25 May 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Extremely well-preserved 2000-year-old child’s leather Shoe Discovered During Archaeological Mine Excavations

An “extremely well-preserved” Iron Age child’s shoe was discovered in Austria during excavations at Dürrnberg, near the historic town of Hallein.

Since 2001, the German Mining Museum Bochum, Leibniz Research Museum for Georesources, has been conducting mining archeological investigations with its mining archeology research area on the Dürrnberg near Hallein. The Dürrnberg near Salzburg is known for its rock salt mining, which already occurred in the Iron Age.

Due to the preservation effect of the salt, organic remains are particularly well preserved, in contrast to other excavations, where such finds are in short supply. During this year’s campaign in the Georgenberg tunnel, a children’s shoe made of leather came to light.

The shoe is made of leather and roughly corresponds to today’s shoe size 30 (12.5-inch). The shape, as well as the lace-up closures, which were likely made of flax or linen, are still intact. The shoe’s design provides additional indications of its manufacture, which was most likely in the second century B.C.

Photo: German Mining Museum

“For decades now, our research activities on the Dürrnberg have repeatedly provided us with valuable finds in order to develop the earliest mining activities scientifically. The condition of the shoe that was found is outstanding,” says the head of the research area, Prof. Dr. Thomas Stöllne. “Organic materials usually decompose over time. Finds such as this children’s shoe, but also textile remains or excrement, such as those found on the Dürrnberg, offer an extremely rare insight into the life of the Iron Age miners.”

Several finds of leather shoes are already known from the Dürrnberg, but a child’s shoe is always something special, as it proves the presence of children underground. In addition, in this case, as an exception, a remnant of a lacing made of flax or linen has been preserved. In this way, conclusions can be drawn as to how the shoes were laced.

In the vicinity of the well-kept find, archaeologists also found other organic materials, namely a fragment of a wooden shovel in the shape of a blade and the remains of fur with lacing that possibly belonged to a fur hood.

The research work on prehistoric salt production at Dürrnberg near Hallein in Austria is part of a long-term research project. The work is funded by Salinen Austria AG and Salinen Tourismus and is carried out in cooperation with the Institute for Archaeological Sciences at Ruhr University in Bochum.

German Mining Museum Bochum

Cover Photo: German Mining Museum

Related Articles

Knights-era painting found behind bricked-up arch at Museum of Archaeology in Malta

30 November 2021

30 November 2021

A newly found Knights-era painting hidden behind a bricked-up arch at the Museum of Archaeology might give insight into the...

Celtiberian Inscription Found at La Peña del Castro: One of the Earliest Examples of Alphabetic Writing in Northern Iberia

26 February 2025

26 February 2025

La Ercina, León, Spain – Archaeological research at the La Peña del Castro site has unveiled an important discovery that...

Archaeologists explore Eastern Zhou Dynasty mausoleum in China’s Henan

30 January 2022

30 January 2022

An archaeological survey of a royal mausoleum of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (770 B.C.-256 B.C.) has been launched in central...

A unique gold brooch talisman with inscriptions in Latin and Hebrew was found in the UK

19 February 2022

19 February 2022

A Medieval gold annular brooch with prayerful inscriptions has been discovered in the parish of Manningford in Wiltshire, in the...

Hittite Royal Seal Warns ‘Whoever Breaks This Will Die’

7 July 2024

7 July 2024

During the excavations in Kırıkkale, a cuneiform seal used by the royal family during the Hittite Empire was unearthed. The...

Paleontologists have discovered a new species of giant rhino

18 June 2021

18 June 2021

Paleontologists studying in China have found a new species of gigantic rhinoceros, the world’s biggest land animal. According to a...

A marble slab with an inscription from the 2nd century was discovered during excavations in Bulgaria

18 October 2023

18 October 2023 3

Archaeologists discovered a 1,900-year-old marble slab bearing an ancient Greek inscription in the Roman Baths of Hisarya, a small resort...

3,000-year-old Drill Bit Workshop Unearthed in Vietnam’s

13 May 2021

13 May 2021

According to the provincial museum, an ancient drill bit workshop dating back more than 3,000 years has been discovered at...

New Study Reveals Ancient Secrets of the 3,600-year-old Nebra Sky Disc

2 December 2024

2 December 2024

Discovered in 1999 in Germany, the Nebra Sky Disc is the oldest known depiction of the cosmos. A recent examination...

2,000-year-old Roman pewter hoard discovered in Suffolk

4 July 2023

4 July 2023

A rare hoard of Roman pewter has been discovered in Euston, western Suffolk, in eastern England. The rare discovery includes...

Persian-era plaster walls were discovered during excavations at Zeyve Höyük in central Turkey

2 August 2022

2 August 2022

This year’s excavations at Porsuk-Zeyve Höyük (Zeyve Mound) near the Porsuk village of the Ulukışla district of Niğde, located in...

The Tomb of Prince with a Monumental Pink Granite False Door Unearthed in Saqqara

23 April 2025

23 April 2025

In a remarkable archaeological discovery, an Egyptian team has unveiled the tomb of Prince Waser-If-Re, son of Pharaoh Userkaf, the...

The Ancient City of Yijin Among the Top 10 Archaeological Discoveries in China

3 February 2021

3 February 2021

Located in Hangzhou’s Lin’an District, Yijin Ancient City among the top 10 archaeological discoveries in China in 2020. Yijin Ancient...

Unique and very well-preserved prehistoric engravings found in southwestern Catalonia

23 March 2023

23 March 2023

Significant prehistoric rock art has been discovered in La Febro, in southwestern Catalonia. The team that discovered the art inside...

Swiss Scientists Identify Arrowhead Made from a Meteoritic Iron

1 August 2023

1 August 2023

In a recent study of archaeological collections in the Lake Biel region in Switzerland, an arrowhead from the Bronze Age,...