A child’s shoe, dating back over 2,000 years, has been discovered in Austria, remarkably still retaining its laces.

The design of this leather shoe, roughly equivalent in size to EU 30 (US 12), suggests it likely originated in the second century BC, as indicated by the German Mining Museum Bochum-Leibniz Research Museum for Geo-resources.

Archaeologists unearthed the shoe in the western village of Dürrnberg, an area with a history of rock salt mining dating back to the Iron Age, as detailed in a recent news release.

The exceptional preservation of organic remains in the salt-rich environment is believed to have contributed to the shoe’s remarkably good condition, CNN reported.

“Our research activities at Dürrnberg have been providing us with valuable finds for decades in order to scientifically explore the earliest mining activities. The condition of the shoe found is outstanding,” Professor Thomas Stoellner, head of the Research Department at the German Mining Museum, said in the news release.

The ongoing excavation efforts at Dürrnberg aim to gather insights into the labor and daily existence of Iron Age miners, as indicated by the museum.

In addition to the shoe, archaeologists have unearthed various other organic artifacts, including a fragment of a wooden shovel blade. Additionally, remnants of fur with lacing, possibly originating from a fur hood, were also discovered at the site.

The preserved lacing found on the shoe is believed to have been crafted from flax or linen, as outlined in the news release.

Written by staff