Researchers in Austria discover 1500-year-old skeleton with prosthetic foot

Researchers have found one of the oldest functional prostheses ever in southern Austria.

Austrian Archaeologists say the 1500-year-old skeleton belongs to an adult male between the age of 35 and 50. It was found with the left foot missing from above the ankle. The prosthesis that’s composed of a wooden peg with an iron ring, is fixed to the leg via a leather or textile pouch or straps.The remains were unearthed in a small cemetery dating back to the Frankish period between the end of the Roman empire and the early medieval period.