Spanish Cave Finds 'Prehistoric Footwear' Dating Back 6,000 Years

What could be Europe's oldest pair of shoes were unearthed in a cave in Spain and are now estimated to be much older than scientists previously believed.

According to a new study, some 20 pairs of the sandals are at least 6,200 years old ¡ª and possibly older ¡ª and other woven artefacts in the cave are 9,500 years old.

What Is The Mystery Behind The Prehistoric Footwear?

During the nineteenth century, the artefacts were discovered during mining works in the Cueva de los Murci¨¦lagos, literally called "cave of the bats," in Albuol in Granada, Spain.

However, the researchers found that the uncovered materials were around 2,000 years older than previously thought.

Credit: CNN

According to the researchers, the low humidity and the chilly, dry breezes inside the cave prevented bacteria from growing, allowing the fibre-based devices to survive millennia.

The researchers uncovered two types of footwear at the site, one with a continuous woven sole and the other with a tougher "central core."While no laces were identified with the first kind, "a small group of fibres emanating from the base of the sole may have been placed between the first and second toes with the central core type." These fibres are also linked to a braid attached to the centre of the sandal that can be knotted around the ankle."

Where Was The Prehistoric Footwear Found?

Researchers claim that grass sandals discovered in a cave in Spain are 6,200 years old, making them the oldest woven grass footwear ever discovered in Europe and pushing them to reconsider "simplistic assumptions" about our human ancestors in the region.

The report came from a team investigating 76 artefacts discovered in a cave in southern Spain many years ago.

Credit: SWNS

According to scientists, sandals uncovered in a bat cave in southern Spain may be the oldest footwear ever discovered in Europe, who believe they could be up to 6,200 years old.

As per the researchers from Universidad de Alcal¨¢ and Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, the artefacts are the first direct evidence of basketry among hunter-gatherer societies and early agricultural communities in southern Europe.

Among the findings were baskets, sandals, and organic tools made of reed and esparto grass.

The researchers could date the artefacts to the early and middle Holocene periods, between 9,500 and 6,200 years ago, by analyzing the basic elements they were built of.

When And How Was The Discovery Made?

Credit: SWNS

The researchers employed radiocarbon dating to date 76 artefacts, including baskets and 22 sandals made from esparto, a type of grass used in crafts for thousands of years throughout the Iberian Peninsula and North Africa.

The grass was crushed to form twine, which was then used to braid baskets, purses, and sandals. To make the grass bendable, it had to be dried for 20 to 30 days before rehydration for 24 hours ¨C a sophisticated and skillful procedure.

The sandals do not have laces, but some feature a single braid in the middle that can be knotted around the wearer's ankle. Later centuries of European history discovered similar sandals made of materials other than grass.

According to the investigation, while some sandals had wear signs, others were unused and could have been constructed for the dead.

The cave once housed burial objects from a vast early human history, possibly dating back 9,500 years.

Credit: SWNS

The ongoing study was worked on by a team of 20 professionals from several disciplines, including geologists and historians.

The lack of humidity in the cave and the constant chilling breeze resulted in the best-preserved plant-based tools found in southern Europe. The same conditions have resulted in many significant archaeological finds in the Middle East, particularly in caves near the Dead Sea.

The treasures of the bat cave were discovered in the nineteenth century, but this is the first study to cast light on their antiquity and significance completely.

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