The Roman fashion faux pas

13 April 2012

Roman Britons may have committed the fashion howler of wearing socks with sandals.

A bronze foot unearthed at a major archaeological dig appears to be wearing a sock-like garment, an expert said.

"It's embarrassing for them," said Nansi Rosenberg, senior archaeological consultant at EC Harris, which is managing the excavation of a three acre temple complex in Southwark, south London.

"I would think their excuse would be the cold. We know from the writings of Tacitus that the weather in Britain was terrible.

"The foot is wearing a Mediterranean-type sandal but the garment with it may have been some kind of woollen stocking.

"It is certainly an interesting find - this is only the second example of a foot found from a Roman statue in Britain, and though there is some documentary evidence for Britons wearing socks with their sandals this is the first physical evidence."

The foot may have belonged to a statue of the god Mars Camulos, worshipped in northern France and Britain - archaeologists have found an inscription bearing his name at the site - or it may have come from a statue of an emperor.

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