It is clear that in this find, which probably dates from the first century, we have precisely the type of shoe of the monumental reliefs. The leather-work of the uppers is strong and light. There is no unnecessary ornamentation. It consists simply of a series of light loops, holding the shoe in its place and enabling it to be laced round the ankle and across the foot. The toes were exposed, one or more thongs passing between them. The whole upper and one thickness of the sole were cut out of a single piece of leather, the only stitching required being where the two sides are brought together at the back of the heel. A strong outer sole was clamped upon this with heavy nails, and one or more soles of a lighter character were inserted inside.
When we compare the figures of the Dacians and Germans represented on the Roman columns with those of the legionaries,[1] the difference in the shoes is striking The barbarians are represented wearing a close-fitting shoe entirely covering the foot and fastened round the ankle, the ends of their long wide trousers being caught into it. This type of shoe, the calceus, is to be seen on the monuments representing the civil population, such as those from Neumagen, and good examples of the shoes themselves dating from about the second century are preserved at the Saalburg. In these we find examples of much more skilled leather-work than in the simple caligae from Mainz. Of these two types of shoes, the light-thonged upper, representing the military, and possibly Italian type, and the close-fitting shoe, possibly of Gaulish type, we have traces at Newstead. Of such caligae as those found at Mainz only one incomplete specimen was noted. The whole of the light thongs surrounding the heel had disappeared, but those covering the foot remained, and here the upper and one thickness of the sole had been cut from a single piece. Two inner soles were fitted on the inside, while an outer sole was affixed with strong nails. This method of construction seemed, however, to be exceptional. Except in the case of light shoes cut from a single piece of leather, the upper in most of the Newstead shoes was made separately from the sole. The soles consisted of from five to six thicknesses of leather, the inner layers being laced together by one or more narrow thongs of leather neatly inserted either down the middle or round the edges. In most cases the edges of the upper were doubled beneath the inner sole, while the outer sole was kept in its place by
1 Cichorius, Die Traianssäule, cf Taf. xix. 102 and Taf. xxxii. 110.
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