What were ancient roman balls made of?

Answer 1

The ancient Romans had many different ball games and the composition of the balls would depend on how they were going to be used. In games where no or little bounce was necessary, such as Field Hockey or Trigon or a strictly tossing game, the balls would be made of tightly compressed wool or linen and hair wrapped in string. Another favorite was chopped sponges wrapped in string and cloth. For games that required a bounce, they would use inflated pig or other animal bladders, and this was wrapped tightly in leather or some other animal skin. Animal sinew wound into a ball and wrapped in leather was another option.