Sacculus
Saccus is Latin for a sack; its diminutive sacculus denotes a small bag, including a money pouch. These terms cover a range of containers rather than one standard Roman bag with a fixed pattern.
Bags carried provisions, belongings and coins. Organic materials survive unevenly; finds do not establish that every complete ancient bag was exclusively leather. Contents, attachments and find context help identify their use.
Crumina is another Latin term for a purse. The relationship between these words depends on the text and does not form a strict classification of “domestic”, “travel” and “cult” sacci.
Bag from the Augustan-period shipwreck at Comacchio, northern Italy. Roman Ship Museum, Comacchio; late first century BCE–early first century CE.
Bag from the Augustan-period shipwreck at Comacchio, northern Italy. Roman Ship Museum, Comacchio; another view.
Bag from the Cave of Letters, Judaean Desert; around 70–135 CE.Reconstruction
Choose a prototype and purpose: a small purse and a provision sack require different shapes and attachments. Reproduce materials, seams and ties from a find; a modern bag is not an exact copy merely because it has a Latin name.
Leather is not automatically waterproof, nor is a textile bag necessarily less practical. Test the security of contents, the opening’s strength and attachment to other baggage on the march.
Modern reconstruction of the bag from the Comacchio shipwreck.Related topics
Literature and sources
- Charlton T. Lewis, Charles Short. A Latin Dictionary. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1879; saccus, sacculus, cassidile.
- A. T. Croom. Roman Clothing and Fashion.
Bag from the Augustan-period shipwreck at Comacchio, northern Italy. Roman Ship Museum, Comacchio; detail.
Bag from the Cave of Letters, Judaean Desert; around 70–135 CE. Another view.
Modern pattern based on a bag from the Cave of Letters, Judaean Desert; original attributed to around 70–135 CE.Interested in Ancient Rome beyond reading? Join Legio X Fretensis or explore our reenactment directions.
