The discovery this summer was announced this week in a statement by MOLA Headland, the firm that led digs on the site of an infrastructure project costing 4.2 billion pounds, or more than $5.3 billion.

Image The skeleton was found wearing a pair of thigh-high leather boots. Credit... Mola Headland Infrastructure/EPA, via Shutterstock

“By studying the boots, we’ve been able to gain a fascinating glimpse into the daily life of a man who lived as many as 500 years ago,” Beth Richardson, a specialist with MOLA Headland, said in the statement.

The boots would have been useful for treading knee-deep in the sticky mud of the Thames. They were not fancy, lacking heels or buckles, Ms. Richardson told The Guardian.

“We never find high boots like this — they are always shoes or ankle boots,” she said. “High boots are just not very common throughout medieval times.”

The man is believed to have been at least 35 years old when he died, but his bones revealed that he probably led a painful life because of stiffness in his joints caused by osteoarthritis, experts said. His teeth show deep grooves caused by a repetitive action, possibly because of passing a material like rope between his teeth, as fishermen often did.