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NDTV
7 days ago
- General
- NDTV
Huge 2,000-Year-Old Leather Shoe Unearthed Near Roman Fort: "Promising For Future Excavations"
A huge 2,000-year-old waterlogged leather shoe was unearthed by archaeologists while digging near the site of Magna, a Roman fort built along Hadrian's Wall around 112 AD. Hadrian's Wall was built to guard the wild north-west frontier of the Roman Empire. It stretched 73 miles from coast to coast. The shoe, belonging to a Roman soldier with massive feet, was found at the bottom of an ankle-breaker ditch, a deep defensive trench designed to trap attackers if they got that far. The size of the leather sole measured 12.6 inches from toe to heel, equivalent to men's size UK 13. The researchers found pottery and other smaller items, but three 2,000-year-old leather shoes, that were still intact, surprised them. The shoe will provide new data about manufacturing techniques and the people of that era. The volunteers for the Magna Project wrote on the excavation blog, "It's always exciting to find anything that hasn't been touched for 2000 years but a shoe is such a personal item; it really puts you in touch with the people who used to live at the fort." "This is really promising for our future excavations," Rachel Frame, a senior archaeologist for the dig project, wrote on the project's diary page. The researchers said they have a plan to expand their dig to inside the fort to look for other items of archaeological importance. The archaeologists who found it revealed that people were stunned after the discovery, as it "drew impressed gasps" when it was pulled from the ground. Two shoes were discovered on May 21. As mentioned in Magna Dig Diary 2025, archaeologists revealed that the other one had all of its sole layers intact, along with part of the heel area still attached. Most of the hobnails were there in the outer sole. "This gives us a really good look at how Roman shoes were made: multiple layers of leather were used to form the sole, held together with thongs, stitching and hobnails. These also reinforced the outer surface for walking and are found on many styles of shoe," Frame noted in the post. "Sadly, the toe area is missing meaning that we can only estimate its original size, but it was still clear this would have been a large shoe when complete," Frame added.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
2,000-year-old giant leather shoe 'immediately drew impressed gasps' after archaeologists pulled it from a ditch near a Roman fort in northern England
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Archaeologists have unearthed an enormous leather shoe while digging at the bottom of an "ankle-breaker" defensive ditch at a Roman fort in northern England. The shoe and other leather goods from the fort, called Magna, are providing new information about shoe manufacturing techniques and the people who wore them almost 2,000 years ago. "A shoe is such a personal item; it really puts you in touch with the people who used to live at the fort," one of the volunteers for the Magna Project wrote on the excavation blog. After the construction of Hadrian's Wall, built around A.D. 122 to demarcate the northern extent of the Roman Empire, the Roman army took over and expanded small forts in Britain. Magna — also known as Carvoran — is part of this series of forts along the wall. It is situated about 7 miles (11 kilometers) west of Vindolanda, the large Roman auxiliary fort that's well known for the remarkable preservation of writing tablets, military medals and leather shoes. In late March, archaeologists began excavating the defensive ditches, banks and ramparts outside the north wall of Magna. According to Magna Project senior archaeologist Rachel Frame, at the bottom of one ditch, they discovered an "ankle-breaker" — a narrow, deep trench that, when obscured by water, would cause an enemy soldier to catch his foot, which would then break his ankle and trap him. Within the ditch, the archaeologists and volunteers discovered three shoes and scrap leather that were preserved for centuries by the oxygen-free environment. "This is really promising for our future excavations," Frame said in a YouTube video, as they plan to expand their dig to inside the fort to look for timber buildings. Related: Roman-era 'fast food' discovered in ancient trash heap on Mallorca Two of the shoes, which were discovered on May 21, are in good condition. One has part of a heel attached and hobnails on the bottom of the sole. "This gives us a really good look at how Roman shoes were made," Frame wrote in the excavation blog. "Multiple layers of leather were used to form the sole, held together with thongs, stitching and hobnails." But because the toe area was missing, they could not estimate its size. RELATED STORIES —2,000-year-old bed barricade unearthed in Pompeii house — likely a family's last attempt to escape Vesuvius' eruption —Smooth wooden phallus found at a Roman fort was likely a sex toy —Infant twins buried together in Roman Croatia may have died from lead poisoning A second shoe, found at the very bottom of the ankle-breaker, was intact and "immediately drew impressed gasps" from everyone on site, Frame wrote. The sole measures 12.6 inches (32 centimeters) long, which is the equivalent of a men's U.S. 14 or U.K. 13 size shoe today. "Could this one be the largest in the Vindolanda Trust collection? We certainly look forward to finding out!" Frame wrote. The shoes and other scraps will now be studied by a leather specialist, to try to learn more about who may have worn the enormous shoe and who lived and worked at Magna in Roman times.
