Saturday, September 8, 2018

Ever Heard Of A Hipposandal...?

The Romans have been credited with many useful things over the years, but one of the most interesting things to me was a special type of horseshoe. That's right, a special horseshoe.

Rare Hipposandals



Photo credit: BBC

In 2018, a volunteer offered to help with excavations at an ancient landmark. While digging in a ditch at the Roman fort Vindolanda in Northumberland, the volunteer found something exceedingly scarce.

Hipposandals were early Roman “horseshoes” made of metal that were meant to protect the hooves. They were a bit more elaborate than today’s crescent-shape shoe. What made the find an archaeologist’s dream was that the set of four hipposandals was complete and in an exceptional state of preservation. Even the ribbing underneath—to prevent the animal from losing traction and skidding—could still be seen.

One of the sandals showed a hairline fracture, which could be the answer to why a perfectly good set was discarded. Maybe the owner decided to chuck away the whole lot when he noticed one was cracked. Forged between AD 140–180, these iron devices were found in a ditch that was originally a trash site. It was covered with new clay foundations when another fort was built, preserving the shoes and countless more Roman treasures.

Pretty clever of those Romans, wouldn't you say?

Coffee out on the patio again this morning!

11 comments:

  1. Wow! Those Romans were quite inventive.

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  2. Hey Momlady...
    It would certainly appear so.
    Thanks for stopping by this morning!

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  3. Some Roman tossed the whole set away? There is a story there that we will never hear...
    On the other hand I'd never heard of shoes for horses (besides what we use today), that was a great story!

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  4. I had to look up the Roman fort Vindolanda in Northumberland. This is in Northern England, south of Hadrian's Wall. FWIW visiting Hadrian's Wall is on my list of things to do...

    According to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vindolanda that fort was in use for longer than our country has been a country.

    That was back before horses had shoes, back when they wore sandals :-)

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  5. Hey Rob...
    Throwing a whole set away just because one had a crack does seem to be a bit excessive to me, not to mention that it was probably costly.
    Wow...I had no idea that the fort had been around that long!
    Thanks for coming over this morning!

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  6. Very interesting...I wonder if there as an accident, costing the animal it's life, and the shoes were the cause, or at least blamed for it?

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  7. Very interesting to know they excited and even more is that they new the feet needed to be protected.

    Sorry I'm late bad night

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  8. Hey Mamahen...
    Now that is an interesting point that I hadn't considered before. I appreciate you sharing that thought.
    Thanks for stopping by today!


    Hey Jo...
    Guess they were more savvy than we gave them credit for.
    Thanks, dear, for dropping by this morning.

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  9. I never thought about Roman horseshoes before. Pretty clever. Late start today, but the coffee is perking.

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  10. Hey Sixbears...
    I think that most folks wouldn't normally think of them either.
    Thanks for stopping by today!

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  11. Humph - and I thought horse "shoes" were a rather new invention, certainly not as old as this!

    Good post - thanks. And big hugs ~

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