UK Edition
Roman sandal found at Hadrian's Wall looks just like David Beckham's football boot
Archaeologists were left stunned when they uncovered a near 2,000-year-old shoe which looks just like the Adidas Predator football boot famously worn by David Beckham.
The distinctive ridges on the shoe's outer shell and curved space for laces winding down to the toe give it an uncanny resemblance to the 21st century trainer.
The ancient sneaker was discovered in a ditch at Roman fort Vindolanda close to Hexham, Northumberland.
Staff soon realised it looked more like a modern day football boot than a shoe worn almost two millennia ago.
Sonya Galloway, Vindolanda's spokesperson, said: "We couldn't believe it when we noticed how similar it looks to an Adidas Predator football boot.
"We put a picture of it on Twitter and the father of one of my son's friends spotted the resemblance. We've had a lot of comments on social media about it.
"The boot is the modern day equivalent of around a size one, and would have been worn by a child between the ages of eight and ten.
"It is a good quality shoe. "ust like the children of today, Roman children would have been very fashion conscious. The discovery of shoe, which is very well made, shows the affluence of the Romans.
"It is the kind of shoe which would have been worn by a wealthy Roman child."
The shoe was discovered around a fortnight ago in the Severan ditch at the fort by Vindolanda archaeologists and will now go on permanent display.
It is one of 420 shoes to have been found in the ditch, which was a Roman rubbish dump. Archaeologists have dated the shoe back to around 212AD and say it was been made from a single piece of leather.
There is a empty space where the shoe's laces would have tied the leather together. Sonya added: "Our discoveries at the fort mean we can start to piece together a real picture of how the Roman people lived.
"We think we have one shoe for every person who lived at the fort, and they differ in quality, showing disparities in affluence."
Vindolanda has a team of three archaeologists who are joined by around 500 volunteers each year.
It was a Roman fort situated just south of Hadrian's Wall, which it predates, and guarded the Stanegate, the Roman road from the River Tyne to the Solway Firth.
It was occupied by the Romans from around 70BC until the collapse of the empire.
The fort is noted for its wooden tablets, among the most important finds of military and private correspondence found anywhere in the Roman Empire.