Egypt

New Book: Tutankhamun's Footwear

Discovery News (Rossella Lorenzi)

With slideshow.

When Howard Carter discovered King Tutankhamun's treasure-packed tomb in 1922 in the Valley of the Kings, he found a large collection of footwear of different sizes and shapes.

"It is the only evidence of ancient Egyptian royal footwear. It is an amazing collection. Just think -- it is 3,300 years old," Dutch Archaeologist Andre Veldmeijer, the author of "Tutankhamun's Footwear: Studies of ancient Egyptian Footwear," told Discovery News.

Veldmeijer studied 81 specimens, including simple sewn sandals, as well as other elaborately decorated, gold ornamented, brightly colored open shoes.

Full report on Discovery News

The first detailed analysis of sandals buried with the boy king suggest the sometimes elaborate footwear was made to accommodate his club foot.

At least three pairs of shoes found in King Tut's tomb display a horizontal strap just below the toes, as shown in this illustration. (Click on the photo to find out more about the amazing sandals.)

King Tutankhamun might have worn some sort of orthopedic shoes specially designed to cope with his club foot condition, an investigation into the pharaoh's footwear has suggested.

Published in the book, "Tutankhamun's Footwear: Studies of Ancient Egyptian Footwear," the research is the first detailed analysis of the 3,300-year-old footwear since King Tut's mummy and treasure-packed tomb were discovered by Howard Carter in 1922.

- Online: Studies Of Ancient Egyptian Footwear
PalArch (André J. Veldmeijer) Veldmeijer, André J. 2011. Studies of Ancient Egyptian Footwear. Technological Aspects. Part XIV. Leather Eared Sandals. Palarch’s Journal of Archaeology of Egypt/Egyptology 8(5) (2011), 1-31. ABSTRACT Leather Eared...

- Lecture Notes: Tutankhamun's Footwear
The Independent Collegian Most would almost never expect a well-established archaeologist who lives and works in both Europe and Egypt to say anything along the lines of "I don't fancy seeing the mummy." However, those were the words of Dr. André...

- New Book: Tutankhamun's Footwear
drukware.nl Thanks to Andre Veldmeijer for the following details. "Tutankhamun's Footwear. Studies of Ancient Egyptian Footwear". 312 pages, 413 illustrations [292 illustrations in full colour, 50 illustrations in black and white and 71 line drawings]...

- Online Journal: Palarch
Www.PalArch.nl André J. Veldmeijer. 2009. Studies of Ancient Egyptian Footwear. Technological Aspects. Part x. Leather Composite Sandals. PalArch's Journal of Archaeology of Egypt/Egyptology, 6(9) (2009) Abstract The tenth part in the series on...

- Bmsaes Issue 11, April 2009
British Museum Studies in Ancient Egypt and Sudan The following article can be dowloaded from the above page, in PDF format. Studies of ancient Egyptian footwear. Technological aspects. Part XVI. Leather Open Shoes by André J. Veldmeijer An extraordinary...

Egypt