Saturday 7 September 2013

Climate Change Reveals Ancient Norwegian Artifacts

Original article from Antquity

Rapid climate change has been a boon for archaeologists in cold climates. Each year more and more ice is melting and revealing artifacts Bronze Age artifacts. The most famous case of this being the revealing of Otzi, a preserved Bronze Age man found in the Swiss/Italian Alps approximately twenty years ago.

Recent finds from record snow melts in Norway have revealed other interesting artifacts. This tunic was found exposed on the Lendbreen glacier, bleached by sunlight and wind exposure. It is made from lamb's and sheep wool with signs of patchwork and repair. It has been dated to 230-290 AD.

A set of arrowheads were found in a snowbank nearby that are dated to 6000 years old. The author of the paper writes:

"The number and antiquity of some of these artefacts is unprecedented in the almost century-long history of snow patch surveying in the region. At the same time, as the climate continues to heat up and the snows melt away, one wonders what long-term price there will be to pay for these glimpses of the frozen past."

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