NEW YORK, BRONX (ORDO News) — In southern Spain, miners have discovered ancient sandals believed to be over 6,200 years old.
The study was carried out in the Cueva de los Murcielagos cave, also known as the “Cave of the Bats”, which has had various uses over the centuries, including storing soil fertilizer, keeping goats and even mining. Miners accidentally unearthed a burial chamber containing partially mummified bodies, as well as numerous artifacts.
The most astonishing find was 22 pairs of sandals made from esparto grass. Radiocarbon dating showed the sandals to be approximately 6,200 years old, making them much older than similar shoes found in other parts of the world.
These sandals come in two styles, one with a simple design with no visible laces, and the other with central fibers, possibly designed to secure the sandal to the foot. This demonstrates the variety of shoes that were available in those early times.
Interestingly, the sandals were discovered along with other artifacts such as basketry, cords, mats and even a wooden mallet made from wood, cane and esparto. Organic plant-based materials rarely survive thousands of years, making this find especially valuable to archaeologists and researchers.
Esparto grass artifacts are believed to be the oldest and best preserved assortment of plant fibers in Southern Europe, demonstrating the technological diversity and processing of raw materials adopted by prehistoric communities at least 9,500 years ago during the Mesolithic period.
This unique collection of ancient sandals represents the earliest and most widespread collection of prehistoric footwear in the Iberian Peninsula and Europe. It is different from other ancient shoes found in other regions of the planet, and provides valuable information about the life and culture of the ancient inhabitants of this region.
—
Online:
News agencies contributed to this report, edited and published by ORDO News editors.
Contact us: [email protected]
Our Standards, Terms of Use: Standard Terms And Conditions.
To eliminate any confusion arising from different time zones and daylight saving changes, all times displayed on our platforms are in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).