Soldier Tracks in a First World War Fort (Valmorbiawerk, Trento, Italy)

Abstract

A set of partial or complete boot tracks is described from the floor of a tunnel in a First World War fort in the Trentino Alto Adige region. The tracks belong to the right and left boots of the same person. The deepest imprints have been left by the heels, which were reinforced by rectangular and square-shaped hobnails. From studying all the tracks, it has been possible to reconstruct the complete hobnail set of both boots and compare them with coeval boots used by soldiers. Depending on the nationality and branch of the armed services, the nails had different shapes and arrangements. The layout and the shape of the tracks perfectly match the mountain footwear used by the Austro-Hungarian army. The succession of events during the building of the Valmorbiawerk indicates that the tracks could have been imprinted between spring 1914 and May 1915.

Keywords:

• First World War
• Boots
• Hobnail
• Austro-Hungarian army

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We are indebted to P. Ferretti and R. Tomasoni (Trento) for the cooperation in the field work and to S. G. Lucas (Albuquerque, N.M., USA) and V. Santucci (Slippery Rock, Penna., USA) for reviewing the manuscript. We thank Marco Leonardi Scomazzoni (Museo Storico Italiano della Guerra, Rovereto, Trento) and Elisabetta Mott (Museo degli Usi e Costumi della Gente trentina, San Michele A.A., Trento) for the access to the museums collections and for the help in the documentation.

This research was funded by the Autonomous Province of Trento, as the sponsor of the OPENLOC research project under the call for proposals “Major Projects 2006.” Partners of the project are the E. Mach Foundation, the Manchester Institute of Innovation Research, the Trento Museum of Natural Sciences, the University of Bologna and the University of Trento.