Kempten - The Roman summer in the Archaeological Park Cambodunum came to an end last Sunday in bright sunshine.
The master shoemaker Stefan von der Heide impressively demonstrated the craftsmanship of historical shoe replicas and the Ferdinande puppet theater brought the bathing establishment in the small thermal baths back to life for the younger guests.
There was no big Roman festival this year, as in previous years before the pandemic. Instead, small festivities on the weekends under the motto “Roman Summer” invited visitors to immerse themselves in the ancient world of the Romans.
60 to 80 sole nails were hammered into the sole of the Caligae, the so-called marching boots of the Roman military, explained the trained master shoemaker Stefan von der Heide. The name Caligae was often used to describe a type of sandal that was made from one piece with the sole. For 25 years he has been recreating historical shoes from ancient times, late ancient times and the early Middle Ages, told von der Heide. Bathing shoes, sandals and boots. First the ancient finds are drawn; the sketches then serve as a template for the replicas. The tailor-made production of such shoes based on the old, classic model takes about one to 14 days, the shoemaker said. These Roman shoes are still in demand today, for example by actors in the Roman field. He vividly explainedhow the ancient Romans made their shoes. The manual production does not require a lot of force, but the technology is decisive.
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The master shoemaker Stefan von der Heide talked entertainingly about bygone times while he was making Roman shoe replicas.
© Reder
The shoes were mostly made in one piece from a piece of goatskin.
The separate sole was cut by hand, smoothed with wood and then sewn on with pitch wire or pig bristles.
The leather was tanned with vegetable substances to give the shoes different colors and to prevent the feet from freezing.
Leather that is inherited from plants has a low conductivity, explained the master shoemaker.
"Good mountain boots, for example, are tanned with vegetable materials."
While Stefan von der Heide was sewing his replica shoes together with needle and thread, he told which shoes the Romans wore for which occasion. For example, they used wooden sandals in the bathing establishment, sandals without nails in closed rooms and nailed shoes and boots outside. The nails provided the necessary slip resistance and abrasion resistance, according to the shoemaker. Needle-tied wool socks also provided the shoes with warmth or cooling for the feet. "The shoe nailing originated in the first century BC," explained von der Heide. This made it easy to understand how the Romans conquered the Alps. "You just followed the nail trail."
The little visitors were also able to try their hand at this craftsmanship and on a nail anvil they were able to drive nails into prefabricated soles.
Another experience awaited the children in the small thermal baths, which also provided exciting information about the bathing culture in Roman antiquity for adults.
With their puppet theater "Ferdinande", Anke Leupold and Elke Gehring illustrated the meaning and purpose of the bathing establishment of the Roman governor.
Two friends, the eagle owl Schuhu and the Allgäu poet Josef Guggenmos, asked the architect Vitruvius and Flavius, the thermal bath tenant, to tell them how the bathing establishment was used 2000 years ago.
For example, the Romans did not yet have soap.
Instead, olive oil was applied to the skin, which was then used to pull the dirt off the skin together with a “curry comb”, a kind of small wooden spoon.
The bathing establishment was a popular meeting place and visiting the thermal baths was often part of the daily routine.
The Roman wellness bath already had several smaller pools with different temperatures and also a cold water bath.
The lively puppet theater let the little guests listen attentively to the narrators.
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