A Roman Camp in Slovakia Holds Remains Dumped in Wells and Military Sandals That Still Have Their Iron Hobnails

Archaeologists excavating a Roman military camp near the town of Šurany in southwestern Slovakia found skeletons and partial skeletons in ditches, wells and hastily dug shallow graves. They also found weapons, armor and military sandals with iron hobnails still attached. The findings are preliminary, and the full analysis will take several years, according to a statement from the Institute of Archaeology at the Slovak Academy of Sciences and MH Invest, reported by Live Science.

A rare camp from the Marcomannic Wars

The Šurany camp covers 7.4 hectares (18.2 acres) and has five entrance gates, fortifications and a curved ditch-and-rampart system typical of marching or legionary camps. It is only the second Roman military site found in western Slovakia. Researchers link it to the Marcomannic Wars (A.D. 166 to 180), which Marcus Aurelius fought against the Marcomanni, a Germanic people, and the article says it likely dates to the late second century. Matej Ruttkay, director of the institute, called the camp “extremely rare in the European context.”

Remains in ditches, wells and shallow graves

The report gives no number of individuals. Archaeologist Marek Vojteček said preliminary findings indicate that in most cases the remains belong to Roman soldiers. The team has not determined whether the soldiers died from combat injuries or disease. Archaeologist Michal Cheben also asks why nobody looted the bodies before people placed them in storage pits and wells.

Sandals with their hobnails

Other finds include spears, arrowheads, helmet parts, segmented and scale armor, legionary brooches and coins. The team also recovered caligae, the military sandals of Roman soldiers, and X-ray analysis of clay blocks revealed the iron hobnails on their soles. Cheben said, “It is literally a miracle to see the original footwear of a Roman soldier.”

What comes next

The team plans carbon dating, soil analysis, isotopic analysis and ancient DNA work with international experts. Cheben says laboratory analyses and further genetic and anthropological research may provide answers. Ruttkay says many results will only be known in the coming years.

Source: Live Science, 23 July 2026 (Kristina Killgrove), based on a statement from the Institute of Archaeology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences and MH Invest. Photo credit: ArÚ SAS, M. Ruttkay, M. Vojteček, M. Cheben, MH Invest.