Roman flat spikes discovered in German playground – The

Excavations at a children’s playground near the Roman military camp of Halten am See in northern Germany have uncovered the remains of a hobnailed boot, a glass game piece and evidence of the camp’s wooden and earthen defensive walls.

Archaeologists from the Westphalia-Lippe Regional Association (LWL) began excavating the site this summer, while construction work on the playground was underway. It is close to the fortifications of the 1st century Roman camp of Aliso, so it is likely that archaeological material will be found at the site.

Aliso was built during the reign of Emperor Augustus as part of his goal to create the province of Magna Germania, a larger territory in northwest Europe stretching from the Rhine in the west to the Vistula in the east. to the Danube. South. Augustus’ ambitions came to nothing in the Battle of Teutoburg Forest in 9 AD.

Arminius, leader of the Cherusci tribe and former ally of Rome, was responsible for the crushing defeat of three legions and permanently destroyed all hopes of imperial expansion into Germany with his victory in the winter of 9/10 AD Then besieged Aliso. A great battle was fought and the city ultimately escaped destruction, but Aliso would be the last of six military camps built by Augustus during the Germanic campaigns that were captured by Rome after Teutoburg. The camp was not occupied until AD 16

Archaeological evidence of the siege – lead and stone slings, arrowheads, mass graves – as well as the remains of the camp’s south, west and east gates were discovered during previous excavations. The playground is located on a wooden and earthen wall, and well-preserved post holes in the wall were discovered during excavation. It also uncovered two pit ovens for baking bread and several waste pits. The boots were found in a waste pit.

LWL archaeologist Dr Bettina Tremmel said: “A veteran threw his old kaliga into one of the waste pits and disposed of it in this way. The shoe leather is now Completely disintegrated in the sandy soil of Halten, however, the spikes under the soles remained in place.”

Archaeologists tracked them down with the help of a so-called pinpointer, a compact mini-metal detector. “In one place we found the studs very close together and continued the search with a pinpointer. The impact area was 20 x 20 centimeters,” said Tremmel. Archaeologists then restored the entire clod so as not to alter the position of the small metal found underground and to ensure they could survive transport intact.

“The shoe must be relatively small and turned over in the heel area. There’s a 90-degree bend there,” says LWL restorer Andreas Weisgerber. “We also investigated whether organic matter might be retained on the iron oxide. Unfortunately, this was not the case. Judging from the length of the nail spur, the sole was about 0.8 centimeters thick.”

“The sole of a Caligae shoe is made up of three layers of leather held together by small, hand-forged nails. The tips of the nails fold over the top of the sole,” adds Tremel. “Since legionnaires didn’t wear socks, walking on the 60 nails hammered into each sole must have been like a massage,” she believes.