Melting glacier in Norway reveals rare Viking Age artifact
Miscellaneous / / September 25, 2023
An unexpected consequence of global warming.
Norwegian archaeologists found well-preserved fragments of an ancient horse bridle. The artifact was discovered thanks to the melting of a glacier near Norway's highest mountain, Gallhöpiggen.
Global warming has also exposed horse manure, textiles, horseshoes, leaf fodder and part of a leather belt - about 150 items in all. Scientists have not yet been able to determine the exact age of the found objects, but the shape of the metal rods of the bit suggests that they are from the Viking Age (from the 8th to the 11th centuries).
It will take several months to get a definitive answer. However, scientists have no doubt that they date back to the Iron Age or the early Middle Ages.
This is not the first discovery that archaeologists have made thanks to the melting of snow and ice in the region. Hundreds of other artifacts were previously discovered here, all of them coming from different times. Thanks to this, it was possible to establish that the Norwegians had been using this mountain pass for more than 1,200 years. Now it has become clear that horses also took part in these journeys at an altitude of about 2,000 meters above sea level.
The value of this place is also given by the fact that due to permafrost, even organic materials - wood, leather, textiles and feces - could be preserved here. Ice served as their freezer for hundreds of years.
Interesting discoveries of archaeologists🧐
- Lost city and hundreds of Bronze Age artifacts found in northern China
- A shining sword more than 3,000 years old was found in Germany
- In Germany, the entrance to an Ice Age cave was opened - it is 16 thousand years old