Exquisitely Designed 2,000-Year-Old Roman Shoe Discovered in a Well

We all know the ancient Romans were skilled engineers, constructing vast highways to cover the enormous lands they conquered. But did you know they were also fashionable? In the Empire, footwear was used as a status symbol in addition to providing warmth and protection. And with Italy's reputation for shoes, it should come as no surprise that their Roman ancestors were also good cobblers.

A stylish shoe on display at The Saalburg in Germany shows just how fashionable women in ancient Rome could be. The Saalburg is a Roman fort located on the ridge of the High Tanus mountain and was part of ancient border fortifications in the area. Enormous in scale, the fort and its surrounding village were home to around 2,000 people at its peak. It was constructed in 90 AD and stayed in operation until around 260 AD when a political and economic crisis caused it to go out of use.

Since 2005, The Saalburg has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site with a museum that displays items found in the area. This includes a 2,000-year-old shoe discovered in a well before going on exhibit for the world to see. Typical of certain types of ancient Roman footwear, they have a leather upper and a hobnailed sole. Shoes were often modeled after caligae—heavy-soled military boots with lots of open areas.

For women, decorative embroidery and patterns were often added to the shoes in addition to laces. Not only demonstrating the craftsmanship of the maker, these shoes helped display the wealth and status of the women wearing them. These thick-soled shoes would have been worn outdoors, with lighter sandals used indoors.

Their destiny to be discovered in Germany shows just how much craftsmanship and style traveled within the Ancient Roman Empire. It's incredible to see that the fashion choices made aren't far off from the modern shoes we wear ourselves.

Exquisitely Designed 2,000-Year-Old Roman Shoe Discovered in a Well

OVER 2000 YEARS LATER: ANCIENT GOLD EARRING DISCOVERED IN CITY OF DAVID

Hellenistic-era golden earring that features the image of a horned animal was discovered in the Givati parking lot of the City of David National Park that encircles the Old City walls, the City of David announced Wednesday.

The discovery was made during archaeological digs carried out by the Antiquities Authority and Tel Aviv University.

According to the directors of the excavation, Prof. Yuval Gadot of Tel Aviv University and Dr. Yiftah Shalev of the Antiquities Authority, “The jewelry was found inside a building that was unearthed during the excavation, dating to the early Hellenistic period – a fascinating era about which we know very little when it comes to Jerusalem. During the course of over a century of archaeological digs in the city, many small discoveries have been made from this period – mainly consisting of pottery fragments and a few coins – but hardly any remains of buildings that could be accurately dated to this period.”

The hoop earring bears the head of a horned animal with large eyes and a mouth.

“It is unclear whether the gold earring was worn by a man or a woman, nor do we know their cultural or religious identity. But we can say for certain that whoever wore this earring definitely belonged to Jerusalem’s upper class,” the researchers said. “This can be determined by the proximity to the Temple Mount and the Temple, which was functional at the time, as well as the quality of the gold piece of jewelry.”

Close to the place where the earring was found, excavators also found a gold bead with intricate embroidered ornamentation resembling a thin rope pattern, dividing the beads into two parts with six spirals on each side.

Ariel Polokoff and Dr. Adi Erlich, from the University of Haifa’s Department of Archaeology, examined the earring and bead and said the jewelry was crafted using a technique called filigree, in which threads and tiny metal beads are used to create delicate and complex patterns.

According to them, this type of earring first appeared in Greece during the early Hellenistic period. Similar earrings have been found across the Mediterranean basin, especially in Greece, but are extremely rare in Israel.

According to Prof. Gadot, only a few earrings of this kind have thus far been found in Israel, many of them in the coastal region, with one slightly different specimen discovered inside a tomb in the Hinnom Valley. This is the first time, however, that an earring of this type has been found in Jerusalem in archaeological ruins from that era.

Researchers believe the latest findings “open a window to what Jerusalem was like during the early Hellenistic period. It seems as though, at the time, the city did not reach farther than the top of the hill in the City of David but then spread slightly to the west into the Tyropoeon Valley. We also learned from this excavation that the residents of this area were not peasants who settled in empty areas on the periphery of the central area, but rather the opposite – they were well-off people. The discovery of familiar Hellenistic pieces of jewelry can teach us about how Hellenistic influences reached Jerusalem during this time.”

The jewelry will be on public display at the City of David’s 17th Annual Archaeological Conference scheduled for September 8.

OVER 2000 YEARS LATER: ANCIENT GOLD EARRING DISCOVERED IN CITY OF DAVID

'Spectacular' ancient public library discovered in Germany

Construction workers in Cologne unearth a structure that is believed to be the oldest German library.

During excavations in Cologne, archaeologists have discovered the foundations of Germany’s oldest verifiable library. Cologne historic preservation official Marcus Trier said on Wednesday that it was built in the 2nd century in Roman Cologne.

The foundations hark back to the 2nd century AD, when Cologne was part of the Roman empire, Marcus Trier, the director of the city's Romano-Germanic Museum said Wednesday. They were first discovered during construction work for a new church one year ago. "At first we thought they were the remains of a space for public gatherings," Trier said, but the walls had "unusual, cavernous structures."

After extensive research, including comparisons with other ancient buildings in Ephesus in modern day Turkey, it became clear that the structure had been a library. "At one point several thousands scrolls must have been stored here," Trier said.

The remains are set to be integrated into the new church building, as the local newspaper Kolner Stadt-Anzeiger reported, and are to be partially accessible to the public.

'Spectacular' ancient public library discovered in Germany

Rome's Subway Expansion Reveals Artifacts From The Ancient Past

All roads may lead to Rome, but once you get there, good luck taking the subway. The sprawling metropolis is expanding its mass transit system — a sluggish process made even slower as workers keep running into buried ancient ruins.

Roman marbles are on display in the San Giovanni metro station, part of Line C of Rome's subway, in 2017. Andreas Solaro/AFP/Getty Images

"I found some gold rings. I found glasswork laminated in gold depicting a Roman god, some amphoras," says Gilberto Pagani, a bulldozer operator at the Amba Aradam metro stop, currently under construction not far from the Colosseum.

Ancient Roman plates are on display in the San Giovanni underground station of Rome's C line. Archaeological remains were brought to the surface during the new line's excavation.

Andrew Medichini/AP

Pagani is part of an archaeological team at the site, a certified archaeological construction worker trained to excavate, preserve and build in cities like Rome, with thousands of years of civilization buried beneath the surface.

The presence of ancient artifacts underground is a daunting challenge for urban developers. For archaeologists, it's the opportunity of a lifetime.

"I think it's the luckiest thing that's ever happened to me, professionally speaking," says Simona Morretta, the state archaeologist in charge of the Amba Aradam site. "Because you never get the chance in a regular excavation to dig so deep. That's how we've found architectural complexes as important as this."

At roughly 40 feet below the surface, her team, which began work in 2013 at this stop, has uncovered a dwelling that once belonged to the commander of an adjacent military barracks. It dates back to the reign of the emperor Hadrian in the 2nd century A.D.

"It's a proper house, with a central courtyard," says Morretta. "The other exciting discovery is that so much of the decoration was found intact. So, ornamental mosaics, floors made of marble slab in various colors, and painted frescoes."

As two archaeologists dust mosaic flooring with tiny, precision brushes, idling industrial machinery belches diesel exhaust just a few feet away. Construction workers routinely have to shut the machinery down when a discovery is made.

The new route, the C line, was supposed to be ready in time for the Roman Catholic Church's Year of Jubilee — back in 2000. But city planners and officials can't blame all the delays on the ancients. There are ongoing investigations into waste and runaway spending by modern-day contractors and governments.

The city inaugurated its newest metro station, San Giovanni, in May. It is an important link that, for the first time, connects the C line to the city's two other subway lines.

This photo, made available by the Italian Culture Ministry, shows a frescoed wall segment, part of the charred ruins of a 3rd century building unearthed during construction work for Rome's Metro C line.

AP

The C line is also the most technologically advanced, the only one in Rome to be fully automated, with no conductors. As a train whooshes into the station, commuter Luigi Bonatesta jumps aboard. He says the wait for the station to open was frustrating.

"Whoa! Because no one declare[d] why the open[ing] day was delayed," he says. "No one declare[d] what happened."

One reason for the holdup was a surprise addition: inside the San Giovanni station, the walls are lined with artifacts discovered during the subway's construction, including stone bathtubs, marble busts, and even ancient peach pits from a Roman fruit vendor, all visible for the $1.75 cost of a metro ticket.

The next stop on the line will be Amba Aradam, the site of the ancient Roman military barracks, where archaeologists are still digging. Morretta says commuters there will be in for an even bigger treat.

"All that we've found here — the mosaics, everything — will be taken down, put inside special containers, then reassembled inside the metro stop," she says. "It will be a little museum, with all the barracks in the exact same position."

She hopes that will make it more enjoyable for people to wait for a train. But first, commuters will have to wait for the stop to be finished, with excavating still underway and an expected opening at least four years off.

For a city that wasn't built in a day, its subway system certainly won't be, either.

Rome's Subway Expansion Reveals Artifacts From The Ancient Past