A RARE archaeological find of international significance was discovered last week in a house on Old Beaumont Hill - a 16th century shoe.
Times past, there was a tradition throughout Europe of hiding a shoe in new houses to bring good luck to the occupants.
In some cases other items such as bottles, dead cats and horse’s heads were also reputed to bring good fortune.The shoe was found by staff from Antler Property CI Ltd, who are converting buildings at Vallambrosa into two three-bedroom units.
Instead of discarding the find, as so often happens in old building refurbishments, they left it where it was and called in Planning’s historic buildings section.Planning’s assistant director of design and conservation, Stuart Fell, removed the shoe, taking it to the Jersey Museum for dating and conservation.’Such items are often found in chimneys or where the roof meets the external wall.
They are often thrown away as rubbish,’ he said.
‘I have known of other cases in Jersey, and I would like to know if any other shoes have been found.
This is of international significance, as finds such as this are quite rare these days.’
Article posted on 23rd March, 2004 - 12.00am
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