Horse, Deer, Cow, Or Goat! What Types Of Leather Were Used For Shoes In Borgund On Sunnmøre In The Late Viking Age And Early Middle Ages?

The study examines 139 shoes from Borgund, a deserted town in western Norway, to identify the types of leather and tanning techniques used during the late Viking Age and early Medieval Periods. Through hair follicle pattern interpretation and ZooMS analysis, it was found that the shoes were primarily made from cow leather, with some use of horse, goat, and possibly sheep leather. The tanning technique involved raw tanned leather for both soles and uppers. The preference for cattle leather in Borgund aligns with findings from Danish and English urban contexts of the same period, while the use of horse leather is a novel discovery for Norse urban areas. The study suggests creating an atlas of hair follicle patterns for future research.