Harrowing truth behind pairs of shoes discovered on Titanic wreck years after it sank

Ever since the Titanic sank in April of 1912, countless ocean explorers have taken to the sunken remains in a bid to discover more about its passengers and what happened on that fateful night.

And as they’ve done so, one of the most chilling discoveries that they’ve made has been the mostly fully intact shoes, many of which were found in pairs.

Still continuing to draw people in with its intrigue and mystery, including those who lost their lives on the doomed Titan sub, which imploded during their descent to the wreckage in 2023, killing all five on board, many are keen to find out all there is to know about what could have been an avoidable disaster and loss of life.

Over the years, thousands of artefacts and objects have been discovered inside the Titanic wreck, which have given a few more clues as to the identities of those who were on board the ocean liner as it set sail from Southampton to New York.

The Titanic sank after hitting an iceberg in April 1912 (Getty Stock Image/Ralph White)

From jewellery and pocket watches, to perfume bottles, combs and pieces of clothing, one of the disturbing discoveries has been the shoes that they’ve found.

You might have thought that these were left behind as passengers attempted to flee the sinking ship, but it’s altogether more harrowing.

More than 1,500 people lost their lives when the Titanic sank, either on board or in the freezing North Atlantic waters, and many didn’t make it out of their rooms or off the ocean liner at all.

Their shoes are now all that remains of many of those who went down with the vessel.

As you might expect, certain deep-sea dwelling creatures made short work of the bodies that were unable to escape, and in doing so all that was left behind were their shoes.

There's a rather chilling reason why the shoes remain almost fully intact (National Geographic)

This is because most of the shoes that were worn during that time period were coated in tannic acid, as a way to protect the leather and ensure its longevity. Unlike some of the shoes that we’ve worn in recent years which have disintegrated after just a couple of wears in the rain.

And as marine life would have steered clear of this harsh preservative, it has resulted in the shoes being discovered in almost perfect condition by those who have made their way down to explore the Titanic wreckage.

Add in the water pressure, given how far they were below sea level, and this would also have impacted the condition of the bodies trapped inside.

A study even tested what could happen to human remains at such depths after they lowered a human-sized pig carcass down to the seabed. After a few days, the animal was just bones, with these too being consumed within six months.