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Would the skins have been tanned or rawhide? The author seems to imply tanned. In practical purposes, would there be a major difference between the two in terms of leakage or taste?
Sallust Bellum Jugurthinum 91 states that Marius had distributed cattle among the men and then had them make water skins with the hides. This had to be rawhide since tanning takes almost two years.
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The author seems to think neither tanned nor rawhide, but cured. "A water skin may be cured by oiling and/or salting but, not being a tanned leather product, it must be treated carefully." (p. 270)
Which makes sense to me. I don't think leather is a very ideal medium for water storage, and rawhide would putrefy.
Nate Hanawalt
"Bonum commune communitatis"