Discovery of 6,000-Year-Old European Sandals Found in a Cave: The Oldest Footwear Ever Worn by Humans

According to Khabar Online, cited by Saed News Society Desk, about twenty woven sandals made from esparto grass—most appearing to have been crafted for children—were found among the semi-mummified remains of dozens of people in Bat Cave, located in Spain’s Granada Province.

A new study reveals that Neolithic farmers wove these sandals approximately 6,200 years ago. The research, led by archaeologist Francisco Martínez-Sevilla from the University of Alcalá, notes:

“This collection represents the earliest and largest assemblage of prehistoric footwear known not only from the Iberian Peninsula but from all of Europe—an extraordinary discovery.”

Previously, the oldest known shoes dated back around 5,500 years and were discovered in Armenia. The leather boots worn by Ötzi the Iceman, found in the Alps, also incorporated plant-fiber sandals and date to about 5,300 years ago.

María Herrero Otal, a researcher at the Autonomous University of Barcelona and co-author of the study, told Spain’s El País newspaper that in many of the shoes only the soles have survived. However, one pair still preserves the upper sections that once covered the ankle.

According to her, the straps were “interlaced like modern beach sandals and secured to the ankle with a loop.”

The cave was originally discovered by local miners in the 19th century, and many of its contents were looted. About a decade later, archaeologist Manuel de Góngora interviewed locals, recognized the artifacts’ archaeological value, and managed to purchase dozens of them.

In a recent multidisciplinary investigation involving around twenty scientists—from geology to history—the researchers analyzed fourteen of the many objects recovered from the cave. They found that at least four dated back roughly 9,500 years, belonging to the Mesolithic period, about two millennia before agriculture reached the region.

According to the researchers, the woven baskets found in the same cave are also the oldest known in Europe. These baskets, like other artifacts in the cave, appear to have been used in burial rituals.

José Antonio Lozano, a geologist and one of the study’s co-authors, explained:

“Anywhere else, the baskets and sandals would have disintegrated. But due to the cave’s dry conditions, topography, and lack of humidity, these objects have been preserved exactly as they were—something unparalleled in Europe.”