strong Romanization in terms of clothing,
which adopts a typical Roman combination of tunic and pallium. There
is also significant presence of the military who are depicted mainly in a tunic
and cloak, most often a sagum, although other types can also be observed.
In 3rd c. the introduction of the long-sleeved tunic and dalmatica began. The
strongest Roman influence can be felt in the settlements along the limes and
the areas around the big cities, as well as in the large rural mansions –villa
rustica.
The Black Sea coast preserved its specific character and does not change the
classical Greek combination of a chiton and a himation. The
other region, which is also distinguished in terms of clothing in the pre-Roman
period –Northwest Bulgaria, does not continue this trend. On the contrary, it
was the first region where Romanization there began and can be observed most
fully.
Evgenia Gencheva
