alt Hacker NewsWhat you call sandals the Romans called boots. Their boots were open on the top but still heavily soled. This suited their climate and kept the foot cool and dry.
What you call sandals the Romans called boots. Their boots were open on the top but still heavily soled. This suited their climate and kept the foot cool and dry.
The wikipedia article names them in the first paragraph "sandal-boots".
So maybe they were both
(If I were to see someone wear them today, I would call them sandals)