The great strength of this book, and what this reviewer sees as the most important contribution, is the compilation of data on so many shoe-shaped objects. Simply the collation of this material in one place (Chs 5, 6, 7, 9) provides a resource unparalleled elsewhere. This is particularly useful also because some of these small objects never find their way into site reports, especially in certain regions with Roman remains, as the author points out in Ch. 1. This abundance of material must be searched out in excavation reports, object catalogues, databases, internet and social media posts, or obtained by visiting museums and through personal communication, which has been admirably accomplished by Shaw. Bringing this material together into further dialogue of the symbolic significance of shoes and feet (Chs 3, 4, 8) leads to a better understanding of semiotics and representation in Roman material culture, especially small objects that are sometimes overlooked in the big picture of Roman archaeology.
The author sets up the book concisely with an introduction (Ch. 1) to its organisation, the subjects to be covered, the theoretical approaches relevant to the study and clear definitions of terms and parameters. Ch. 2 provides a brief but thorough introduction to Roman footwear and how it differed from what came before it elsewhere in northwest Europe. The main types of shoes are covered with decent illustrations to accompany the discussion. The images are somewhat lacking in the first few chapters, often taken behind glass display cases, which could have been rectified easily before publication. The chapter also gives a useful overview of how shoes and feet are discussed in Roman literature with reference to dining and footwear and how footwear could be used symbolically to denote different actions or intentions.
Ch. 3 on Roman hobnailing is interesting but a few issues need to be raised. The presentation of how frequent hobnailing was in Roman shoes may require nuance. The author states ‘Only certain types of Roman footwear had nailed soles: military boots, especially caligae; closed shoes, or calcei; and sandals’ (17), followed by statements that seem to suggest that hobnails were ‘exceptional’ (17) and then that they were ‘the norm’ in the northwest (18). The initial list of only three types of shoes gives one the impression that fewer shoes were hobnailed than not. In reality, the opposite is true. The three broad types of shoes mentioned encompass most shoe styles found at sites with large footwear assemblages, for example Vindolanda, where 91% of footwear in the site database have a nailed construction style. The only leather shoes that did not have hobnails were carbatinae, cork slippers, and some sewn sandals. Connecting shoe types to hobnailing patterns is also slightly problematic since so often only the sole of the shoe survives without any uppers at all, which usually renders the style of the shoe entirely unknown (except in the case of sandals). The significance of determining dates from nailing patterns is a welcome discussion and quite important, as is the correlation between nailing patterns and shoe size, which is debatable. The identification of the wearer’s occupation based on the heavy nailing patterns ought to be taken with a grain of salt. A broad identification of these shoes as work boots seems harmless, but speculation prevails when that is taken to identify specifically waggoners or men pulling barges. Perhaps yes, but there is no certainty in these identifications without supporting evidence.
Ch. 4 looks at the social significance of footwear, beginning with a significant discussion about burials, which does a nice job showing a clear symbolic connection to the deposition of shoes in burials, rather than simply having been a part of the dress of the deceased. The discussion of ritual deposition in wells is also interesting, but it might have been useful to know how many wells appear to have been the location of ritual deposits, but did not, in fact, contain shoes in those deliberate acts. However, Shaw acknowledges the difficulty and perhaps uncertainty altogether in identifying ritual objects and deliberate deposition in the context of a well.
The next three chapters (5, 6, 7) present a full compilation of the objects used in the study. Ch. 5 describes the different categories: amulets, jugs with foot handles, knife/razor handles with feet, furniture feet, flasks, while Chs 6 and 7 present case studies on foot lamps and sandal fibulae, respectively. Shaw gathers a good deal of information on foot lamps and makes the important point that most of these do not have clear archaeological context and rarely do we know what else was found alongside these objects. The work on sandal fibulae presents a careful review of their geographical, chronological, and spatial distribution and considers several physical aspects of this object type: function, chirality, decoration and hobnailing. The chapter tackles the symbolic questions by its consideration of their potential apotropaic qualities, their use in burials, their relationship to religious practice, and their relationship to gendered identity. Shaw concludes that not enough evidence exists to confirm they were worn by women, as some other scholars have claimed.
The themes that return again and again through the book, in almost all discussions of different types of objects, focus on feet and shoes as apotropaic devices, as well as their role as pars pro toto, representative of actual people (or deities). From shoe brooches to footprints in clay tiles, Shaw sees these as prominent themes, even if difficult to prove with certainty, for understanding the role of feet and shoes in the visual and material culture of the Roman world. The text is accompanied by ample charts and graphs that visualise the discussion and the work should be commended for the extensive amount of material collated in one convenient discussion.
