SAINT-URSANNE, SWITZERLAND—A fragment of a medieval shoe thought to have belonged to a young toddler has been discovered in the Swiss canton of Jura, The Local reports. Decorated with a foliage motif and geometric patterns, the boot was uncovered during excavations in the historic town of Saint-Ursanne. The fragment, which is made of a mix of goat and cow leather and measures roughly 7 inches by 5 inches, survived due to wet soil conditions under the town’s cobble streets. According to researchers from the Shoe Museum in Lausanne, the shoe would have been an ankle-high boot with clasps made of leather buttons. The style was popular in the second half of the fourteenth century and is unique in Switzerland, though three similar pairs have been found in London, and two in the Netherlands. To read more about the archaeology of medieval shoes, go to “Die With Your Boots On.”
