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Volunteers were baffled recently when they unearthed not one but two ancient shoes at a historic British site.
The discoveries were made at Magna, an Ancient Roman fort in Northumberland, in late May. The Roman Army Museum, located near the fort in Brampton, made the announcement.
Photographs show volunteers holding the remarkably preserved leather shoes, which have maintained their form despite being buried for 2,000 years.
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A volunteer named Jo found the first shoe, which “seems to have all of its sole layers intact,” the organization said.
The shoe’s heel area is still attached to it; its outer sole still contains hobnails. Officials said the find sheds light on how these shoes were crafted.
“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 [leather strips], stitching and hobnails,” the Roman Army Museum said.
“These also reinforced the outer surface for walking and are found on many styles of shoe.”
“It’s always exciting to find anything that hasn’t been touched for 2,000 years, but a shoe is such a personal item.”
Officials were unable to determine the size of the shoe, as a toe area was missing, but they said it “would have been a large shoe when complete.”
The volunteer beamed about the find, telling officials that it “really puts you in touch” with the Romans who lived at the fort.
“It’s always exciting to find anything that hasn’t been touched for 2,000 years, but a shoe is such a personal item,” said Jo, the volunteer.
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Before long, another piece of footwear was found.
The second shoe was roughly equal to a U.S. men’s size 14, which impressed the volunteers.
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The find “immediately drew impressed gasps” from volunteers and staff archaeologists, according to the museum.
“Although in this case [it was] only one of the several sole layers, the sheer size of the shoe and guesses about who could have worn it dominated the conversation,” the organization said.
“Measuring in at 32cm long, the equivalent of U.K. men’s size 12-14 in modern footwear, could this one be the largest in the Vindolanda Trust collection? We certainly look forward to finding out!”
Volunteers also recently dug up pottery fragments, tent pegs and other rarities, but the shoes stole the show.
Magna is situated near Hadrian’s Wall, a Roman wall designed to protect the northern border of the Britannia from the Picts.
The fort was established around 80 A.D., predating Hadrian’s Wall by a few decades.
Last month, a nearby fort made international headlines when a couple found an ancient depiction of a Roman goddess during another volunteer dig.
Fox News Digital reached out to Vindolanda Trust for additional information.
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