First century belts with apron

The Roman military belt was a status symbol for the Roman soldiers. It also seems to have been a very fashionable item, as we see many styles of metal beltplates along the archeological record. In the 2nd half of the 1st century belt plates shift to square designs. As a result the narrow belts (typically 3 cm) get replaced with broader ons (4-5cm typically) and the apron becomes more common. Therefore, when constructing a first century military belt I always take the following considerations into account:

• The type of construction: double layered softer layer with a linnen core and decorative stitching OR a single layer of thicker (3,5+mm leather)
• Number of beltplates and it’s design: it is my believe, based on the remains of complete sets, that 4-7 plates is typical.
• Pugio suspention system or not: as I believe the pugio was less common than seen in re-enactment
• Apron or not?

Here some examples of military belts with apron I constructed. Note that I do not make the metalwork myself. These is supplied by third parties.