A 5,500-year-old leather shoe was found perfectly preserved by sheep manure
A 5,500-year-old leather shoe found in an Armenian cave was perfectly preserved by a thick layer of sheep manure, revealing sophisticated tailoring techniques.
The Areni-1 shoe, a 5,500-year-old piece of footwear discovered in Armenia, demonstrates that Chalcolithic humans had mastered bespoke leatherworking long before the rise of the Egyptian pharaohs. Made from a single piece of cowhide, the shoe was tanned using vegetable tannins to make it waterproof and durable. It featured siped treads for grip and was stuffed with grass to provide insulation against the -20°C Caucasian winters.
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