Latest news with #MagnaProject
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Archaeologists Find Huge, Well-Preserved Roman-Era Shoe
At the ancient Roman fort of Magna, archaeologists have found a large, immaculately preserved Roman-era shoe, according to the Magna Rooman Fort Project.' During ongoing excavations at the site located in Northumberland, England, near Hadrian's Wall, researchers came across a Roman-era leather shoe measuring 12.6 inches, which is a modern men's size 13–14. It's one of the largest shoes to be recorded so far in the Vindolanda Trust, which compiles all Roman footwear found to date. "The sheer size of the shoe and guesses about who could have worn it dominated the conversation," said Rachel Frame, a senior archaeologist with the Magna Project "Could this one be the largest in the Vindolanda Trust collection? We certainly look forward to finding out!' The shoe is actually one of several found during the excavation, all of which were remarkably well-preserved thanks to the oxygen-poor conditions which slowed the leather's decomposition. While the large shoe had only one sole layer, other pieces of footwear recovered contained several sole layers, allowing researchers to chart the evolution of ancient Roman footwear. The heel of the large shoe remained almost completely intact, allowing an unprecedented look at the craftsmanship. "Multiple layers of leather were used to form the sole, held together with thongs, stitching, and hobnails,' Frame said. 'These also reinforced the outer surface for walking and are found on many styles of shoe."Adding a bit more mystery to the discovery is the fact that the largest shoe was found in an 'ankle-breaker' trench, which was designed to fell oncoming enemies. Scientists will conduct further research to determine how the soldier lost his shoe, whether in a violent incident or a willful abandonment. A volunteer archaeologist identified as Jo, who assisted in the excavation of two shoes, was overcome with the magnitude of the discoveries. "It's always exciting to find anything that hasn't been touched for 2,000 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." Archaeologists Find Huge, Well-Preserved Roman-Era Shoe first appeared on Men's Journal on Jun 21, 2025
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Miami Herald
02-07-2025
- General
- Miami Herald
‘Exceptionally large' shoe among more than 30 found preserved at Roman fort
Nearly 2,000 years ago, the Romans began their conquest of Britain. The time between when Roman boats landed on British shores in 43 A.D. to the establishment of their empire's northern border was less than a century, and by 122 A.D. Emperor Hadrian ordered the construction of a wall across modern-day England. Today, Hadrian's Wall spans 73 miles and teaches archaeologists and historians about the daily lives of soldiers, forts and trade centers of Roman-era Britain. One of these sites is Magna Fort, located along one of the most complete sections of the famed wall — and archaeologists have just made a 'large' discovery. Excavations of the northern defensive ditches of Magna Fort have revealed 32 shoes buried in the 'semi-anaerobic low oxygen deposits,' according to a July 2 news release from the Vindolanda Charitable Trust, which is in charge of the five-year project. The shoes were abnormally sized, including one 'exceptionally large' shoe first reported in the Magna Dig Diary in May, according to the release. The shoe is 12.6 inches long, roughly a UK size 13/14 or US size 15/16, archaeologists said. '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,' according to the release. 'Eight shoes from Magna are now recorded as (11.8 inches) or over in length and this includes one which holes the current record for being the Trust's largest shoe at (12.8 inches) long.' The shoes found at another Hadrian's Wall fort, Vinvolanda, have very few shoes that large, but one-fourth of the shoes found at Magna are classed as 'xx-large,' archaeologists said. 'I think there is something very different going on here at Magna, even from this small sample uncovered it is clear that these shoes are much larger on average than most of the Vindolanda collection,' Elizabeth Greene, shoe specialist and associate professor at the University of Western Ontario, said in the release. When the shoes go through the conservation process, like those at Vindolanda have, they have the possibility of shrinking up to 0.4 inches, but even with that shrinkage the Magna shoes would still be larger, Greene said. The other 75% of shoes found at Magna ranged in size, including shoes small enough to fit children, according to the trust. 'Organic finds like this are some of the most precious to come from our sites,' senior archaeologist for the Magna Project, Rachel Frame, said in the release, but officials are worried about how climate change will impact the well-preserved organic material yet to be found. Magna Fort is in Brampton, in northern England, just south of Scotland.
NDTV
15-06-2025
- 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.
