Nothing fits like an old shoe --
especially if that shoe walked the earth five thousand
five hundred years ago. Researchers in Armenia found
the world's oldest leather shoe, and they say it was in
surprisingly good condition. Doctoral student Diana Zardaryan
of the Institute of Archeology found it in a cave near the
border with Iran and Turkey. She said "even the shoe
laces were preserved."It fact, the team of archeologists
first thought it was about six or seven hundred years
old. Then two laboratories in the United States and
Britain did radiocarbon tests. The dating showed it was
four hundred years older than the Stonehenge formation in
England -- and a thousand years older than the Great Pyramid
of Giza in Egypt.The cool and dry conditions in the cave protected
the shoe and other objects. So did a thick, solid
layer of sheep dung covering the floor. This acted as a
seal to prevent damage. The shoe was made from a single piece
of cowhide. The researchers believe the shoe was shaped to
fit the wearer’s right foot. The shoe is small -- a European size
thirty-seven, or a women's size seven in the United States. The lead
author of the research says he does not know if
the shoe was made for a man or a woman. Ron Pinhasi of University
College in Cork, Ireland, says it could have fit a man from that time
period. His team also found grass packed inside
the shoe. They say the grass might have been used to keep the
wearer’s foot warm. Or it could have been used to hold
the shape of the shoe while it was not being worn. The shoe is
similar in design to "pampooties." These were
shoes worn on the Aran Islands, in the west of Ireland,
until the nineteen fifties. This kind of shoe appears to have been worn
for thousands of years across a large area of Europe and beyond. The team
of scientists also found large containers of wheat, barley and
apricots in the cave, along with a broken pot and sheep's
horns. They also found the graves of children buried near the back
of the cave. They do not know why all these things were found together in
one place. They do not know what the purpose of the cave was.
The archeologists published their findings in the online scientific journal
PloS One, from the Public Library of Science. They are continuing their
work in Armenia. They say there are many other parts of the cave they have yet
to explore. The oldest footwear of any kind ever found are sandals made
of plant material. Scientists believe sandals found in the Arnold Research Cave
in the American state of Missouri are about seven
thousand five hundred years old. That makes them about two
thousand years older than the leather shoe found in
Armenia.
Resources: http://learningenglish.voanews.com/content/the-mystery-of-the-worlds-oldest-leather-shoe-99016799/116739.html
