In ancient history, tanning was considered a noxious or "odiferous trade" and relegated to the outskirts of town, amongst the poor. Indeed, tanning by ancient methods is so foul smelling that tanneries are still isolated from those towns today where the old methods are used. The ancients used leather for waterskins, bags, harnesses, boats, armor, quivers, scabbards, boots and sandals. Around 2500 BC, the Sumerians began using leather, affixed by copper studs, on chariot wheels. Skins typically arrived at the tannery dried stiff and dirty with soil and gore. First, the ancient tanners would soak the skins in water to clean and soften them. Then they would pound and scour the skin to remove any remaining flesh and fat. Next, the tanner needed to remove the hair fibers from the skin. This was done by either soaking the skin in urine, painting it with an alkaline lime mixture, or simply letting the skin putrefy for several months then dipping it in a salt solution. After the hair fibers were loosened, the tanners scraped them off with a knife. Once the hair was removed, the tanners would bate the material. The process of bating is done to modify the structure of the skin so that the resulting leather is soft, supple and receptive to the fast tannin dye, this is accomplished by pounding dung into the skin or soaking the skin in a solution of animal brains. Among the kinds of dung commonly used were that of dogs or pigeons. Sometimes the dung was mixed with water in a large vat, and the prepared skins were kneaded in the dung water until they became supple, but not too soft. The ancient tanner might use his bare feet to knead the skins in the dung water, and the kneading could last two or three hours.It was this combination of urine, animal feces and decaying flesh that made ancient tanneries so odiferous. Children employed as dung gatherers were a common sight in ancient cities. Also common were "piss-pots" located on street corners, where human urine could be collected for use in tanneries or by washerwomen. In some variations of the process, cedar oil, alum, or tannin were applied to the skin as a tanning agent. As the skin was stretched, it would lose moisture and absorb the agent. Leftover leather would be turned into glue. Tanners would place scraps of hides in a vat of water and let them deteriorate for months. The mixture would then be placed over afire to boil off the water to produce hide glue.Leather Shop Job Descriptions
(1-2 Volunteers per night)
- Shopowner and assistant -- share the process of making leather to visitors while performing some of the tasks typically involved in the leather-making process
Donations Needed Nightly:
Roman soldier sandals
Harnesses used on animals (for display)
Donations Needed:
Animal skins
Sacks (assorted)
Satchels
Whips
Belts
Mallets
Scrappers
Water buckets