Thorsberg Linen Trousers

Description of the Product

Thorsberg bog is on the Jutland peninsula in the territory of present-day Germany, near the border between Denmark and Germany. Angles who lived in the area buried sacrificial offerings in this peat bog for more than four centuries, and many important archeological finds have been found in the bog. Artifacts from both Romans and Germanic tribes have been found in the bog. These trousers are replicas made after trousers found in the bog. Original pants were used and buried during the 3th or 4th Century CE. This was the era of the beginning of the Migration Period and later half towards the end of the Roman Empire.

Thorsberg ´Thor's hill´ was a place of worship for the god Thor during the Viking Age, but it's not known whether the objects buried in the bog as offerings from 100 BCE to 500 CE were made specifically to Thor. Thor's hammer symbol has been found on several objects in the bog, but of course other gods were also worshiped at the time.

These pants were most probably owned by a Germanic or Scandinavian tribesman. The original Thorsberg pants had quite modern-looking belt loops at the waist and a leather belt was most likely used to keep the original pants up, but with our pants you get a linen fabric belt so you can wear your pants straight from the box without a need to go belt shopping right away. A simple rope also works well as a belt if you want simpler and rougher look.

The original trousers had a somewhat tight fit, narrowing towards the ankle, and similarly these pants also have tight fit with narrow legs. The original pants had integrated socks attached directly to the trousers. Socks naturally wear out quickly, so the sock part of the original trousers must have had to be patched often. We decided to leave the integrated socks out from our version, keeping the pants more versatile, fitting better on most people and you also won't see this difference when wearing shoes.

The shape of these pants don't restrict any movements. The pattern of the trousers and the tailor's skills have been exceptionally good for the time. We don't typically think of complex clothing patterns, sophistication in textile production and tailoring when talking about clothes of Antiquity. It took sophisticated craftsmanship to make the original trousers. The original trousers preserved in the anaerobic conditions of the bog were an important discovery as organic material like textiles decay quickly and we don't have very much reliable information or surviving examples about clothing of the distant past.

The linen these trousers are made of is soft to the touch but still durable and breaths very well. Linen is naturally absorbent and dries faster than cotton. Baltic linen is grown in the Baltic and Nordic countries where long cold winters around the Baltic Sea make this plant and its fibers strong and durable. Properties that our ancestors appreciated.

• Trouser model copied from original bog discovery
• Original trousers were used during Migration period and end half of the Roman Empire
• Suits well for Viking and Early Medieval reenactment, but also good for Medieval characters
• Material is sturdy and durable 100% Baltic linen
• Available sizes: S, M, L, XL, XXL and XXXL
• Belt loops at the waist, like on the original
• Includes a linen fabric belt, but you can also use a leather or rope belt
• Manufacturer: Karhunhammas–Beartooth