Roman Workbench?

[Kees Heiden]

Well, I don't see the legs of the chair, not even faintly. I only see the bench legs. And his foot is indeed pointed in the direction of the viewer, but maybe that was just the typical akward position people are often painted in in old paintings? Not really important, as I agree with you, they are often pictured throughout the ages sitting on the bench too.

Another funny detail, it looks like he has a bow-drill lying on the floor in front of the bench.

[Warren Mickley]

Yes there is a bow drill on the floor along with a Roman adze (or adze-plane). This tool had a curved handle and like a plane iron bound to the handle with an strap. It was pulled along the surface of a board for what we would call rough planing, a nearly flat blade but used the way we would use a scorp, not for chopping. There are pictures showing both this kind of adze and a plane in the same drawing.

I posted a picture of this Roman fresco on Woodcentral in 2012, but I didn't notice the legs of the stool he was sitting on until yesterday. One leg starts at the lowest point of the worker's toga; the other leg starts where his left calf meets the bottom of the bench. You can count the toes on his left foot and his right leg comes under the bench in front of the rear bench leg.

[Kees Heiden]

Yes now I see it! Sorry for being so dense.

[Noah Magnuson]

Yeah, I remembered him sitting on the ground until I went back and looked at the pic. It is faint, but clearly some kind of stool/chair. Like us, I am sure they used different benches for different things.

[William Fretwell]

Not sure I found the right video's. Faces only, dreadful sound, nothing happening. I did get to see the 'Roman' bench at least.
Looks like a bench you build when you get somewhere, rather than carry it with you. I built one very like it way north at civilisations edge with a chain saw, axe and an antique hand auger I carry. A bench in under an hour! Material cost.....zero! The spruce trees there take 200 years to get to a foot across so the wood is rather good.

Clearly the Romans were way ahead of me. Mine was waist height; just like the Romans.

[steven c newman]

One more tidbit for the nit pickers to go after.....C. Schwarz also claims the same LOW bench is in use nowadays in Estonia......might want to check on that, too....

[steven c newman]

So, what did their workbenches look like?