Czechs cobble new line in prehistoric footwear
By Allan Hall
Age Correspondent
Berlin
July 18, 2005
http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/prehistoric-pumps/2005/07/17/1121538865239.html
Petr Hlavacek, a footwear expert at Tomas Bata University, has cobbled
together replicas of shoes worn by Oetzi the Iceman.
Shoes worn by a 5300-year-old iceman have been replicated using leather
tanned with boiled liver and pig brains.
Now they are set to go into commercial production after getting rave
reviews bymountain climbers and backpackers.
Dr Petr Hlavacek, a Czech university department head and expert on
footwear, spent years recreating the mountain boots found on the
mummified body of Oetzi the Iceman, discovered in a frozen glacier in
the Italian Alps in 1991.
The shoes made from calf, bear and deer leather were given to some of
the Czech Republic's top climbers to test in mountain conditions, and
were so highly praised that a Czech footwear company has sought to
acquire the rights to make them.
Dr Hlavacek, head of the technological laboratory at Tomas Bata
University in Zlin, in eastern Czech Republic, said: "Wearing the shoes
is like going barefoot, only better. They are very comfortable and are
perfect for protecting your feet against hard terrain, hot temperatures
and the cold.
"They may not look very attractive, but from a technical point of view
they are very strong, sound and able to protect the wearer's feet
against hard ground, extreme temperatures and damp. They also have a
very good grip and withstand shock very well."
Oetzi, the world's oldest and best-preserved mummy, was found
accidentally in the Italian Alps close to the Austrian border in 1991.
The find was considered sensational by scientists because the body was
so well preserved and gave an insight into the life of humans in Europe
5000 years ago.
They were later able to tell that the man, nicknamed Oetzi after the
Oetz Valley where he was found, had eaten venison for his last meal and
had lived in what is now the South Tyrolean village of Feldthurn, about
50 kilometres south-east of where he died. A museum was set up in
Bozen, South Tyrol, to house the ice mummy, while clothes and other
items found with him are on display in other museums.
It was after a visit to a museum in Mainz, Germany, that Dr Hlavacek
and his university colleague, Vaclav Gresak, decided to make a replica
of the shoes that Oetzi was wearing when he died.
They began by sourcing the same materials as Oetzi would have had for
his shoes. Tests showed that the leather on the soles was from three
animals: calf, deer and bear. Sourcing bear skin proved challenging,
with Mr Gresak finally getting hold of the skin of a bear hunted in
Canada.
Oetzi's shoes had also been stuffed with hay to provide an inner lining
that provided warmth and comfort. The two researchers recreated a
hand-made net made out of thin strips of bark that held the hay in the
shoe in place. After unsuccessfully testing a range of tanning methods
using vegetable fats, Mr Gresak tried boiled chopped pig liver and raw
pig's brain, copying a method known to have been used by ancient
people. The substance was smeared onto the skins and left for three
days - and worked.
The Iceman's mummified body was discovered frozen in an alpine glacier
in 1991.
The Iceman's mummified body was discovered frozen in an alpine glacier
in 1991.
Photo:AP
They used casts of Oetzi's feet for exact measurements to make three
perfect replicas of the shoes and a number of pairs in bigger sizes for
mountaineers to test in the Austrian Alps near where Oetzi lived.
Vaclav Patek, a Czech mountaineer who tried them out, said: "The shoes
were a pleasant surprise. They were durable, warm and comfortable and
far better than some of the modern shoes in the shops."
Dr Hlavacek said there was a lot of interest in the shoes.
"The shoes perform very well in rough terrain and there is commercial
potential even if it's just from the many museums that want copies of
the shoes for their collections. We will have to look for a replacement
for the bear skin leather that is not easy to find, but other than that
I don't see any problems in mass production," he said.
He also believes the footwear could have positive health implications
as they were very different to modern shoes and gave the wearer more
contact with the contours of the ground.
Only last week, researchers in Oregon reported that walking on
cobblestones can lengthen life, with people walking regularly on the
rough surface enjoying lower blood pressure than those using flat
surfaces.
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