World's Oldest Leather Shoe Unearthed in Cave

A perfectly preserved shoe ~1,000 years older than the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt and 400 years older than Stonehenge ~ has been found in a cave in Armenia by a team of international archaeologists.

The 5,500 year old shoe, the oldest leather shoe in the world, has cowhide dating back to 3500 BC. It was made of a single piece of leather and was shaped to fit the wearer's foot. It contained grass, although the archaeologists were uncertain as to whether this was to keep the foot warm or to maintain the shape of the shoe.

“It is not known whether the shoe belonged to a man or woman,” said lead author of the research, Dr Ron Pinhasi, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland, “as while small (European size 37; US size 7 women), the shoe could well have fitted a man from that era.” The cave is situated in the Vayotz Dzor province of Armenia, on the Armenian, Iranian, Nakhichevanian and Turkish borders, and was known to regional archaeologists due to its visibility from the highway below.

The stable, cool and dry conditions in the cave resulted in exceptional preservation of the various objects that were found, which included large containers, many of which held well-preserved wheat and barley, apricots and other edible plants.

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