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

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.