It is hardly racy by today’s standards but this skimpy lingerie has certainly shocked historians.

The lace and linen undergarments date back to hundreds of years before women’s underwear was thought to exist.

They had lain hidden in a vault beneath the floorboards of an Austrian castle since the 15th century.

Despite their state of decay, the knickers bear more than a passing resemblance to the string bikini briefs popular today, while the bra has the fitted cups and delicate straps of its modern-day counterparts.

While it was known that medieval men wore undergarments like modern-day shorts, it was thought that their womenfolk simply wore a smock or chemise, and that knickers didn’t make an appearance until the late 18th century.

Bras were thought to be an even more modern invention, not appearing until around 100 years ago.

However, Hilary Davidson, fashion curator at the Museum of London, said the discovery ‘totally rewrites’ fashion history, adding: ‘Nothing like this has ever come up before.’

She believes it is ‘entirely probable’ that something similar was worn by Britain’s medieval women.

She said: ‘These finds are a very exciting insight into the way people dressed in the Middle Ages.

The undergarments were among almost 3,000 fragments of clothing and other detritus found in Lengberg Castle in East Tyrol during recent renovations.

It is thought that they were buried when the building was extended in 1480 and that the exceptionally dry conditions stopped the fragile garments from disintegrating over the centuries.

(Read by Brian Salter. Brian Salter is a journalist at the China Daily Website.)

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(Agencies)