An excavation carried out by experts at Vindolanda in Northumberland led to the discovery of boxing gloves made up of leather dating back to 2000 years. The unexpected finding was made last year in summer along with many items such as swords, shoes and writing tablets.
The gloves design is in such a manner that they are only capable of covering up the knuckles, acting more as protective guards.
The finding of leather guards was referred to as “astonishing” by Dr Andrew Birley who is the director of excavations at Vindolanda Trust. Other experts believe them to the last remaining fighting artifacts from Roman period.
According to Dr Birley he had previously sighted the depiction of gloves on bronze statues, paintings and sculptors. However, he expressed that having the chance to view them up close was quite overwhelming and a hair-raising experience for him.
The gloves are of two different sizes. The bigger one is filled with natural materials to minimize the risk of shock, while a roll of hard leather is stuffed inside the smaller glove. Since both gloves are missing metallic inserts which were used in ancient fights, the gloves are thought to have been used for sparring only.
