Melting ice reveals lost viking artefacts on mountain pass

Image Credit : Antiquity Journal

Climate change is leading to the retreat of mountain glaciers.
In Norway, hundreds of rare archaeological finds have been revealed by melting ice in a lost mountain pass at Lendbreen in Innlandet County.

The finds tell a remarkable story of high-altitude travel in the Roman Iron Age and the Viking Age.

“A lost mountain pass melting out of the ice is a dream discovery for us glacial archaeologists,” says Lars Pilo, first author of the study and co-director for the Glacier Archaeology Program.

“In such passes, travellers lost many artefacts that became frozen in time by the ice. These incredibly well-preserved artefacts of organic materials have great historical value.”

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MÂCON, UN CAS D'ÉCOLE

La fouille de Mâcon et les recherches en archives éclairent un passé médiéval de la ville jusqu'alors méconnu. Sous la férule d'un archéologue de l'Inrap, des élèves de l'école élémentaire Marc Chagall se sont initiés à la discipline.

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The Hunt for the Lost Mountain Pass

Viking Age spear, originally found in one piece in front of the Lendbreen ice patch. 

Photo: Vegard Vike, Museum of Cultural History.

Global warming is leading to the retreat of mountain glaciers. Surprisingly, this has created a boon for archaeology. Incredibly well preserved and rare artifacts have emerged from melting glaciers and ice patches in North America, the Alps and Scandinavia. A new archaeological field has opened up – glacial archaeology. The archaeological finds from the ice show that humans have utilized the high mountains more intensely than was previously known – for hunting, transhumance and traveling. New important discoveries are made each year, as the ice continues to melt back.

As glacial archaeologists, our dream discovery is a site where an ancient high mountain trail crossed non-moving ice. On such sites, past travelers left behind lots of artifacts, frozen in time by the ice. These artifacts can tell us when people travelled, when travel was at its most intense, why people travelled across the mountains and even who the travelers were. This information has great historical value.

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'Spectacular' artefacts found as Norway ice-patch melts

A horse snowshoe found during 2019 fieldwork at Lendbreen. 

Photograph: Espen Finstad/secretsoftheice.com

Discoveries exposed by retreating ice include snowshoe for horses and bronze age ski

The retreat of a Norwegian mountain ice patch, which is melting because of climate change, has revealed a lost Viking-era mountain pass scattered with “spectacular” and perfectly preserved artefacts that had been dropped by the side of the road.

The pass, at Lendbreen in Norway’s mountainous central region, first came to the attention of local archaeologists in 2011, after a woollen tunic was discovered that was later dated to the third or fourth century AD. The ice has retreated significantly in the years since, exposing a wealth of artefacts including knitted mittens, leather shoes and arrows still with their feathers attached.

Though carbon dating of the finds reveals the pass was in use by farmers and travellers for a thousand years, from the Nordic iron age, around AD200-300, until it fell out of use after the Black Death in the 14th century, the bulk of the finds date from the period around AD1000, during the Viking era, when trade and mobility in the region were at their zenith.

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Remains of St Eanswythe found in Folkestone?

The remains were found in the church of St Mary and St Eanswythe 

[Image: Mark Hourahane]

Recent scientific tests on human remains kept for centuries in the church of St Mary and St Eanswythe in Folkestone, Kent, have suggested that they are likely to be those of Eanswythe herself.

St Eanswythe was the granddaughter of Æthelbert, the first English king to convert to Christianity under the Augustine mission, and is thought to have founded one of the earliest monastic communities in England in around AD 660.

Historical documents indicate that Eanswythe’s bones were kept as relics in Folkestone after her death, and were moved to the present church when it was built in 1138. There are records of an active shrine to the saint there until the 1530s; however, there is no mention of her remains after this date, and it was assumed that they had been destroyed during the Reformation – until renovations in 1885 revealed a lead container that had been hidden in a niche in the north wall and contained human bones.

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Probable Roman shipwrecks unearthed at a Serbian coal mine

Thanks to the pandemic, radiocarbon dating and further excavations are on hold.

Coal miners in Serbia recently dug up an unexpected surprise: three probable Roman-era ships, buried in the mud of an ancient riverbed for at least 1,300 years. The largest is a flat-bottomed river vessel 15 meters (49 feet) long, which seems to have been built with Roman techniques. Two smaller boats, each carved out from a single tree trunk, match ancient descriptions of dugout boats used by Slavic groups to row across the Danube River and attack the Roman frontier.

The Kostolac surface mine lies near the ancient Roman city of Viminacium, once a provincial capital and the base for a squadron of Roman warships on the Danube River. When the Roman Empire ruled most of Southern Europe, the Danube or one of its larger branches flowed across the land now occupied by the mine. The three ships lay atop a 15-meter- (49-foot-) deep layer of gravel, buried under seven meters (23 feet) of silt and clay, which preserved them for centuries in remarkably good condition—or did until the miners' earthmoving equipment dug into the steep slope to excavate for the mine.

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NOTRE-DAME DE PARIS : LES ARCHÉOLOGUES DE L’INRAP MOBILISÉS

À l’occasion du premier anniversaire de l’incendie, le documentaire « Sauver Notre-Dame » est diffusé, mardi 14 avril, sur France 2. L’Inrap, l’un des coproducteurs du film, est immédiatement intervenu à l’intérieur de Notre-Dame pour fouiller dans la nef, l’ensemble des matériaux effondrés (poutres, pierres, métal), à l’aide d'engins téléguidés et de relevés photogrammétriques.

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Like Lego: rare photo shows Stonehenge construction technique

The uprights and lintels of Stonehenge were locked together by means of a joint more commonly used in woodwork – the mortise and tenon. Photograph: Christopher Ison/English Heritag/PA

Like Lego: rare photo shows Stonehenge construction technique Prehistoric builders used method of locking together giant stones familiar to toy fans

A construction technique that links Stonehenge with one of the modern world’s most beloved children’s toys has been displayed in an image of the ancient temple taken from an unusual angle.

The rare photograph, which is believed to have been snapped from a hot air balloon, shows the prehistoric builders of Stonehenge used a method of locking together the giant stones familiar to every fan of Lego.

On the top of the towering upright stones, Stonehenge’s clever and determined craftspeople fashioned smooth knobs that fitted snugly into corresponding holes carved into the weighty lintels that were placed on top of them: just like huge pieces of Lego.

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Chislehurst Caves – The 35km Cave City in London

Chislehurst Caves art Sculpture – Credit : barclakj

Chislehurst Caves is an extensive complex of subterranean tunnels of uncertain origin that stretch up to 35km in the suburbs of south London in Chislehurst, Bromley.
Despite being called caves, they are entirely man-made and were probably first constructed as a mine to extract the flint deposits in the London chalk layers.

It has been suggested that part of the cave system dates from up to 8000 years ago, but the first recorded mention was actually noted in medieval documents of circa 1250AD and in post-medieval church records of 1737AD.

The last known date of active mining in the caves was around the mid 19th century. An Ordnance Survey map of 1862–63 describes the place as a “chalk pit” and marks an “engine house” and two remaining kilns used for the extraction of flint and lime.

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Seafood full of poison in the Stone Age, because of climate change

The excavation and the view towards the west in Varanger. During the settlement, the shoreline was approximately 10 meters below the edge of the excavation. The land has risen a lot since the settlement was in use, some 12 meters. (Photo: Hans Peter Blankholm)

Large amounts of toxic heavy metals such as cadmium and lead made cod and Greenland seals into harmful food in Northern Norway during the Younger Stone Age. Constantly rising sea temperatures and sea-level rise due to climate change can cause seafood to become equally unhealthy in the future.

This is what archaeology researchers are warning about in a recent study published in the journal Quaternary International.

"The discovery of so much toxic heavy metals in the seafood was very surprising, and we found very high values", says professor of archaeology at UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Hans Peter Blankholm.

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Who lived near Pommelte, the 'German Stonehenge'?

The reconstructed ring-shaped sanctuary at Pommelte

[Credit: Picture-Alliance/DPA/P. Gercke]

Starting in April, an about-4,000-year-old settlement will be excavated to provide insights into Early Bronze Age life. Settlements of this size have not yet been found at the related henges in the British Isles.

Pommelte is a ring-shaped sanctuary with earth walls, ditches and wooden piles that is located in the northeastern part of Germany, south of Magdeburg. The site is very much reminiscent of the world-famous monument Stonehenge, and it is likely that the people there performed very similar rituals to those of their counterparts in what is now Britain 4,300 years ago.

In the immediate vicinity of the sanctuary, archaeologists from the State Office for Monument Conservation and Archaeology, together with fellow experts from the University of Halle, have found numerous remains of a settlement going back thousands of years during their last two excavation campaigns there. Starting in April, this settlement is to be uncovered as completely as possible.

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50,000-year-old string found at France Neanderthal site

A scanning electron micrograph of the cord fragment showed the twisted fibres

PA MEDIA

A piece of 50,000-year-old string - the oldest yet discovered - found in a cave in France has cast further doubt on the idea that Neanderthals were cognitively inferior to modern humans.

A study published in Scientific Reports said a tiny, three-ply cord fragment made from bark was spotted on a stone tool recovered from the Abri du Maras.

It implies that Neanderthals understood concepts like pairs, sets and numbers.

Twisted fibres provide the basis for clothes, bags, nets and even boats.

Neanderthals - whose species died out about 40,000 years ago - are already known to have made birch bark tar, art and shell beads.

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Stunning archaeological find reveals London 3,000 years older than previously thought

Stock image of archaelogists working in East London (Image: GETTY)

An archaeological find just 15 metres outside the boundary of the northern edge of the historic City of London has unearthed evidence of a prehistoric ceremonial site. The city might have been home to a popular assembly for major events and rituals in the fourth millennium BC. Jon Cotton, a consultant prehistorian working with charitable company Mola told the Independent: “This remarkable collection helps to fill a critical gap in London’s prehistory.

“Archaeological evidence for the period after farming arrived in Britain rarely survives in the capital.”

London was already occupied at the time of the Roman conquest of the mid-first century, but this find puts its existence back 37 centuries.

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Editor’s pick: 11 fascinating articles on the Normans you can read right now

Cnut’s invasion of England: setting the scene for the Norman conquest
The 1066 battle of Hastings is one of the most famous dates in medieval history. But it is often forgotten that the Norman conquest was preceded by another invasion of England some 50 years earlier – led by Danish warrior Cnut in 1015–16. This piece by medieval blogger Dr Eleanor Parker on Cnut’s invasion of England in 1013 sets the scene for the events later in the 11th century very nicely.

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Direct evidence of Neanderthal fibre technology and its cognitive and behavioral implications

Map showing location of Abri du Maras. (Map by S. Puaud).

Neanderthals are often considered as less technologically advanced than modern humans. However, we typically only find faunal remains or stone tools at Paleolithic sites. Perishable materials, comprising the vast majority of material culture items, are typically missing. Individual twisted fibres on stone tools from the Abri du Maras led to the hypothesis of Neanderthal string production in the past, but conclusive evidence was lacking. Here we show direct evidence of fibre technology in the form of a 3-ply cord fragment made from inner bark fibres on a stone tool recovered in situ from the same site. Twisted fibres provide the basis for clothing, rope, bags, nets, mats, boats, etc. which, once discovered, would have become an indispensable part of daily life. Understanding and use of twisted fibres implies the use of complex multi-component technology as well as a mathematical understanding of pairs, sets, and numbers. Added to recent evidence of birch bark tar, art, and shell beads, the idea that Neanderthals were cognitively inferior to modern humans is becoming increasingly untenable.

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Tie game: Ancient bit of string shows Neanderthal handiwork

Part of a Neanderthal cord from Abri du Maras, France. Photo / AP

It looked like a white splotch on the underside of a Neanderthal stone tool. But a microscope showed it was a bunch of fibres twisted around each other.

Further examination revealed it was the first direct evidence that Neanderthals could make string, and the oldest known direct evidence for string-making overall, researchers say.

The find implies our evolutionary cousins had some understanding of numbers and the trees that furnished the raw material, they say. It's the latest discovery to show Neanderthals were smarter than modern-day people often assume.

Bruce Hardy, of Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, and colleagues report the discovery in a paper released Thursday by the journal Scientific Reports. The string hints at the possibility of other abilities, like making bags, mats, nets and fabric, they said.

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Leap of faith: ancient Britons viewed hares and chickens as gods

The brown hare was considered too special to eat, as were chickens. 

Photograph: Chris Upson/Getty Images/Flickr RF

Iron age research reveals modern Easter festivals not first to celebrate chicks and bunnies

Brown hares and chickens were revered as gods rather than reared for food when they were first introduced to Britain in the iron age, archaeological analysis suggests.

In research that shows modern-day Easter festivals were not the first to celebrate chicks and bunnies, a team of experts from the universities of Exeter, Leicester and Oxford have found evidence that the animals were buried with care and intact in the period that preceded the Roman invasion of Britain.

Historical evidence suggests Britons of the period associated the animals with deities and considered them too special to eat. Commentarii de Bello Gallico, Julius Caesar’s firsthand account of the Gallic wars, says “the Britons consider it contrary to divine law to eat the hare, the chicken or the goose. They raise these, however, for their own amusement or pleasure.”

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New discovery suggests London’s story goes back more than 3,000 years longer than previously thought

An aerial view of MOLA archaeologists excavating at Principal Place in Shoreditch - the site of the new Amazon HQ 

© MOLA

The evidence for very early organised human communal activity in what would later become London is the discovery of a substantial amount of early Neolithic pottery – 436 fragments in total.

In terms of quantity, nothing like it has ever been found in central London before.

The fragments, found in Shoreditch, come from between 25 and 35 cooking and other pots.

What's more, scientific analysis, carried out by the University of Bristol, shows that there were two basic types of pot usage - and has therefore been able to reveal the nature and scale of what was happening at the site.

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Evidence of Ancient Surgery Unearthed in Greece

According to a statement released by Adelphi University, researchers led by Anagnostis Agelarakis examined the remains of four women and six men who were buried between the fourth and seventh centuries A.D. at the site of Paliokastro on the Greek island of Thasos. As part of the Eastern Roman Empire, they were part of a group of mounted archers and lancers who were buried in elaborate graves near a monumental church.

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Mysteries of decorated ostrich eggs revealed

Two ostrich eggs found in the "Isis tomb", an elite burial at Etruscan Vulci (Italy)

BRITISH MUSEUM

If you wanted to give an extravagant gift 5,000 years ago, you might have chosen an ostrich egg.

Now some of these beautiful Easter egg-sized objects are in London's British Museum.

The eggs were found in Italy but their origins have long been a mystery - ostriches are not indigenous to Europe.

Now, research into the museum's collection by an international team of archaeologists reveals new insights into their history.

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