Ancient Lingerie

It has long been thought that the undergarments we call "panties" and "bras" first came into use not so long ago. But during recent renovations of Lengberg Castle in East Tyrol something was found that "totally rewrites fashion history...Nothing like this has ever come up before", as fashion curator at the Museum of London, Hilary Davidson, says about the discovery. What they found - among 3,000 other fragments of clothing - was:

A bra...

...And a pair of panties! They must have been buried in 1480 when the castle was rebuilt, and then managed to stay in a pretty good condition because of the dry surroundings. Radiocarbondating tests has proven the findings are not a fraud. Before this it was thought that women didn't start wearing nickers until the late 18th century, and that they wore only a chemise or a smock as underwear during the Middle Ages. The two pieces in the pictures look very similar to modern bras and panties though, so I guess we will have to add a chapter to the history of lingerie now...