Its called the lendbreen ice patch, and for millennia, it has been. Melting ice has revealed artefacts from a lost viking. The lendbreen ice patch is located high in the mountains of southern norway, in a range that runs like a spine through scandinavia. This study is one of the first ice patch archaeology studies to. The 10,300yearold shaft, which paleoindian people used to hunt big game, is the oldest artifact ever recovered from a north american ice patch. These early discoveries were regarded as curiosities and not the harbingers of a soontobe globally relevant research frontier. Archaeologists find ancient history in ice and snow. The pass, at lendbreen in norways mountainous central region, first came to the attention of local archaeologists in 2011, after a woollen tunic. Pilo, who leads the glacier archaeology program in oppland, norway. Ice patches develop at high elevations when snow and ice accumulate to levels that do not completely melt in the summer.
May 10, 2018 w hen otzi the iceman, the most complete neolithic mummy ever found, melted out of the tyrolean alps in 1991, the field of ice patch archaeology was born. The archaeologists wondered, could there be more ancient artifacts hidden in. Oslo ice patches that melted from the slopes of a remote. Oct 20, 2014 the newlydiscovered ski is just one of many ancient artifacts that have been recovered from melting glaciers. Out of the ice glacial archaeology in central norway. The pass, at lendbreen in norway s mountainous central region. Ice patch discoveries provide an amazing way to capture public interest and to integrate education about archaeology and native american cultures with ancient and modern climate. The booming field of glacier and ice patch archaeology represents both an opportunity and a crisis.
Discoveries exposed by retreating ice include snowshoe for horses and bronze age skithe retreat of a norwegian mountain ice patch, which is melting because of climate change, has revealed a lost vikingera mountain pass scattered with spectacular and perfectly preserved artefacts that had been dropped by the side of the road. Archaeology in the ice patches archaeological conservancy. The yukon ice patch collection contains some of the finest archaeological examples of throwing darts sometimes called atlatl darts and prehistoric bows and arrows found in the new world. The lendbreen ice patch in norway s jotunheim mountains is so remote that its only accessible by professional mountain bikers or a helicopter ride. Glacial archaeology is an new field of discovery, opened up by climate change. Melting ice has revealed artefacts from a lost viking highway. The upper part of the lendbreen ice patchcovered with horse. Hidden viking trade route emerges from melting ice in norway. Artifacts show people used the route for 1,000 yearsthen abandoned it, possibly amid a plague. Melting ice reveals viking highway and artifacts ecowatch. Retreating ice in norway recently revealed a lost viking mountain pass.
Like glaciers, ice patches are areas of perennially frozen ice and snow. This wasnt always the case, however, as a new study on recovered ancient artifacts showed it was once an extremely busy route of viking age traffic. Items thousands of years old have been discovered in the wake of receding mountain ice. Melting ice has revealed artefacts from a lost viking highway in. This video provides a brief overview of more than a decades worth of investigation into the archaeology of alpine snow and ice in the greater yellowstone and the. Lars pilo, codirector of the glacier archaeology program in norway, called the surveys in. Above the treeline and accessible only by a tough hike or helicopter ride, the lendbreen ice patch in norway s jotunheim mountains, about 200 miles northwest of oslo, is a prohibitively remote. Ice patch archeology resource brief national park service. Sep 10, 20 this week archaeology features an extended 7page report on items discovered in norway. Apr 16, 2020 melting ice reveals a lost vikingera pass in norways mountains. In little more than a decade, archaeological sites were identified in alpine settings around the world, from the united states to norway to switzerland. Now, archaeologists have made their biggest discovery yet.
Melting ice reveals ancient viking route in norway the new. May 29, 2010 a short documentary on archaeological finds which melted out of the ice in oppland during the great 2006 melting. Archaeologists uncover 0yearold ski in norway ancient. The retreat of a norwegian mountain ice patch, which is melting because of climate change, has revealed a lost vikingera mountain pass scattered with spectacular and perfectly preserved. Ice patch or glacial archaeology is dedicated to research on the human and environmental landscapes where melting occurs. Beth shapiro and team at university of california santa cruz successfully recovered a complete mitochondrial genome from the glacier national park ice bison as well as three comparatives from other rocky mountain ice patches. Ice patch archaeology archaeologys search for history.
In the summer of 2009, then park archeologist jeremy karchut and dr. Nov 29, 2015 archaeologist craig lee recovered an incredibly preserved, delicately carved birch spearthrowing foreshaft from a melting ice patch north of yellowstone national park in 2007. Mar 07, 2018 yellowstones history uncovered by melting ice. The race to retrieve ancient artifacts from melting glaciers.
Jan 24, 2018 melting ice deposits in norway have revealed over 2000 human artefacts, some dating as back as 4000 bce, allowing archaeologists to reconstruct a detailed picture of life in the far north of europe. Melting ice reveals a lost vikingera pass in norways mountains. Spectacular artefacts found as norway icepatch melts. Ancient horse dung found at the top of the lendbreen ice patch. May, 2016 ice patch archaeology is conducted only in a few areas in the world where ice patches are found. Finds from the ice had been known in norway since the 1930ies especially from oppdal, but ice finds from oppland were still rare in 1974. Pdf out of the ice glacial archaeology in central norway. Archaeologists race to preserve artifacts as the ice melts in.
Follow our work to rescue the artefacts, as global warming is causing the melt of mountain ice in oppland, norway. Craig lee university of colorado instaar teamed up with dr. Over years, the patches become stable and the snow turns into lowdensity ice. The viking spear from the lendbreen ice patch secrets of. The advent of ice patch archaeology in the modern era coincides with public recognition of global warming and public lands policy, including support for research and protection of the items found in ice patches. Sep 14, 2010 juvfonna, norway reuters climate change is exposing reindeer hunting gear used by the vikings ancestors faster than archaeologists can collect it from ice thawing in northern europes. Retreat of norwegian ice patch reveals lost vikingera. Pictured, a team member holds a 1,400yearold arrow. The glacier national park ice patch archeology and paleoecology project is a firstever cultural resources partnership for the park with tribal and university partners conducting cuttingedge, culturally informed fieldwork to survey, map, and sample stable ice patches in the park in 2010 and 2011. Each year, layer upon layer of snow and ice would build up, sometimes covering and freezing ancient artifacts, or in this case, ancient excrement. Its called the lendbreen ice patch, and for millennia, it has been frozen. Lendbreen mountain pass dates to viking times science. Items deposited on an ice patch by wind, animals, or humans can be frozen for centuries.
Melting ice reveals over 1,000 viking artifacts in norway. Glacier and ice patch archaeology has boomed in recent decades, with places from norway to the northern territories of canada yielding artifacts and more. In a melted ice patch on the mountain slopes of norways innlandet county, archaeologists found a leather shoe, a woolen mitten, and a tunic. Melting ice reveals a lost vikingera pass in norways. Apr 20, 2020 norwegian ice patch an archaeological treasure trove megan gannon smithsonian april 20, 2020 bove the treeline and accessible only by a tough hike or helicopter ride, the lendbreen ice patch in norways jotunheim mountains, about 200 miles northwest of oslo, is a prohibitively remote place. Feb 26, 2019 in norway, archaeologists from a program called secrets of the ice are searching for items that melt out of ice patches. Nov 29, 2017 remember, this was more than 20 years before glacial archaeology was born as an archaeological discipline after the finds boom from the ice patches in yukon for the history of glacial archaeology, read here. Spectacular artefacts found as norway ice patch melts. Since 1997, more than 207 archaeological objects and 1700 faunal remains have been recovered from 43. But because ice patches are small, they dont move under their own weight as glaciers do. The royal game of ur was found during excavations in the royal cemeteries of ur in the 1920s. Ice patches are located in areas where ice is perennially frozen and relatively static, thus preserving even the most fragile components of artifacts. Melting ice poses a risk to previously preserved cultural and natural resources. The latter two are good forage and were likely deposited on the ice patch via the digestive tracts of ungulates.
Apr 16, 2020 the lendbreen ice patch in norways jotunheim mountains is so remote that its only accessible by professional mountain bikers or a helicopter ride. Norwegian ice patch an archaeological treasure trove. Melting arctic ice patches reveal rich archaeological. The lendbreen ice patch in norway, pictured here in 2019, is melting. Melting ice has uncovered hundreds of ancient viking artifacts and. James dixon and nicholas jarman university of new mexico to conduct the first survey in denali dedicated to ice patch archeology. An iron arrowhead, possibly dating back a millennium or more, emerging from an ice patch in the mountains of norway. The archaeological finds from the ice show that humans have utilized the high. Glaciers and ice patches are time machines, preserving artefacts for thousands of years. Lost viking highway revealed by melting ice national geographic. Here in norway, almost all of our ice sites are connected to reindeer hunting.
Archaeology spectacular artefacts found as norway ice patch melts discoveries exposed by retreating ice include snowshoe for horses and bronze age ski. Yukon ice patch archaeological sites the canadian encyclopedia. Nov 20, 2019 an ice patch nearing complete melt in northern mongolias ulaan taiga special protected area, 2018. Spectacular artefacts found as norway ice patch melts science. The melting ice patches and the artifacts they are revealing have given rise to the emerging field of ice patch archaeology. For several years ive been reading about and writing posts about ice patch archaeology the harvesting of ancient artifacts from areas where retreating ice has exposed the surface of the ground. Melting ice reveals ancient viking route in norway the new york. Norways melting ice is revealing priceless ancient artifacts. Melting arctic ice patches reveal rich archaeological record.
Spectacular items have been recovered in the yukon and other circumpolar countries. The yukon ice patches are a series of dozens of ice patches in the southern yukon discovered in 1997, which have preserved hundreds of archaeological artifacts, with. Retreat of norwegian ice patch reveals lost vikingera artifacts in mountain pass. Ice patches are long frozen areas of water and snow that lie on the always shaded sides of mountain ranges. Trondheim, norway scientists from the norwegian university of science and technology ntnu say that the kringsollfonna ice patch and the. In scandinavia and beyond, the booming field of glacier and ice patch archaeology represents both an opportunity and a crisis. Melting ice reveals a lost vikingera pass in norway s mountains artifacts show people used the route for 1,000 yearsthen abandoned it, possibly amid a plague by tom metcalfe on april. Apr 16, 2020 oslo ice patches that melted from the slopes of a remote mountain pass in norway have revealed artifacts that provide new insight into the livelihood of hunters, traders and travelers along a. Jan 27, 2018 norways melting ice is revealing priceless ancient artifacts. Jun 28, 2014 in switzerland and beyond, the booming field of glacier and ice patch archaeology represents both an opportunity and a crisis. Ice glacier archaeology program, a collaboration between norways. The university of colorado boulders institute of arctic and alpine research, or instaar, recently published the below video, which provides a brief overview of more than a decades worth of investigation into the archaeology of alpine snow and ice in greater yellowstone and the effects of climate change on archaeological resources. Ice patch archaeology museum of ontario archaeology.
The lendbreen ice patch is located high in the mountains of southern norway. Ice patch archaeology is being undertaken in norway quite extensively, where reindeer were exploited on ice patches from ancient times, iron age and vikings, to modern times. It is the first such ice site discovered in northern europe, the archaeology of glaciated mountain passes being otherwise better understood from research in the alps hafner 2015. Researchers say the pass, which crosses the lendbreen ice patch near. On one hand, it exposes artifacts and sites that have been preserved in ice for millennia, offering new insights into our ancient past. Home of ice giants thaws, shows previking hunts reuters. In the 1800s, the area was dubbed the jotunheim mountains, or the home of the jotnar, the rock and frost giants of norse mythology. Apr 16, 2020 retreat of norwegian ice patch reveals lost vikingera artifacts in mountain pass. A pass high in the norwegian mountains, lendbreen was an important route from the roman era until the time of the vikings. An entirely new discipline of archaeology called ice patch archaeology is evolving. Ancient human artefacts recovered from norways ice cosmos.
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