Norway’s melting ice is revealing 6,000-year-old secrets — but archaeologists are racing to save them

For thousands of years, mountain ice in Norway kept traces of human activity locked away from the elements. Now, as that ice retreats, some of those objects are returning to the surface — including arrows that may be thousands of years old.

The team of archaeologists excavating in the Jotunheimen Mountains in Norway has found 48 prehistoric arrows, out of which the most intriguing one is about 5,000-6,000 years old.

The arrow is unusual in its excellent state of preservation; it features a slate head, a wooden handle, and prehistoric binding material.


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As mountain ice disappears, increasingly old archaeological material is being exposed. Objects from the Stone Age and Bronze Age are now appearing more frequently, adding to a record that already includes more than 5,000 artefacts.

But the melting ice presents a problem of its own. Once ancient organic material emerges into the open, the cold, stable conditions that protected it are gone. Wood, hide, sinew and textiles can deteriorate quickly.

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For archaeologists, finding the objects is therefore only half the job. They also have to find them before nature destroys them.

A 5,000-year-old arrow emerges from the Norwegian mountains

The latest discoveries were made in the Kvitingskjølen mountain area of Jotunheimen during fieldwork by the Secrets of the Ice glacial archaeology programme in Innlandet.

Researchers spent three weeks examining three mountain ice sites — Langfonne, Storfonne and Handklefonne.

In many instances, regions which had previously been glaciated became totally uncovered.

Some of the artefacts include an extremely old arrow believed to have existed between 5,000 and 6,000 years ago. Information on the arrowhead, which is made of slate and the wooden shaft tells a story of prehistoric technology, while the binding material gives details of its manufacture.

The arrow belongs to a period when people were using the high mountains for hunting long before the Viking Age.

That makes the find particularly useful. An object such as an arrow is not simply evidence that people were present in the mountains. Its construction can also tell researchers about the materials, techniques and equipment used by prehistoric hunters.

The preservation of the shaft is equally significant. Organic materials normally disappear over long periods, but the frozen environment can protect them for thousands of years.

Now that the object has been removed from that environment, conservation becomes critical.

The older the ice melts, the older the history can become

Another interesting pattern that has been confirmed through this year’s discoveries is that the material discovered in Norway through glacial archaeology is becoming increasingly old. When glacial archaeology became systematic in Innlandet in 2006, archaeologists found artefacts that dated no further back than 2,000 years ago. The Viking Age material was quite common.That picture has changed.

Researchers are now recovering substantially more Stone Age and Bronze Age objects. The wider Secrets of the Ice programme has identified archaeological sites containing material dating back more than 6,000 years.

The reason lies partly in what is happening beneath the surface.

Ice accumulates in layers over long periods. Objects deposited on or around ancient snowfields can become buried and preserved as those layers build up. When older ice begins to disappear, material that has remained hidden for thousands of years can finally become accessible.

The process is effectively opening different chapters of the archaeological record.

The following has been discovered from the time that the project has begun; seventy-three sites have been identified while more than five thousand artefacts have been unearthed. The artefacts include hunting tools like arrows and bows, as well as clothing, shoes, packhorse equipment, and other items associated with mountain life.

It can be seen from the finds that the land was not unoccupied wilderness. Humans made trips to these places, hunted here, and utilised them in various ways.

What melting ice gives archaeologists, it can quickly destroy

The irony of the discoveries is that the same process exposing the artefacts can also put them at risk.

The arrow shaft has been preserved within the ice for thousands of years and was therefore safeguarded from many of the processes which usually destroy wooden items. However, once this item is removed from the ice, the process of decomposition speeds up.

The danger is especially serious for organic materials.

Although wood, leather, fabrics, hides, and sinews will withstand freezing very effectively, once this freezing ceases, they become vulnerable. It thus means that an object which has been preserved for thousands of years may start deteriorating immediately upon discovery by the archaeologist.

That makes fieldwork at melting ice sites unusually time-sensitive.

Researchers need to locate objects, record their position, photograph and document them, recover them carefully and arrange appropriate conservation. Missing a season can mean missing an artefact altogether.

The problem is not limited to individual objects. The disappearance of ice can also erase the environmental context surrounding them — information that helps researchers understand how and when people used these mountain landscapes.

The archaeological record is therefore changing as quickly as the landscape itself.

Norway’s ice archive may not remain frozen for much longer

The 48 arrows recovered this year arrive during the 20th anniversary of glacial archaeology in Innlandet, giving researchers two decades of observations with which to compare the latest discoveries.

That long record has revealed how rapidly conditions at some archaeological sites can change.

Researchers estimate that at many sites, the remaining ice could disappear completely within roughly 20 years, based on observations gathered over the programme's history.

That does not mean every archaeological site will follow the same timetable. Ice conditions vary between mountains, elevations and individual patches. But the broader trend has made continued fieldwork increasingly important.

The latest artefacts are now being documented and prepared for further research and conservation. Some of the oldest discoveries have already been placed in a refrigerated display at the Norwegian Mountain Centre in Lom, allowing visitors to see objects recovered only days earlier.

The 5,000–6,000-year-old arrow is among them.

Its journey from a frozen mountain slope to a museum display also illustrates the unusual nature of glacial archaeology.

The researchers are not conducting excavations at a regular archaeological site, which has stayed unchanged for hundreds of years. The scientists are dealing with lands which change over time, and an object that was excellently preserved can become extremely endangered in a very short period.

With further melting of Norway's mountain ice, more old objects may appear. However, it is not only a matter of what is still hidden under the ice, but also whether archaeologists have an opportunity to find it in time.

Frequently asked questions

1. How old is the most ancient arrow that was found in the melting ice in Norway?

According to scientists, the age of one of the recent discoveries is between 5,000 and 6,000 years, and it is made up of a slate arrowhead, wooden shaft, and old binding.

2. Where have the ancient arrows been discovered?

The ancient arrows were found in the area of the Kvitingskjølen mountain in Jotunheimen, Norway. The research work on these archaeological finds was conducted during the last expedition on the ice patches of Langfonne, Storfonne and Handklefonne.

3. Why are there ancient artefacts appearing from the melting ice of Norway?

Since the older layers of mountain ice are melting, the items that were buried in them before become uncovered. Thus, the scientists started finding artefacts that belong to both the Stone and Bronze Ages among more recent finds.

4. Why should the objects be recovered quickly?

Such materials as leather, hide, wood, and textiles can be well-preserved for thousands of years under freezing conditions. Once the artefacts are uncovered, they start to decay fast.