Why Are So Many Enormous Roman Shoes Being Discovered At Hadrian's Wall?

We often assume our ancestors were smaller than us – and usually, it’s true. Out on the northern fringes of the Roman Empire, however, there appears to have been a small population of giants standing guard some 2,000 years ago – at least, if their shoes are anything to go by.

“I think there is something very different going on here at Magna,” said Elizabeth Greene, Associate Professor of Classics at the University of Western Ontario and shoe specialist at the Vindolanda Charitable Trust, in a statement this week. “Even from this small sample uncovered it is clear that these shoes are much larger on average than most of the Vindolanda collection.”

Vindolanda may not be a name you’re familiar with, but you’ll probably have heard of the place it's found: it’s a fort on Hadrian’s Wall, in the north of England, near what was once the border between Roman Britannia and the wild and untamed Caledonia.

Today, the Wall lies entirely in England – but it still holds a wealth of archaeological treasure hailing from the Roman frontierspeople who once lived there. A few years ago, for example, excavators uncovered a 1,700-year-old dick pic – carved apparently in anger over some guy named Secundinus. This year, however, appears to be the year of the shoe: last month, the first few giant shoes were discovered, and now, the collection of ancient footwear has exploded.

In total, something like 5,000 leather shoes have been uncovered – men’s, women’s, babies’; soldiers’ and civilians’; from summer sandals to sturdy boots. The newest collection of finds totals 32 shoes – and they certainly stick out from the rest. Kind of literally, actually: eight shoes have been found with soles measuring longer than 30 centimeters (12 inches), roughly a UK men's size 12 or US 13. The record-holding largest one in the collection measures 32.6 cm (12.8 inches) – that’s a UK size 16, and a US men’s 17.

Those are some big-ass feet. “Although we are comparing this new Magna collection, which has not yet gone through the conservation process, with the Vindolanda shoes that have,” Greene said, “even taking into account a maximum shrinkage of up to 1cm/10mm, it still means these shoes are very large indeed.”

It’s a fun and evocative glimpse into the past – but archaeologists warn we shouldn’t take such turnups for granted. “Organic finds like this are some of the most precious to come from our sites, which capture the imagination of visitors and volunteers alike,” said Rachel Frame, Senior Archaeologist at the Magna Project, the five-year archeological project through which this excavation was run. “But they are also the most at risk from our changing climate.” 

The quality of the shoes discovered at Vindolanda is owed in a large part to the semi-anaerobic conditions of the waterlogged mud in the area. It’s an extremely fragile ecosystem, and intense heat or rainfall – both of which are becoming more frequent, strong, and overall likely to occur thanks to climate change – could disrupt it significantly.

These thousands of shoes – small and extra-extra-large alike – “really [show] us what is at risk if climate change continues to rob us of such vital information,” said Andrew Birley, the Trust’s CEO and Director of Excavations. “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.” 

“Without artefacts like these wonderful shoes from Magna and Vindolanda, it would be almost impossible to know information like this,” Birley added. “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.”