The Kaluga collection of leather goods from the 17th-18th centuries

This paper presents leather goods dating from the 17th-18th centuries retrieved during archaeological excavations in the Kaluga historical center in 2019. It analyzes 505 fragments of items which come from two local areas of the excavation trench, namely, a destroyed above-surface construction of the second half of the 17th century and the upper part of the infill of the pit made under the floor. The pit was filled up in the first half of the 18th century. Thanks to the humid occupation layer, the state of finds preservation is good. Leather goods are represented mainly by fragments of footwear without heels and gloves and are typified as shoe shop waste. A find of an orthopedic inner sole as an attempt to produce corrective shoes that, to some extent, alleviate consequences of orthopedic diseases has been reported. Scientific importance of the study consists in documentation of finds of mass-produced outdoor footwear of the first half of the 18th century.