Thousands of leather shoes revealed in key archaeological discovery
Experts say the recent discovery of around 5,000 ancient leather shoes provide us with an amazing insight into the lives of the men, women and children who lived at the Magna Roman Fort.
The northern outpost’s remarkable collection was recently unearthed by The Vindolanda Charitable Trust. It includes tiny baby booties, elaborate summer sandals and marching boots.
These ancient artefacts certainly captivate the imagination about the sort of people who wore them nearly 2,000 years ago. The five year excavation project was funded with support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
The Trust’s archaeologists is been excavating the northern defensive ditches of the Fort. They’re being supported by teams of volunteers from across the world.
Experts explain that when the semi-anaerobic low oxygen deposits within the ditches were reached, the first of 32 shoes were uncovered.
It soon became apparent that some of these shoes were very large. The first exceptionally large shoe measures a whacking 32cm – that’s the equivalent of a UK size equalling a 13/14!
And the leather shoe sole is attracting a lot of attention with its length ranking it as one of the largest in the Trust’s collection.
As news spread of this giant single shoe, the team continued to discover more ancient shoes, several more of them being of an exceptional size.
Dr Elizabeth Greene with a size 16 Magna shoe. Image: © The Vindolanda Trust
‘Organic finds like this are some of the most precious’
Eight shoes from Magna are now recorded as 30cm or over in length and this includes one which holds the current record for being the Trust’s largest shoe at 32.6cm long. That’s a whopping Size 16.
From the shoes uncovered to date at Magna, around a quarter are classed as Size 14.
‘I think there is something very different going on here at Magna,’ explains University of Western Ontario’s Dr Elizabeth Greene.
‘Even from this small sample uncovered it is clear that these shoes are much larger on average than most of the Vindolanda collection.’
‘Although we are comparing this new Magna collection which has not yet gone through the conservation process with the Vindolanda shoes that have, even taking into account a maximum shrinkage of up to 1cm/10mm, it still means these shoes are very large indeed.’
Every shoe in the Vindolanda Trust’s collection is unique, each one giving us an immediate connection with the person who wore it. In addition to the extra-large shoes, the Magna collection includes a range of footwear for children.
‘Organic finds like this are some of the most precious to come from our sites, which capture the imagination of visitors and volunteers alike, but they are also the most at risk from our changing climate,’ says Rachel Frame, Senior Archaeologist at the Magna Project.
‘There is much more to discover about the people who lived at Magna and to understand about the impact climate change is having on this hugely important historical resource.’
Magna big shoe Image: © The Vindolanda Trust
‘We can only celebrate and marvel’
She adds the Magna project’s been realised thanks to the support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
‘It reminds us that not every population was the same, that wide variations between the regiments and people who served along Hadrian’s Wall, could be cultural and physical,’ says Dr Andrew Birley, the Trust’s CEO and Director of Excavations.
‘Without artefacts like these wonderful shoes from Magna and Vindolanda, it would be almost impossible to know information like this.’
‘We can only celebrate and marvel at the diversity and differences of these people if we can still see them in the archaeological data we gather today.’
The Trust’s archaeologists is been excavating the northern defensive ditches of the Fort.
Image: © The Vindolanda Trust.
