Viking’s 1,500-year-old arrowhead that was preserved in ice is discovered after climate change melts Norwegian glacier
- Archaeologist uncovered a 1,500-year-old iron arrowhead in the Norway glacier Jotunheimen
- This team investigates melting glaciers in the country to find such relics – they have found more than 2,000
- The arrowhead dates back to the Germanic Iron Age, is seven inches long and weighs a little over an ounce
Advertisement
Climate change has revealed a Viking’s missed shot that laid hidden in a glacier for 1,500 years.
An ancient arrowhead dating back to the Germanic Iron Age was discovered in southern Norway, along with its arrow shaft and one of the feather in glaciers locate in southern Norway.
The arrowhead, made of iron, is seven inches long and weighs just a little over an ounce – and melted at the ice at one mile.
Archaeologists involved noted that climate change has made its way to the Jotunheimen glacier, which is warming temperature sand melting the ice – allowing the artifacts to be set free from their icy cage.
Scroll down for video
An ancient arrowhead dating back to the Germanic Iron Age was discovered in southern Norway, along with its arrow shaft and one of the feather in glaciers locate in southern Norway
Anthropologist Shoshi Parks, who is involved with the Glacier Archaeology Program, wrote: ‘Three national parks converge in this region of central Norway, but Jotunheimen is arguably the most spectacular, with 250 peaks over 1,900 meters high [one mile] , including the two tallest in northern Europe—Galdhøpiggen and Glittertind, according to GlacierHub.org.
‘Among the stone titans are alpine lakes and shimmering turquoise glaciers, chequering an ancient landscape of unspeakable beauty.’
Many of the glaciers in Norway have experienced dramatic melting over the past few years as a result of warmer temperatures that expert say are caused by climate change.
Although this means archaeologists can uncover relics of the past, it is also threatening to destroy them if they are not discovered in time.
Many of the glaciers in Norway have experienced dramatic melting over the past few years as a result of warmer temperatures that expert say are caused by climate change. Although this means archaeologists can uncover relics of the past, it is also threatening to destroy them if they are not discovered in time (pictured is where they found the arrow)
Lars Pilø, who is also part of the Glacier Archaeology Program told CNN: ‘At our sites we experience a rapid melting … and bits and pieces of human history melt out in reverse time order.’
The team has been excavating Jotunheimen for quite some time and last year they found an ancient snowshoe for horses, which they estimates dates back to the Viking Age or the Medieval Period.
And because it was frozen in time ‘the preservation is just mindblowing,’ reads a Twitter post announcing the find in 2019.
The Glacier Archaeology Program, which is located in Norway, has uncovered more than 2,000 artifacts from the area’s glaciers with the oldest being around 6,000 years old, which dates back to the Stone Age.
The relics include man-made items like hunting tools, textiles, leather and clothing, as well as zoological materials like antlers, bones, and dung.
The team has been excavating Jotunheimen for quite some time and last year they found an ancient snowshoe (pictured) for horses, which they estimates dates back to the Viking Age or the Medieval Period. And because it was frozen in time ‘the preservation is just mindblowing,’ reads a Twitter post announcing the find in 2019