Some speculate that the boot probably belonged to a high-ranking woman who did not have to walk much, resulting in its pristine condition.
Tired of fast fashion, planned obsolescence and cheap materials? Well, here is a stylish women’s boot that was truly built to last. Like, for 2300 years.
Rarely do archaeologists come across age-old remnants that have survived thousands of years in near-perfect condition. One such occasion occurred in 1948, when a women’s boot, featuring intricately bedazzled patterns, was found in Siberia’s Altai mountains alongside other important discoveries – including jewelry, food, and weapons. This astonishing shoe is believed to be 2,300 years old and features an elaborate sole made up of soft red leather as well as a geometric design sewn with pyrite crystals and black beads.
The artifacts (and their mummified owners) have been well preserved thanks to permafrost and the painstaking attention the Scythians, a nomadic group that once roamed the Eurasian continent, paid to their dead.
As curators at the British Museum wrote in advance of the 2017 exhibition Scythians: Warriors of Ancient Siberia:
Nomads do not leave many traces, but when the Scythians buried their dead they took care to equip the corpse with the essentials they thought they needed for the perpetual rides of the afterlife. They usually dug a deep hole and built a wooden structure at the bottom. For important people these resembled log cabins that were lined and floored with dark felt – the roofs were covered with layers of larch, birch bark and moss. Within the tomb chamber, the body was placed in a log trunk coffin, accompanied by some of their prized possessions and other objects. Outside the tomb chamber but still inside the grave shaft, they placed slaughtered horses, facing east.
The exquisite beading on the red cloth-wrapped leather bootie, which is now part of the State Hermitage Museum‘s collection, sparked a great deal of curiosity and speculation online.
Some theorists propose the boot was made exclusively for burial, which would account for the nearly intact state of the sole. Others think it might have belonged to a high-ranking woman who wouldn’t have walked much. Or else, Scythians spent so much time on horseback, their shoe leather was spared…
According to historians, Scythians often socialized in front of a fire while sitting on their knees, so the detailing on the bottom of the shoes would be visible to others, and thus an important aspect of a person’s attire.
The ancient Scythians left a significant burial mound in the Altai Mountains. This particular location revealed a multitude of artifacts and clothing, with the boot being just one of the many items discovered.
Like with other ancient civilizations, it was customary for these nomads to bury their dead with essentials to help them travel to the afterlife.
Scythians commonly built subterranean wooden cabin-like structures to serve as burial sites for their deceased. Within these structures, each body was laid to rest in a log coffin along with their belongings.
The meticulous preparation, combined with the permafrost conditions in the Altai Mountains, is what ensured the preservation of the boot for millennia.
A Scythian and his horse were inseparable, even after death. Along with their prized possessions and other objects, their horses were buried together with them, too. The horse was an essential part of Scythian life and was the most important and multipurpose animal used by the nomads. They initially reared large herds of horses mainly for their milk and hides, but then became one of the first people to harness the horse as a mount. This was a huge success for the Scythians, as it meant they could expand their horizons by moving up to speeds of 30–40 miles an hour, pushing past environmental boundaries that immobilized those traveling by foot.
And the elaborate trappings their horses were buried with are definitely on par with the beauty of their burial clothes, including the magnificent woman’s boot hereby presented.
Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5