Science

Big shoes => big feet.

Alternatively, perhaps the shoes were winter boots that were meant to be worn with several pairs of socks or some kind of insulation. This theory, Penn writes, is supported by a preserved letter that refers to socks and underpants being sent to a soldier stationed there. Historians also know that archers from Syria lived at Magna, and it’s safe to assume that these men would not have been accustomed to the cold climate of northern England, he adds.

I think this is my favorite theory

Archaeologist Flint Dibble covered this, interviewing the actual archaeologist who works with this stuff. She definitely has ideas.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ps7lpR7nL5I

Maybe they just had big weiners. Or it's an ancient clown school.