[MR] 2000 year old shoe found in UK

[Sharon Gordon]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/somerset/4530905.stm

-- go there for pictures; here's the text:

 Iron Age shoe unearthed at quarry

A shoe thought to be at least 2,000 years old, and the oldest in the UK, 
has been dug up at an English quarry.

 The Iron Age relic was found in a hollowed tree trunk at Whiteball 
Quarry, near Wellington, Somerset.

Archaeologists say the shoe is the equivalent of a size 10 and is so 
well-preserved that stitch and lace holes are still visible in the leather.

 It has been sent for conservation to Wiltshire and should be displayed 
at Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter.

 A team from Exeter Archaeology, led by Stephen Reed, unearthed the shoe 
when they were excavating at Town Farm, Burlescombe.

 "What we have now found is a Bronze Age 'industrial' site consisting of 
two mounds of burnt stone - dated to 1460 to 1290 BC - and two 
water-filled troughs," he said.

 "Close by were two timber-built wells, preserved by waterlogging and 
probably dating from the early part of the Iron Age."

 One of the wells was constructed over a spring using a hollowed tree 
trunk set into the ground. The tree trunk was removed from the site so 
that its contents could be examined under laboratory conditions.

 
'Oldest shoe'

 The "truly remarkable" discovery of the shoe was made when this was 
being undertaken by the Wiltshire Conservation Centre.

 "As far as we know, this is the oldest shoe ever found in the UK," Mr 
Reed said.

 "The shoe measures approximately 30cm, equivalent to a modern size nine 
or 10, perhaps suggesting its owner was male.

 "The reason for its presence in the well or spring is a mystery."

 It is hoped examination of the shoe will shed light on the method of its 
construction and identify the animal from which the leather was derived.

 Quarry owners Hanson are working with archaeologists from Exeter 
Archaeology, Devon County Council and English Heritage, as well as other 
specialists, to ensure that all the finds from the site are properly 
recorded and treated.

 It is hoped, following conservation, that the timbers and shoe will form 
the central feature of the proposed expansion of the archaeology 
galleries at the Royal Albert Memorial Museum in Exeter.