In fact, so many shoes have been found across the two sites, the Vindolanda archaeological trust maintains a "shoe specialist."

A huge Roman shoe measuring almost 13 inches long has been discovered near Hadrian’s Wall. The hefty leather sole measures a whopping 12.8in (32.6cm) from toe to heel and is believed to have been worn by a giant Roman soldier.

A stash of "unusually large" 2,000-year-old shoes dug up at a Roman site in northern England has left archaeologists searching for an explanation, they told AFP on Thursday. "We're all now off trying to work out who might have been here,