A 2,000-year-old female footprint was found in the ancient city of Sagalassos!
Excavations, which began in 1989, continue in the ancient city, which is on the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Temporary List.
The social life of the ancient city, where magnificent architectural works from the Roman period have been unearthed, is also a source of curiosity.
The trace left by a spiked shoe on a terracotta tile unique to Sagalassos, one of Rome's five important ceramic production centers, spurred the experts on the excavation team into action.
The footprint, which was included in the excavation house inventory and is being examined, has excited scientists.
"A RARE WORK SHEDDING LIGHT ON TODAY"The footprint is considered one of the rare examples that carry the concrete existence of people living in Roman-era cities in Anatolia to the present day.
Belgian archaeologist Prof. Dr. Jeroen Poblome from the Archaeology Department of KU Leuven University, who was also part of the excavation team and served as excavation director for a period, told an Anadolu Agency (AA) correspondent that the artifacts unearthed in Sagalassos shed light on the daily lives of Romans.
Recalling that he has been involved in the excavations initiated by Prof. Dr. Marc Waelkens for 35 years, Poblome noted that this type of nail-soled shoes (caligae) were suitable and durable for rural areas.
Poblome stated that the discovery, which is a concrete document, is special because the footprints are thought to belong to a woman because they are smaller than those of men, and added, "This shows that women also wore shoes with spiked soles in ancient times and actively participated in social life."
Prof. Dr. Jeroen Poblome stated that the trace of a woman's shoe, dating back approximately 2,000 years, was investigated by experts, and continued:
"This is a rare footprint that we believe belongs to a woman. This clarifies the shoe pattern of the period. For a long time, we've been finding two types of nails in the field. We thought they belonged to the sole of a shoe. Examination of the clay tile confirmed that this footprint belonged to a nailed shoe. It was stepped on by a nailed shoe before the tile had even dried. We saw that it left an identical impression to the nails we found at the excavation site. This is evidence that these nailed shoes were used in rural Roman life. We believe it was a small shoe, with a long, thin last, and around size 37. We also examined these prints under a microscope. It was clear that the long nails were on the sides of the shoe, and the short nails were on the sole. We will redesign the ancient leather shoe."
Pointing out that the footprint unearthed in Sagalassos is an important document that sheds light on the present day, Poblome stated that there are a large number of these nails in the storage areas of the excavation house and that they will now separate the nails.
Poblome stated that they will design leather shoes or slippers using nails and that they will recreate the life of that period.
Artifacts unearthed in the ancient city of Sagalassos, including the 5-meter-tall statues of Emperor Marcus Aurelius and Emperor Hadrian, are visited by thousands of people every year at the Burdur Museum.
In addition to the dancing girls friezes, statues of the goddess of victory Nike, Dyonisos, Nemesis, Asklepios and Kronis are among the artifacts unearthed from the ancient city.
The Ancient City of Sagalassos distinguishes itself from other ancient cities with the Antonine Fountain, one of the most important Roman-era architectural works, where centuries-old ancient water flows.
Restoration work continues on the Agora Gymnasium, Southeast Street, and the recently unearthed Street Fountain. Recent excavations at the ancient city also reportedly unearthed a sphinx figure of Tutu and two life-size marble statues: one of the moon god Men and the other of Hermes.
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