Melting ice and high-altitude excavations reveal secrets of Norwegian Vikings

Melting ice and high-altitude excavations reveal secrets of Norwegian Vikings

The summer of 2011 was extremely hot for southern Norway.In the places where high mountain depressions were blocked by snow and ice a few years ago, widely acclaimed surveyors and team members The secret of ice The project only found mixed talus and melt water.Through the ice-free boulders Lumbrin Pass, The crew quickly realized that they had walked into a Huge archaeological treasure, A person who has been frozen for a thousand years. They began to collect countless tools, artifacts and weapons-these items once belonged to the Vikings.

After receiving International As their findings received attention, the crew decided to return to Lundbring this summer to find a deeper answer. Questions remain, such as what the purpose of these mountain travelers and where they travel. In search of understanding, team members ventured across the Lendbreen Pass, where clothes, household items, sleighs, animal remains, and other cultural relics have been unearthed here over the years. Ancient Cairns marks the path down the mountain from the mountain pass, and this appears in folklore-18th-century legends tell of older settlements on this hillside, these houses even predate the existing historical records 300 years ago. Persistent search, finally made a breakthrough.Through the dense bushes, the team Found multiple stone foundations Centuries ago, it used to support wooden houses. Radiocarbon dating places these houses between 750 and 1150 AD.

Lars Pilø is a glacier archaeologist who led the secrets of the ice and snow project, Cooperation Between the Inland County Council and the University of Oslo. In an interview with GlacierHub, Lars pointed out that little is still known about how the Vikings used these alpine passages and whether their main purpose was grazing, travel, or trade. “The artifacts from melting glaciers are a new and very important source of data to shed light on these issues. They show that the high mountains of southern Norway are not remote areas without outside contact.” The facts are quite the opposite-evidence collected by the secret team of ice suggests that the use of The ancient people of these mountain passes had contact with the wider Viking world.

The team conducted small excavations in some of the stone foundations below Lendbreen and found charcoal in the center of each footprint-evidence that the hearth contains carbon-rich materials and can accurately determine the age of the house.Evidence of recovery from melting ice at higher altitudes is more diverse: the extensive list of ice blocks from the nearby Digervarden Rheinheimen National Park includes Iron and Bronze Age arrows, indicating that hunting is still important in this period of growing crops and grazing. Livestock, and Wooden skis from the 8th century The combination of CE is intact (one of two such prehistoric objects that have been discovered).

Archaeologist Runar Hole holds an 8th century Digervarden ski. source: Ord Cave, the secret of ice

Obtaining this evidence also has serious implications, because climate change and rapidly melting ice are now abandoning these ancient artifacts, making these discoveries possible.According to the International Center for Climate Research (CICERO), the 326 square kilometers of Norwegian glaciers Has disappeared since the mid-1980sIn the past 30 years, the total area covered by glaciers has decreased by 11%.

Mark Aldenderfer, a recognized expert in high-altitude archaeology and an outstanding professor emeritus at the University of California Merced, spoke to GlacierHub about the impact of climate change on these unique locations. “I think that in the foreseeable future, the ice will melt faster and faster, and archaeology should take advantage of this,” he pointed out. His argument for investigating rather than avoiding is based on the unfortunate fact that there is limited protection work that can effectively prevent these small areas from melting. He added: “We can only hope that the government and others will work hard to stabilize greenhouse gas emissions for the entire planet.”

Pilø responded to this position, stating that “our job is to try to rescue the archaeological discoveries that emerged from the melting ice.” In fact, the time frame for the restoration of these artifacts is very limited.Their organic composition Make them vulnerable Disintegration and decomposition, which means that if items are not found soon after being rescued from the ice, they are likely to be lost forever.

The rapidly melting Norwegian glacier near Broksdal. source: Bosque Danjou

This work is not without emotional effort. He emphasized that witnessing the rapid melting of mountain ice and glaciers left a “deep impression”. “Collecting fragments of human history in reverse order from the retreating ice layer is a job that cannot be done without a deep premonition.” He added that they kept the carbon footprint of the program at a low level, which usually means avoiding Use helicopters and walk to transport heavy equipment to higher altitudes (although sometimes the help of a packhorse is needed).

As of 2021, with a total of 63 sites and approximately 100 additional candidate sites, the “Ice Secret” plan has not slowed down. All of these locations are ancient reindeer and reindeer hunting grounds, two of which are mountain passes and one of them is Lundbring. In fact, prehistoric communities lived and hunted in these areas, and the remaining ice layer preserved their lost cultural relics, which makes these sites have great archaeological potential.

According to the Norwegian Climate Service (NCCS) Norway 2100 Climate ReportIt is estimated that by the end of this century, large glaciers will lose one third of their total area and volume. The smaller glaciers are expected to disappear completely, except in the highest altitude areas. Pilø was coldly unmoved. “There is still a lot of work to be done.”