Ancient History Blog

Otzi the Iceman – Part 1/4: Frozen Fritz’s Footwear

By: The Scribe on Monday, March 26, 2007

Although the ancient footwear you see here may look uncomfortable, the truth is that these shoes were designed to outlast a near infinite amount of stress and wear – in fact, the ancient Europeans used these shoes to hike up the treacherous pathways of the Austrian alps… even past elevations of 10,500 feet.Europe’s oldest known mummy, Otzi the Iceman (or more affectionately known as ‘Frozen Fritz’), was discovered in a glacier of the Otztal Alps between the Austrian and Italian border, and was quite literally still wearing his shoes.

These wide, waterproof shoes seem to have been designed specifically for walking across snow, and though some have speculated that they may have been used as the tops of snowshoes, this remains under debate. The outer layer of the shoes was made of deer and bearskin, while inside was sewn a tree-bark netting. To keep the feet warm, grass was placed around the foot, forming a kind of ‘ancient sock’. In fact, these shoes were even recreated and tested by a Czech shoe expert named Petr Hlavacek, who hiked up to 8,200 feet – more than 25 miles in frigid, mountainous Alpine conditions – and only stopped due to personal reasons of recent surgery! In fact, the shoes functioned so well – and so much better than modern outdoor footwear – that these 5,300 year old pieces of footwear are now being studied for commercial production.

Want to read more?

Tomorrow: The Iceman’s intestines reveal his final meal!