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Livescience_2013 04184.txt

#Lost and Found: Ancient Shoes Turn up in Egypt Temple More than 2000 years ago at a time when Egypt was ruled by a dynasty of kings of Greek descent someone perhaps a group of people hid away some of the most valuable possessions they had their shoes. Seven shoes were deposited in a jar in an Egyptian temple in Luxor three pairs and a single one. Two pairs were worn originally by children and were only about 7 inches (18 centimeters) long. Using palm fiber string the child shoes were tied together within the single shoe (it was meant larger and for an adult) and put in the jar. Another pair of shoes more than 9 inches (24 cm) long that had been worn by a limping adult was inserted also in the jar. The shoe-filled jar along with two other jars had been placed deliberately in a small space between two mudbrick walls writes archaeologist Angelo Sesana in a report published in the journal Memnonia. Whoever deposited the shoes never returned to collect them and they were forgotten until now. See Photos of the Ancient Egyptian Shoes In 2004 an Italian archaeological expedition team led by Sesana rediscovered the shoes. The archaeologists gave Andrã Veldmeijer an expert in ancient Egyptian footwear access to photographs that show the finds. The find is extraordinary as the shoes were in pristine condition and still supple upon discovery writes Veldmeijer in the most recent edition of the Journal of the American Research center in Egypt. Unfortunately after being unearthed the shoes became brittle and extremely fragile he added. Pricey shoes Veldmeijer's analysis suggests the shoes may have been made foreign and were relatively expensive. Sandals were the more common footwear in Egypt and that the style and quality of these seven shoes was such that everybody would look at you and it would give you much more status because you had these expensive pair of shoes said Veldmeijer assistant director for Egyptology of The netherlands-Flemish Institute in Cairo. The date of the shoes is based on the jar they were found in and the other two Â jars as well as the stratigraphy or layering of sediments of the area. It may be possible in the future to carbon date the shoes to confirm their age. Why they were left in the temple in antiquity and not retrieved is a mystery. There's no reason to store them without having the intention of getting them back at some point Veldmeijer said in an interview with Livescience adding that there could have been some kind of unrest that forced the owners of the shoes to deposit them and flee hastily. The temple itself predates the shoes by more than 1000 years and was built originally for pharaoh Amenhotep II (1424-1398 B c.).Design discoveries Veldmeijer made a number of shoe design discoveries. He found that the people who wore the seven shoes would have tied them using what researchers call tailed toggles Leather strips at the top of the shoes would form knots that would be passed through openings to close the shoes. After they were closed a long strip of leather would have hung down decoratively at either side. The shoes are made out of leather which is likely bovine. Most surprising was isolated that the shoe had what shoemakers call a rand a device that until now was thought to have been used first in medieval Europe. A rand is folded a leather strip that would go between the sole of the shoe and the upper part reinforcing the stitching as the the upper is very prone to tear apart at the stitch holes he explained. The device would've been useful in muddy weather when shoes are under pressure as it makes the seam much more resistant to water. In the dry (and generally not muddy) climate of ancient Egypt he said that it's a surprising innovation and seems to indicate the seven shoes were constructed somewhere abroad. Health discoveries The shoes also provided insight into the health of the people wearing them. In the case of the isolated shoe he found a semicircular protruding area that could be a sign of a condition called Hallux Valgus more popularly known as a bunion. The 9 Most Bizarre Medical Conditions In this condition the big toe starts to deviate inward towards the other toes Veldmeijer writes in the journal article. Although hereditary it can also develop as a result of close fitting shoes although other scholars dispute this...Another curious find came from the pair of adult shoes. He found that the left shoe had more patches and evidence of repair than the shoe on the right. The shoe was exposed to unequal pressure he said showing that the person who wore it walked with a limp otherwise the wear would have been far more equal. Still despite their medical problems and the wear and tear on the shoes the people who wore them were careful to keep up with repairs Veldmeijer said. They did not throw them away like modern-day Westerners tend to do with old running shoes. These shoes were prized highly commodities. Veldmeijer hopes to have the opportunity to examine the shoes now under the care of the Ministry of State for Antiquities firsthand. Follow Livescience on Twitter@livescience. We're also on Facebookâ & Google

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