Northern England dig reveals rare 2,000-year-old leather shoe

Archaeologists working in northern England have uncovered an extraordinary find - a huge leather shoe.

A remarkable discovery of a huge leather shoe has been made while excavating an “ankle-breaker” defensive ditch at Magna, a Roman fort in northern England. Alongside other leather artifacts, this find offers fresh insights into ancient shoemaking techniques and the daily lives of the fort’s inhabitants nearly 2,000 years ago, Caliber.Az reports via Live Science.

“A shoe is such a personal item; it really puts you in touch with the people who used to live at the fort,” a volunteer from the Magna Project reflected on the excavation blog.

Magna, also known as Carvoran, was one of several forts expanded by the Roman army after the construction of Hadrian’s Wall around A.D. 122, which marked the northern frontier of the Roman Empire. The fort lies about 7 miles (11 kilometers) west of Vindolanda, famed for its exceptional preservation of Roman-era writing tablets, military medals, and leather footwear.

Excavations began in late March on the defensive ditches and ramparts outside Magna’s northern wall. Rachel Frame, senior archaeologist for the Magna Project, explained that the team uncovered an “ankle-breaker” — a narrow, deep trench designed to be hidden under water to trap invading soldiers by breaking their ankles.

Within this ditch, archaeologists and volunteers found three shoes and leather scraps, all remarkably preserved due to the oxygen-free environment.

“This is really promising for our future excavations,” said Frame, revealing plans to extend the dig inside the fort in search of timber buildings.

Two of the shoes, found on May 21, are in good condition. One retains part of its heel and hobnails in the sole.

“This gives us a really good look at how Roman shoes were made,” Frame wrote on the project’s blog. “Multiple layers of leather were used to form the sole, held together with thongs, stitching and hobnails.” Unfortunately, the missing toe section prevented the team from determining the shoe’s size.

A second shoe, discovered at the ditch’s very bottom, was intact and “immediately drew impressed gasps” from everyone present, Frame said. Its sole measures 12.6 inches (32 centimeters), roughly equivalent to a men’s US size 14 or UK size 13 shoe today.

“Could this one be the largest in the Vindolanda Trust collection? We certainly look forward to finding out!” Frame added.

The shoes and other leather fragments will be examined by specialists to learn more about their owners and the community that lived and worked at Magna during the Roman era.

By Naila Huseynova