Socks (Udones)

Author: Edwards, M., (2020), “On the subject of socks”, first published in The Imperial Courier, Volume 15, Issue 12, THE RMRS, pp. 4, revised by M. Hatch, May 2021.

Tacitus wrote of the climate in Britain as “pretty foul, with frequent rain and fog but no extremes of cold”. Perhaps if he had had more direct experience of the filthy weather in Britannia, he might have been persuaded to write more on how to keep warm and dry. Like most other re-enactment groups, THE RMRS’ “soldiers” typically wear reproductions of the Roman army boots known as “caligae”. These heavy-duty, openwork leather boots, with thick hobnailed soles, are often erroneously referred to as “sandals” because of their design’s similarities with modern footwear. In warm Mediterranean climates, caligae would have been cooler on the march than enclosed boots. The design, however, is far less suitable for keeping feet warm in Britain's cold, wet climate. Thus, it seems, caligae were abandoned in Britain by the end of the 2nd-century AD in favour of civilian-style “enclosed boots” (carbatinae).

Vindolanda What to do then to keep feet warm in caligae in another cold, wet Great British summer? Well, from two simple examples we have evidence that Romans wore woven socks or added raw wool wadding in poorer weather to help insulate their feet. Firstly, long ago a soldier on Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland received a care package from home. The accompanying letter, known as Vindolanda Tablet 346, reveals individual family members apparently added items to the parcel. Of note, the letter mentions sandals twice not by mistake, but because two different people sent them. Moreover, the letter also provides us written evidence that Romans wore underwear (subligaria).

Fashionable trend setters The second example is just one of thousands of objects retrieved by underwater archaeologists from the River Tees at Piercebridge, thought to be the site of a Roman fort, near Darlington in County Durham. Among the items was an unusual Roman razor handle, made of copper alloy and in the shape of a human leg and foot. The 5 cm high foot is depicted wearing a sandal with a thick woollen herringbone sock underneath. According to Newcastle University Department of Antiquities the razor handle provides “unequivocal evidence that the Romans wore socks with open-toed sandals”.

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Reference:

BBC News, (2005), “Roman conquerors had woolly socks” (accessed May 2021).