12th century shoes with inscriptions were found by archaeologists in the Novgorod region

Specialists of Novgorod State University (NovGU), during the study of leather products discovered during excavations in Staraya Russa of the XII–XV centuries, discovered letter markings on the found shoes. This was announced on April 19 at the NovSU Archaeological Research Center.

It is noted that the carved letter designations "NO", "P" and "KN" were found on three fragments of soft turn-out shoes of the second half of the XII century. The findings confirm the use of writing in everyday life by the inhabitants of that time, and may also indicate the existence of a special local tradition of marking shoes.

"It can be cautiously assumed that there was a local tradition of shoe labeling at that time, in which the owners did not use any signs, but letters. It should be noted that 38 of the 58 birch bark letters found at the time of the study in Staraya Russa date back to the second half of the XII century. The shoes marked with letters are additional evidence of the use of writing in everyday life," the researchers told TASS.

In Veliky Novgorod, in the summer of 2025, archaeologists discovered a lead seal from the reign of Prince Yaroslav the Wise during excavations. On one side of the bull is a pectoral image of St. George with a spear on his right shoulder and a shield in his left hand, and on the other is a pectoral image of a man in a cloak fastened at his right shoulder with a round brooch and a pointed helmet. The name and title of the person depicted are indicated in columnar inscriptions on the sides.