Ancient Romans made their imprint on fashion in myriad ways, and some footprints quite literally stand out amongst the rest. Several pairs of unusually large Roman shoes will be on display at the Roman Army Museum in Brampton, England, beginning Feb. 7.
In 2025, 34 shoes were uncovered at the Magna Roman Fort in Northumberland, reported BBC, citing archaeologist Rachel Frame. And eight of these dug up shoes measured at least 30cm, or 11.8 inches, in length, which equals a U.K. size 13 to 14. Per Roman archaeology expert Dr. Elizabeth Greene, only about four or five measured that size of the 5,000 found at the nearby Vindolanda settlement in Hexham over the course of the last 55 years.
Ancient Roman shoes from the Magna Fort dig.
VindolandaTrust
It’s obvious that the leather shoes were for tall people, according to Frame, but it isn’t known exactly why these people of larger stature were stationed at the fort.
“We know that certain parts of the Roman world would have specialist regiments recruited into the army because they have a particular skillset — whether that’s in horse riding or archery,” Frame said.
“So potentially we’ve got a more specialist unit at the site [for whom] it was advantageous to be taller,” she said.
Additional excavations could bring answers, Frame communicated, with the team hoping to find alters — tombstones frequently included the units soldiers belonged to. What could also be helpful is searching for objects linked to specific cultural practices brought from the soldiers’ homelands. These breakthroughs won’t happen until the last two years of the dig, beginning in April.
“We [will be] inside the fort and going down through all the different phases,” she said. “That’s where those objects are most likely to come from.”
A look at one of the first shoes found during the Magna Fort Dig in May 2025. It is one of three the team found so far.
Roman Army Museum / BBC
The first unexpectedly giant shoe, measuring 32cm, was reported in the Magna Dig Diary on May 21, and many more ancient shoes were subsequently unearthed, including those of the larger variety. Discover more about the Magna Fort in the video below featuring Dr. Elizabeth Greene.
