The melting ice patch led to the discovery of Norway's oldest shoe, which dates back 3,000 years ago.

 

Climate change has the potential to wipe them out.

According to a new report published by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, thousands of ancient artifacts have been recovered from the melting mountain ice patches in Norway over the past two decades. The oldest shoe in Norway dates back 3,000 years to the Bronze Age, and it is just one of the thousands of ancient artifacts that have been recovered from these ice patches (NTNU).

Even after thousands of years of being kept in a frozen state, the artifacts recovered from Norwegian ice patches are frequently found to be in pristine condition, showing only minimal signs of decomposition and deformation. This is in contrast to the objects preserved in acidic soil or beneath enormous glaciers. This is because ice patches are comparatively stable, do not move, and do not contain any corrosive substances. The melting of the ice has revealed well-preserved items of clothing, weaponry, and other fabrics, as well as the remains of plants and animals, which have helped bring thousands of years of Norwegian history to light.

The authors noted that in just a few decades, enormous expanses of Norway's ice patches have begun to melt, which has exposed artifacts that have not yet been identified to the elements and would almost certainly cause their destruction.

Birgitte Skar, an archaeologist and associate professor at the NTNU University Museum, who is also a co-author of the paper, said in a statement that a survey based on satellite pictures obtained in 2020 shows that over 40 percent of 10 selected ice patches with known artifacts have melted away. "These estimates imply that there is a major risk to the preservation of discoveries made from the ice, not to mention the ice's role as an archive of climate data."

The vanishing of the past

Icy patches can occur at high elevations where snow and ice deposits accumulate over the winter and do not completely melt away during the summer. Because ice patches do not migrate as glaciers do, artifacts that are put in them can be expected to remain undisturbed for hundreds or even thousands of years. When the ice begins to melt, the objects it swallowed up will emerge back into the light of day, completely unchanged from how they appeared before the ice consumed them. However, suppose the scientists cannot rescue these artifacts within a short period after the meeting begins. In that case, they risk the relics being destroyed by the natural environment.

Researchers interested in the ancient peoples, plants, and animals of frosty and high locations worldwide have found ice patch archaeology to be an extremely helpful field of study. Researchers in Norway have unearthed thousands of items that belonged to Bronze Age hunting tribes that roamed much of northern Europe and southern Scandinavia in quest of reindeer. According to the findings of a recent study, during the warm summer months, reindeer take refuge in the mountainous ice patches of the region to escape the biting insects and intense heat. The hunters followed the herds of reindeer, leaving artifacts and treasure troves behind their wake.

The shoe that dated back 3,000 years and was found in 2007 in the mountainous Jotunheimen in southern Norway is still considered an exceptional find. The small shoe was made of leather, and according to modern measurements, it would be a size 4 or 5 in the United.

States. This indicates that it belonged to either a young girl or a young boy. The fact that the shoe was found in the same place as several arrows and a wooden spade proves that the location was an important hunting ground. According to the experts who made the discovery, the shoe has been dated to around 1100 B.C., making it the oldest shoe discovered in Norway and quite possibly the most aged piece of clothing found anywhere in Scandinavia.

After further investigation, archaeologists found even more ancient items at the Jotunheimen site. One of these was an arrow shaft that dated back 6,100 years; the experts believe this makes it the oldest object ever found in a Norwegian ice patch. The fact that it was located close to the shoe provides evidence that humans have constantly occupied the area for a considerable time.

Despite these astonishing discoveries, the research authors express concern that countless further cultural items may be lost forever before they are discovered because of the consequences of climate change. A report from the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate in 2022 indicates that ice patches covering 140 square miles (364 square kilometers) have melted since 2006. This represents an area nearly equivalent to half the size of New York City. If artifacts are not retrieved from these spots as soon as they become revealed, there is a high chance that they will be permanently lost, damaged, or destroyed.

Few ice patches in Norway have been carefully investigated, particularly in northern Norway, which is largely unstudied and has the fewest ice patches overall. The researchers advise instituting a national program to monitor ice patches, which would involve using remote sensors to carry out a thorough study of ice patches and securing any artifacts that become exposed as a result of melting ice.

"We used to view the ice as a barren and lifeless landscape, and as a result, we did not place much importance on it. This is currently changing, but it must be done quickly. Jörgen Rosvold, a biologist and assistant research director at the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, was one of the report's co-authors, and he commented on it in the statement. "Huge quantities of this one-of-a-kind material are melting away, and they will never be seen again."

 

 

 

Article source :  https://www.livescience.com/bronze-age-shoe-norway-ice-patch

Image source  : https://pixabay.com/id/photos/keset-selamat-datang-sepatu-salam-7043413/

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