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BBC News
09-08-2025
- Science
- BBC News
Bolton Museum displays rare Roman sun hat following restoration
A 2,000-year-old hat intended to keep Roman soldiers cool in the heat of the desert following their conquest of Ancient Egypt has been painstakingly brought back to life. The artefact, believed to be one of only three similar headpieces remaining in the world, was held in storage at Bolton Museum for more than a century until a private donation led to its restoration. Conservator Jacqui Hyman said the felt hat was flat and moth-bitten when it was taken out of the box, and "sensitive treatment was paramount, due to its fragility"."This hat was made to be worn - but if only it could talk and tell us who made it and who wore it," she said. Historians at the museum estimate the head covering was made about 30BC for a member of the Roman military in Egypt following the death of Queen Cleopatra VII, when the ancient kingdom fell under the dominion of the Roman Empire. Similar to other hats used by Roman soldiers at the time, it is thought the headpiece was adapted to provide protection against sandstorms and the hot desert sun. English archaeologist Sir William Flinders Petrie - dubbed by many as the 'man who discovered Egypt - donated the hat to the now-demolished Chadwick Museum in Bolton in has subsequently come under the ownership of Bolton Museum, where it has gone on display for the first time following its by Bolton Council, the museum has a world-renowned collection of more than 12,000 Ancient Egyptian hat restoration was funded by a donation from Darwen-based electrical manufacturers hats from the same period can be seen in only two other museums around the world. One such hat is held at the Whitworth Art Gallery in Manchester, and the other at a museum in Florence, Italy. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
Yahoo
08-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Ancient Egyptian relic kept in storage for 100 years goes on display in Bolton
A rare Ancient Egyptian relic, dating back 2,000 years and which has been kept in storage for more than a century at Bolton Museum, has gone on display for the first time. The head covering - one of only three known to exist - has been conserved and is now on public display for the first time, thanks to the generosity of Darwen firm Ritherdon & Co. Ltd. The others are held at the Whitworth Art Gallery in Manchester and a museum in Florence, Italy. Bolton's hat is now considered the best-preserved example in the world. READ MORE: Bolton Museum to purchase Ancient Egyptian statue from owner Bolton Museum reveals King Tut's family life in Egypt collection tour Bolton Museum curator to study PhD in Egyptology Believed to have been made for a member of the Roman military after the conquest of Egypt following the death of Queen Cleopatra in 30 BC, the hat resembles other coverings from the Roman Empire circa 200 CE, though it appears to have been adapted for Egyptian conditions, such as intense sun and sandstorms. Conservator Jacqui Hyman smiles with the newly conserved hat © Ian Trumble Due to the organic woollen material and its age, the hat had deteriorated significantly, having suffered damage from pests and environmental factors; therefore, its extreme rarity means further research is now needed to unlock its full history. The piece was donated to Bolton's first museum, The Chadwick Museum - located in Queen's Park - in 1911 by Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie, a world-leading archaeologist in the late 19th and early 20th Century. Cllr Nadeem Ayub, Bolton Council's Executive Cabinet Member for Culture, said: "It's an incredible moment for Bolton to display such a rare and well-preserved item from ancient Egypt. 'The generosity of local businesses like Ritherdon & Co. Ltd. demonstrates how culture and community go hand-in-hand. 'This remarkable object not only tells a global story, but it also reminds us of the power our museums have to inspire future generations, right here in Bolton." The conservation of the hat was done by expert textile conservator Jacqui Hyman, who has worked on projects around the world - from museums to royalty, for almost five decades. Funding for the conservation was gifted by Ritherdon & Co. Ltd., a Darwen-based electrical enclosure manufacturer that has been part of the local landscape for over a century. Led by MD Ben Ritherdon, the company has expanded from traditional metalwork into modern EV infrastructure. Internationally renowned Egyptologist, Prof Joann Fletcher presents the Bolton Archaeology and Egyptology Society "Lotus Chalice Award" 2025 to Ritherdon & Co. Ltd, received by its Managing Director, Ben Ritherdon In recognition of their contribution, the Bolton Archaeology and Egyptology Society presented Ritherdon & Co. Ltd. with the Lotus Chalice Award, created in 2024 to honour outstanding contributions to Bolton's Egyptology collections. The award is presented annually to exceptional individuals, businesses, or organisations. Ben Ritherdon, Director of Ritherdon & Co. Ltd, said: 'It was so exciting to learn that we had such a rare and fascinating object right here on our doorstep, in Bolton Museum, and it was a privilege for us to be able to contribute to its conservation. 'With so many worthy causes for small businesses to support, it's important not to forget that regional educational and cultural organisations, like our local museums, also rely on businesses in their community.' Prof Joann Fletcher, internationally renowned Egyptologist, said: "It was such an honour to present this very special award to Ritherdon, whose generous donation has been vital in preserving a rare object. 'Their generosity really reflects the spirit of the award, recognising those making an outstanding contribution to Bolton's world-class Egyptian collection." Jacqui Hyman, Textile Conservator, said: "I had the unique privilege to handle and investigate the construction and conserve this very rare felt hat. 'Planning the appropriate and sensitive treatment was paramount due to its fragility. 'Damage by moths had resulted in areas of missing felt, but by supporting and stabilising these areas with similar hand-dyed fabric, the original shape of the hat was recreated. 'Suddenly, a flat, fragile, boxed item had come to life. 'This hat was made to be worn, but if only it could talk and tell us who made it and who wore it". The Roman hat will be on display in the entrance to the Bolton's Egypt galleries until September 2025, when it will move to a permanent display elsewhere in the museum.
CNN
12-07-2025
- General
- CNN
Giant 13-inch shoes found in ancient Roman fort near Hadrian's Wall
An ancient Roman mystery is afoot in the rolling hills of northern Britain. Archaeologists have unearthed a stash of unusually large shoes at the ruins of a first-century military fort along Hadrian's Wall, a 73-mile (117-kilometer) stone barrier that famously shielded the Roman Empire's northwestern perimeter from foreign invaders. The discovery is raising new questions about the lives and origins of the fort's inhabitants. The giant leather soles were found at Magna Fort in May among 34 pieces of footwear, including work boots and baby-sized shoes, that are helping to paint a picture of the 4,000 men, women and children who once lived in and around the English site just south of the Scottish border. Eight of the shoes are over 11.8 inches (30 centimeters) in length — a US men's size 13.5 or greater based on Nike's size chart — making them larger than average by today's standard and sparking suspicions that unusually tall troops may have guarded this particular fortress at the empire's edge. By contrast, the average ancient shoe found at a neighboring Roman fort was closer to a US men's size 8, according to a news release about the discovery. 'When the first large shoe started to come out of the ground, we were looking for many explanations, like maybe it's their winter shoes, or people were stuffing them, wearing extra socks,' recalled Rachel Frame, a senior archaeologist leading the excavation. 'But as we found more of them and different styles, it does seem to be that these (were) just people with really large feet.' As digging continues at Magna Fort, Frame said she hopes further investigation could answer who exactly wore these giant shoes. A basic sketch of the site's past is just starting to come together. When the Magna Fort was in use, multiple different Roman military troops and their families moved into the site every few years after it was built around AD 85, archaeologists suspect. Inscriptions on the fort's walls and altars recount settlements of Hamian archers from what is now Syria, Dalmatian mountain soldiers from Croatia and Serbia, and Batavians from the Netherlands, but the length of time each group stayed at the stronghold remains unknown. Likely following orders from the Roman army, the troops would often leave the fort for distant regions and in their haste, ditch shoes, clothing and other belongings in the surrounding trenches, Frame explained. Additionally, new occupants requiring more space would have built larger structures on top of the existing fort, packing rubble and clay between the walls and trapping any belongings left by the previous tenants, Frame said. 'As archaeologists, we like trash,' said Dr. Elizabeth Greene, an associate professor of classics at the University of Western Ontario. 'You get those habitational layers where things were just left behind, maybe forgotten about, and that tells us more about the space.' Greene has studied thousands of shoes collected from the nearby Vindolanda Roman Fort, which has been excavated since the 1970s and is among the most well-studied of the Roman forts along Hadrian's Wall. The recently discovered Magna shoes share some similarities with those in the Vindolanda Fort collection, said Greene, who was not involved in the Magna excavation process, but has viewed the artifacts. For one, the soles of the shoes from both sites are made from thick layers of cowhide leather held together with iron hobnails, she explained. While only a couple of the shoes discovered at Magna have some of the upper portions still intact, the Vindolanda Fort shoe styles include closed military boots and open work boots, as well as sneaker-like shoes reaching just below the ankle and sandals with leather fasteners. It's likely that the leather soles of the Magna shoes survived thousands of years in the ground thanks to ancient tanning techniques that used crushed up vegetative matter to create a water and heat resistant coating, Greene said. Testing is still underway to confirm this hypothesis. The length of the extra-large Magna shoes suggests the original owners may have been exceptionally tall, Greene said. At Vindolanda, only 16 out of the 3,704 shoes collected measured over 11.8 inches (30 centimeters). Ancient Roman military manuals often described the ideal recruit as being only 5 feet, 8 inches or 5 feet, 9 inches in height, according to Rob Collins, a professor of frontier archaeology at Newcastle University in England. But the soldiers stationed around Hadrian's Wall came from all around the far-reaching empire, bringing a wide diversity of physical traits to their settlements, he said. Still, why Magna specifically might have needed troops of towering stature remains unclear. To piece together the shoe owners' identities, researchers will examine the Magna shoes for any signs of wear, Frame said. Any foot impressions left in the shoes could be used to model the feet of the original wearers. Linking the shoes to real human remains, however, could prove difficult. For one, the Romans near Hadrian's Wall generally cremated their dead, using a headstone to mark the graves, Collins said. Any bones that remain around the settlements are likely from enemy, illegal or accidental burials. So far, the few bones that have been found at the Magna site were too soft and crumbly to provide insight, Frame said, but the team continues to search for new burial spots. Pottery and other artifacts found around the site may also help with dating and matching the timelines of the known occupants, she said. But the researchers worry they could be running out of time. The 2,000-year-old leather found at both the Vindolanda and Magna sites is preserved by the anaerobic, or low-oxygen, conditions of the soil, Frame said. The 34 shoes found at the Magna fort, however, are in worse condition than those retrieved from Vindolanda decades ago — a problem Frame attributes to the changing climate. Discover your world Go beyond the headlines and explore the latest scientific achievements and fascinating discoveries. Sign up for CNN's Wonder Theory science newsletter. 'The more our climate changes, the more we get heat waves and droughts, or months' worth of rain in one weekend type (of) scenarios, the more that influences the underground soil conditions and introduces more oxygen into these environments,' Frame explained. In oxygen-rich soil, microbes thrive, contributing to decay, and acidic pH levels erode natural materials like leather. Frame said the rapid weather changes only make their excavation of Magna more urgent. 'I'm not saying I don't get excited about the shiny objects and precious treasures, but for me, archaeology is about the story of everybody else … the stories of the people whose lives weren't written down, who weren't kings or emperors or famous heroes,' she said. 'These personal objects really put the real human people back into the picture.'
