The Roman shoe hoard of Vindolanda

1,800 years ago the Roman army built one of its smallest but most heavily defended forts at the site of Vindolanda. The small garrison of a few hundred soldiers and their families took shelter behind a series of large ditches and ramparts, while outside the walls a war was raging between the northern British Tribes and Roman forces.

With the debris were dog and cat skeletons, pottery, leather and 421 Roman shoes.

Once the war was over around 212 AD the troops and their dependents pulled out of the fort, and anything that they couldn't carry was tossed into the ditches. In 2016, archaeologists excavated the ditch and discovered an incredible time capsule of life.

The shoe hoard gives an indication of the affluence of the occupants in AD 212 with stylish and well-made shoes, both adults and children’s.

They are the best preserved Roman shoes ever found.