Mystery over 'unusually large' Roman shoes

Unusually large shoes discovered at a Roman fort have left archaeologists baffled.

Earlier this year, 32 shoes were dug up at the Magna Roman Fort in Northumberland, eight of which were at least 30cm (11.8in) long - the equivalent of a UK size 13 to 14.

In comparison, of the 5,000 discovered at the nearby Vindolanda settlement in Hexham over the past 55 years, just four or five were that large, according to Roman archaeology expert Dr Elizabeth Greene.

Archaeologist Rachel Frame said it was still too early to explain the mystery behind the eight large shoes.

Ms Frame said the leather shoes had all been found in a defensive ditch, which the Romans also used as rubbish dumps.

The largest found at Magna Roman Fort was 32.6cm (12.8in) long, she said.

She said there were several theories surrounding their origin.

"We have to assume it's something to do with the people living here, having bigger feet, being potentially taller but we don't know," she said.

"Are the people living there from a specific region? Could that be why their shoes are so much larger? But at the moment, it's sort of, well, this is unusual."

The team knows very little about the shoes, other than the fact they are likely to be close to 2,000 years old.

Later this year, it will analyse pottery found in the same soil layers as the shoes to help determine which time period they are from.

This can be achieved in several ways, Ms Frame said, including looking at the style of the pottery and checking whether those styles were produced at certain times.

Beyond the large shoes, the team also found children's shoes at the site.

Ms Frame said the team hoped to have a better idea of who was living there at different time periods following more analysis.

So many shoes have been found at both Vindolanda and Magna Roman Fort because of their ground conditions, Ms Frame said.

Due to low oxygen conditions in the soil at the sites, the leather shoes have been preserved for centuries.

The team also recently found a wooden hair comb on the site.

"It looks like a modern day knit comb," said Ms Frame.