Reconstruction of Roman relief showing sandal with sock

Reconstruction of a fragment of a Roman relief showing a sandal (caliga) with a sock rolled up. It is located in the Vatican Museums. It is the proposed colour reconstruction from the book “Die Prätorianer – Folterknechte oder Elitetruppe”.

Of course, this style of clothing was nothing shocking at the time. Autumn, for example in Britain, can be really cold and unpleasant, and the Romans, who were used to walking in sandals, looked for any way not to feel cold. Surely, antique socks (or a form of fabric) were also a good idea for cut leather sandal straps into bare skin.