Though discovered in 2000, the sock has lain un-noticed in storage since
A knitted sock found in the city of Groningen has turned out to be the oldest in Europe, researchers say. The sock probably dates from the sixteenth century, and was discovered in the year 2000- but laid un-researched in storage until this year. The sock was further investigated as part of the National Knitting Days 2020. It was found on the site of an early castle of the Duke of Alva, who ruled the area when The Netherlands were still part of the Spanish Habsburg Empire. As reported by RTV Noord.
The sock, is for a child, and so has only recently been removed from an archaeological depository for further research. The sock was found in 2000 in the Prinsenstraat in the city, which was the former moat of the castle of Alva, a citadel just outside the city walls owned by the Spanish Duke of Alva.
When that canal was filled in, the sock was thrown in together with a lot of other waste: “because there was all kinds of stuff on top and the area was wet, the sock did not rot”, says archaeologist Froukje Veenman.
Veenman: “You can only exhibit the sock every now and then because otherwise it will still rot. But fortunately we now have a few replicas that can be seen”.
The story of the sock can be read in ‘Hervonden Stad 2020’, the archaeological yearbook of the municipality of Groningen that appeared on Thursday. The yearbook also includes the knitting pattern for those who want to knit the old sock for themselves. It is for shoe size 20, for children from 12 to 16 months.
Image (of a different sock): via Wikimedia user loggie-log. Public domain.
