“Speaking about the oldest shoe, we mean the oldest closed-toe leather shoe, which was discovered in Areni-1 cave on September 16, 2008,” said Boris Gasparyan, researcher of the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of the RA National Academy of Sciences, head of the Armenian group of archaeologists, who participated in excavations in the gorge of Arpa river.

He added that footwear examples, which are even older than this one, were discovered earlier, but they are open-toe sandals made of wood or other materials. “Meanwhile, we have discovered the oldest closed-toe leather shoe, and this has served as a reason for misinterpretations in media,” Gasparyan told a press conference on June 18.

He added that the excavations were aimed at discovering evidences of vital activity of the early Middle Ages’ population of caves. “Initially, we thought that the shoe would be dated to this period, but decided not to publish the excavations results until the shoe’s exact age is established. And we were amazed when examinations dated the shoe to the Bronze Age and said it is 5,500 years old,” noted Gasparyan.

The archaeological group implementing excavations in the region consists of representatives of three countries: Armenia, Ireland and the U.S. The first scientific article about the discovery in Areni-1 was published in Plosone journal, after which this information was disseminated by National Geographic journal, as per preliminary agreement.

Three billion people read information about the oldest leather shoe within two days from the moment of its publication by media.

“39 caves were discovered in the gorge of Arpa river from 2007 to 2009. Meanwhile, Areni-1 is not the largest one among them,” Professor of the University of California (UCLA), head of the American archaeological group Gregory Areshian told a PanArmenian.Net reporter.