Dutch Discover Rare 500-Year Old Wooden Shoe

Archaeologist Silke Lange and a co-worker handle a 16th-century Dutch clog, which was found in a cesspool in Alkmaar, at a laboratory in Zaandam, Netherlands, on Dec. 20, 2024. Hilde Verweij/Reuters

AMSTERDAM—The Dutch are known worldwide for their wooden shoes, but the recent rare discovery of a 500-year-old one in the city of Alkmaar has shown just how widespread their use once was.

“It was found in a cesspit in an urban surrounding. So this is very special, because with wooden shoes you always think of farmers using wooden shoes during their work,” archaeologist Silke Lange told Reuters.