Elementy obuwia odnalezione na ulicy Kościuszki w Rzeszowie

Kościuszko Street in Rzeszów, leading from the market square to the main promenade, is considered to be one of the oldest streets in the city. In the late Middle Ages and the early Modern Period, it connected the city centre with the parish church, where the first owners of Rzeszów rest. In the course of the archaeological watching brief conducted during the reconstruction of the street, it was possible to collect a significant number of artefacts related to the everyday life of the city (e.g. tiles, glass objects, coins, horseshoes). The subject matter of this article is a selection of footwear pieces and the items directly related to them. The research gives an opportunity to get to know better the material culture and tastes of the inhabitants of Rzeszów.

This article is an attempt to outline the issues related to the elements of footwear discovered at Kościuszko Street in Rzeszow. Considering the collected artefacts, awls and protective shoe taps are the best preserved items. The former were used for the production of footwear, while the latter were used to protect it during its use. The chronology of these artefacts, based on the analysis of shoe taps by T. Cymbalak, covered the period from the 16th to the beginning of the 18th century (one of them can also be dated at the beginning of the 20th century). Their shape and size were related to the size of the heel, and the one to the size of the shoe. Borrowings from Western Europe as well as the East had a significant impact on the use of this type of element of footwear, although the location of Rzeszow suggests the possibility of stronger eastern influences. Undoubtedly, all discovered shoe taps should be associated with the relics of the Modern Period footwear. The discussed artefacts appeared as individual finds in layers related to the use of the street which connected the market square with the parish church. In the course of the archaeological watching brief, 427 fragments of shoes were found. The assemblage of artefacts was discovered in layers dated from the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries to the beginning of 18th century. In the analysed material, there were components of footwear, both the upper and bottom parts of shoes, as well as numerous post-production scraps and unidentified elements. Researching the analysed footwear from Rzeszow, we can observe a significant progress in the technology of cut and sewing, from simple forms, made of one piece of leather, to shoes made of several layers and several parts. Foot covers are an example of not very rich footwear for this period of time. The cut and the form of shoes are very similar to this type of artefacts found at other sites in Poland.