J - 149 : Silk - Worth its Weight in Gold

Roman Nobles loved to dress in Silk. It was a Status Symbol like no other and astronomically expensive

Amongst the precious goods Roman cargo ships brought from the Levant to the port of Pozzuoli was silk. Like today, silk was shipped in bales. 100 yards of a 45 inches wide fabric (1.15 meters) rolled up on a long stick. At a density of 8 momme (silk quality standard measure), one square yard of silk weights one ounce or 28.35 grams. Our 45 inches wide silk band thus weights 5/4 x 28.35 g x 100 = 3.54 kilogram. Silk at 8 momme is translucent though. For a lady's dress, one needs twice the weight or 80 grams per square yard. Such a dress requires 3 – 5 yards of silk, a ball gown up to 8 yards. A simple silk dress weights 240 – 400 grams, a ball gown 640 grams.

Roman Silk Dresses are still made in the United States - found this on a Marketing website

Readers may wonder why I calculate the weight of a silk dress. The answer is simple. The price of silk in Rome was equivalent to the price of gold. Silk clothes were extremely expensive - only available for the top of Roman society. Assuming an exchange ratio of 1 : 10 for gold to silver (I know it was sometimes 1 : 12) means that a 400 gram silk dress could easily cost 1’000 denarii (1 denarius was 4 grams of silver). What an amount! A Roman Legionnaire earned 450 denarii a year, 1’000 denarii would buy you 400 gallons of grain or 67 pairs of solid boots. A male slave was 650 denarii. If you were the Empress and had to wear purple, the silk cost you the tiny fortune of 100’000 denarii a pound.

AI generated Photo of "Royal Purple in History" - You were beheaded if you wore purple but were not from the Imperial Household

The value of silk was astronomical. A boat sailing with 100 bales of silk would carry a fortune of 875'000 denarii - for silk alone. The entire cargo must have been worth millions. A villa in Rome’s most prestigious neighborhood was 500’000 denarii "only". Roman merchants could get rich – or lose a lot of money - quickly. It is no wonder that they developed sophisticated financial instrument to finance their long-distance trade. Trade finance was available with profit sharing features instead of a fixed coupon. So was maritime insurance in case of loss of ship or cargo. Some policies had risk sharing features and did not have to be paid if the ship was lost. Covered in one of my previous blogs how the passengers on Apostle’s Paul’s ship threw the cargo overboard to survive when they got caught by a ten-days storm.

The Silk Trade from China to Rome required 4 Ocean Crossings and Dozens of Middlemen

Whilst silk was already expensive in China where it was exclusively produced in Roman time, its prices did not reach Roman levels. Am sure that the middlemen in the long journey from Canton to Rome took a sizeable cut. But I believe silk got really expensive in Palmyra, the oasis town now located in the east of Syria.

Han China developed Silk as an Imperial Industy and exported finished Goods - the photo above is an Emperor's Gown which probably was not exported but shows their embroidery

Last time I heard about Palmyra was in 2015 when the site was taken over by Islamic State militants who systematically destroyed and looted it. They blew up the Arch of Triumph , the Temple of Bal and 3 tower tombs. It is estimated that the savages destroyed 1/3 of the site before it was reconquered by Syrian forces in 2017. Whether it ever will been rebuilt is to be seen. Syria, which lies in ruins, has other priorities than ancient sites.

The Arch of Triumph does not stand any longer - It was blown up by Islamic State in 2015

Before Palmyra was overrun, German archeologists made some very important discoveries which re-shape our understanding of the Chinese – Roman silk trade. They found several ancient silk fragments which revealed upon scientific examination a history not known so far.

These fragments are from a recently excavated Roman Site in Israel. a) Wool, b) Linen, c - e) Cotton, f) Silk

China exported finished products with decorations and embroiled with Chinese letters. These original products were completely unraveled and rewoven in Palmyra (and probably other Roman cities in the east).

A Modern Chinese Silk Dress with Classic Embroidery

The new textiles were thinner, shinier and more transparent ( depending on their momme) and perfectly suited for the Roman dress codes with toga, tunica and stola. Easy to wear. it kept people cool during the hot Mediterranean summers. Of course, this time and skill intensive re-manufacturing ballooned the silk price even further. From Palmyra the "new" textiles moved to the Levant, where some got dyed in royal purple for Imperial Use. During the 1^st century AD, owning a silk toga with purple stripes was a must for any member of the ruling class.

Artist Impression of Roman Dresses inspired by Frescos from Pompeii and Herculaneum

Am now not surprised about the size of Palmyra any longer. Often wondered why this oasis was so large and wealthy given that it was only a way-station from the Euphrates to the Mediterranean. But it was more. Emperor Diocletian whom we know for his prosecution of Christians and his Fortress Palace in Split, built a big camp in Palmyra. It underlines the town's strategic value. But Palmyra was far more than a garrison against the Parthians. It was a wealthy commercial, manufacturing center and a big source of taxable income. Definitely worth defending - for anybody.

Map of ancient Palmyra - a Town way too big for being just an Oasis