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To go to war, you always have to be well prepared, the Romans must have thought when making military footwear for their legionaries. More than 2,000 years later, a group of archaeologists has found one of these examples of sandals. When studying it, they realized that this type of footwear could be considered unique today.
The only remains that were preserved were the sole and the nails, which is why everyone quickly realized that it was one of the sandals used by Roman legionaries. This shoe was part of the uniform that was issued to all soldiers and only they dressed in that way. These sandals were called caligae.
What were the caligae, the legionaries' war boots, like?
The caligae were made in such a way that they protected soldiers from blisters and trench foot. The sole was very thick and was made of goat, sheep and cow skins. To hold it all together, it was sealed with iron and copper nails. This whole compound gave the legionary absolute reliability and stability on the battlefield.
Amira Adaileh, a consultant for the Bavarian State Office for the Preservation of Monuments (BLfD), said: "The find shows that the customs, lifestyles and clothing that the Romans brought with them to Bavaria were adopted by the local population".
As a curiosity, the caligae began to disappear gradually from the 3rd century AD, when the Roman army changed all its uniforms. In their place, they used closed leather boots to protect the entire instep area. Ventilation on the foot was eliminated, but the result was more than satisfactory for all the legionaries.