Norwegian Ice Surveys Recover 48 Ancient Arrowheads and Shafts

Scientists surveying glaciers in southern Norway have recovered 48 arrowheads and shafts from different periods, according to Good News Network. The finds form part of Secrets of the Ice, a project in its 20th year of searching for ancient objects preserved in mountain ice.

The two supplied reports cover the same discovery and come from Good News Network, rather than separate outlets. The shorter account describes the recovery, while the fuller report provides details about the project, the objects’ estimated ages and their preservation.

According to the fuller report, Secrets of the Ice is organised through a partnership between Innlandet County and the Oslo Cultural Museum. Fieldwork focused on Langfonne, Storfonne and Handklefonne in the Jotunheimen mountains, with this season yielding some of the project’s oldest finds.

Good News Network reported arrowheads made from slate, bone and freshwater mussel shell. It described dates ranging from approximately 2,000 to 5,000 years ago, while noting that a slate arrowhead could be 6,000 years old. An accompanying caption estimated a slate arrowhead at approximately 5,000 years old; the supplied material does not establish whether these references concern the same object.

The mussel-shell arrowhead was recovered with its wooden shaft intact and is believed to be about 3,600 years old, according to the outlet.

Good News Network attributed the objects’ preservation to conditions within the ice, where limited oxygen slows deterioration of wood and other carbon-based materials. Once exposed, however, finds can deteriorate quickly. The report described their placement in cold, oxygen-free museum display cases while awaiting cataloguing and study.

Some recent discoveries were shown at the Norwegian Mountain Museum, according to the report, which said objects can enter refrigerated displays within days of recovery. Finds may subsequently be moved to Oslo.

The outlet reported that, since work began in 2006, the project has recorded 73 archaeological sites and recovered more than 5,000 objects. Researchers described a shift from finds predominantly less than 2,000 years old towards increasing numbers from the Stone Age and Bronze Age, including objects more than 6,000 years old.

Sources

• Good News Network: World’s Largest ‘Glacial Archeology’ Expedition Recovers 48 Stone Age Arrowheads and Shafts
• World’s Largest ‘Glacial Archeology’ Expedition Recovers 48 Stone Age Arrowheads and Shafts