The Big Dig at Caherduggan Castle: Find of the Week #1

One of the many great things about digging a moat is that the lower levels tend to be waterlogged. When soil is waterlogged it allows materials such as wood and leather to be preserved because there is very little air in the soil. This is known as an anaerobic environment which your teacher will tell you more about!

The Leather Shoe from Caherduggan

This week we discovered an amazing leather shoe preserved in the wetter soil at the bottom of the moat. We believe this could be up to 600 years old but will need to get a scientist who specializes in medieval shoes to confirm this.

Reproduction of Medieval Shoe (Sara Nylund)