Excavations at the Roman fort of Magna near Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland in north east England have uncovered some very large leather footwear. Their discovery, according to some news coverage, has “baffled” archaeologists.
The survival of the shoes is not, by itself, miraculous or unusual. Excellent preservation conditions caused by waterlogged environments with low oxygen mean that leather and other organic materials survive in the wet soil of this part of northern England.
