From the ice in Jotunheimen, archaeological finds that have never been seen before are constantly melting. – We actually didn’t know about mussel arrowheads at all until the ice in the mountains started to melt, says glacier archaeologist at Innlandet county municipality, Lars Pilø. He calls it a world news. A total of three such arrowheads made of clams have now melted out in Jotunheimen, and four more have been found elsewhere in southern Norway. But none outside the country’s borders. Archaeologist Lars Pilø was there when they found such a shell arrow for the first time. WORLD NEWS: Archaeologist in Innlandet county municipality, Lars Holger Pilø, thinks it is very exciting with new discoveries in the ice in Innlandet. Photo: Private – I remember we shook our heads when we saw the first arrowhead. Because we saw it was a shell, but we couldn’t understand what it was doing 2,000 meters up in Jotunheimen. We found an arrow shaft next to it and realized they belonged together. But we were very surprised, he says. Had to pinch oneself It seems that Norway is alone in having made such discoveries, and that it is a special phenomenon here. If such arrowheads have been found elsewhere than in Norway, it is not known yet, says the archaeologist. – It is an absolutely incredible feeling when you find something that is completely unique. Sometimes you have to pinch yourself when you stand by the ice and find things, says Pilø. The arrows are most likely used to hunt reindeer on the ice. The hunters knew that the reindeer went onto the ice in the summer, and hunted them there. – When you missed the reindeer with the arrow, it ended up in the ice. So now, 3,500 years later, we have been allowed to see what they looked like, says Pilø. Like a time machine He says that a form of stone was usually used as an arrowhead. Otherwise they were made of bone or antler. But they had never heard of shell arrowheads before. They found out how old the shell arrows are using carbon dating. – Wooden arrow shafts were found together with the arrowheads, and it was possible to date them. We have found that they are from 3700 to 3500 years old. They were only in use for a short period as well, he says. Photo: Kulturhistorisk Museum/University of Oslo The special thing about archaeological finds from the ice is that they have been preserved in a completely different way to other archaeological finds from the lowlands. – It is almost as if they have been in a time machine. They are frozen in time while they are in the ice, says Pilø. Many ice discoveries in the Inland But as glaciers melt, more and more are coming to light. “Fortunately, there is still a lot of ice left in the high mountains, but unfortunately the way the climate is developing, 90 percent of the ice in the high mountains in the interior will be gone by the turn of the next century,” he says. Many archaeological finds from the ice in the interior have already melted out. In fact, more than half of the total ice discoveries in the world originate from the ice in the interior. The most recent discovery of such an arrow was made at Gjende lake in Jotunheimen in 2020. Ice mummy Brearchaeologist Lars Pilø is excited about what they will find in the future. – Yes, it is a bit difficult to say, but our great hope is that we will find an ice mummy like Ötzi. It would have been really exciting and something you can learn an incredible amount from, but then we’ll probably have a lot of luck. THE ICE MAN: The remains of the Stone Age man Ötzi were found in 1991 at an altitude of more than 3,200 meters on a glacier on the Italian-Austrian border. Photo: SIMONE CREPALDI / AP He says they are ready to deal with it, should something like this appear. – A piece of the past from the people in the mountains in the interior has, in a way, been frozen. When the ice melts, history will emerge again, says Lars Pilø. He believes they will learn a lot both about relatively new times, but also about really old times. The ice is melting backwards, and the finds are thus also older. He believes they can count on making discoveries that are up to 7,500 years old. – These are periods from which we have few finds in the interior from before, so there is a lot of excitement. Objects we don’t know, but organic materials like wood and leather, they are completely preserved.
ttn-69
Mussel arrowheads in Jotunheimen – news Innlandet – Local news, TV and radio
