Bags & Pouches

Bags & Pouches

This article's completion rating is 2 out of 5. Article structure and content is subject to change as data is still being collected.

This article's completion rating is 2 out of 5. Article structure and content is subject to change as data is still being collected.

Containers made of cloth or leather.

Introduction

Birka, Sweden (---) 52 bags/pouches were found in 47 graves. 18 men, 15 women, 2 children, 8 unknown and 4 double graves. Of those analysed, 28 were made of cow leather, 3 calf and 2 goat leather and 5 were tanned with alum. [GRAESLUND 1984]

Drawstring or tagged pouches

Art
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Literature

• Fetels – a little vessel, bag, belt

Archaeology

• York, England.3 pieces of leather have been tentatively identified as remnants of drawstring pouches (15738, 15740-1). Another leather fragment made of either goat or sheepskin (15739) and dated to the C10th pouch is from a small pouch. The suspension straps are integral and another fragment of leather was identified as belonging to a second panel [MOULD, CARLISLE and CAMERON 2003: p.3401-3402]
• York, England. A purple silk pouch decorated with a cross. [OWEN-CROCKER 2004: p.265]
• Hedeby, Denmark. 1 find [GROENMAN VAN WAATERINGE 1984: pl.24 no.2]
• Birka, Sweden (---) 12 graves with leather fragments interpreted to be from pouches. Pouches often contained coins and/or weights but also mirrors, beads, pendants and copper alloy studs. [GRAESLUND 1984]

Discussion
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Leather Box pouches

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Satchels

A large bag of cloth or textile suspended from a strap worn over the shoulder

Recreation Guide

800-899	900-979	980-1040	1041-1100
Optional

Art
A couple of manuscripts show satchels:

• Bury Psalter f.118r.
• Harly Psalter f.66v. A begger raises his arm showing a bag beneath his garment. Three tails hang from the bag which has been interpreted to mean that it is made from skins. Note that these tails do not appear on the same image on the earlier Frisian Utrecht Psalter [OWEN-CROCKER 2004: p.265].

Literature
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Archaeology

• Hedeby, Denmark. 1 possible [GROENMAN VAN WAATERINGE 1984: pl.24 no.1]

Discussion
Both of the manuscript images seem to show the straps attached or integral to the back of the bag much like the York pouch (15739) discussed in Drawstring or tagged pouches.
A possible method of closing a satchel is suggested by the York find 15729. This is a short leather strip split and knotted at one end with a hole slit in the other. This could be attached by cutting two slits into the satchel flap and the hole end used to close over a bead or leather toggle. [MOULD, CARLISLE and CAMERON 2003: p.3401]

Birka Wallet

This type of bag is a folded wallet with multiple compartments on the inside. They were decorated with strips of gold plated leather, which was woven through the leather to form a checker board pattern. Along the edges were gold plated loops, 0.7cm long and 0.5cm wide.[GRAESLUND 1984]

Recreation Guide

800-899	900-979	980-1040	1041-1100
Allowable[Ve]			Unacceptable

This type of bag is so far unique to Birka, Sweden.[GRAESLUND 1984] Art
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Literature
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Archaeology

• Birka, Sweden. 4 definite and 20 possible examples of this type of bag were found in 23 graves at Birka. 7 were in men’s graves, 6 with women, 1 child, 6 unknown and 3 double graves. 16 contained coins. Two (BJ 808, 965) had fur on the inside. [GRAESLUND 1984]
• Frisia. A folded pouch was found in Roswinkel, Holland containing C9th coins.[GRAESLUND 1984:P.145]

Discussion
The position of the pouch in the grave suggests they were carried inside the clothing, not on the belt. Where dateable, they are from the JBS.[GRAESLUND 1984]

References

<nocite> GRAESLUND1984 GROENMAN1984 MOULD2003 OWEN-CROCKER2004 </nocite> <biblio force=false>#Template:Bib</biblio>