It has been a very busy few weeks for the glacial archaeologists from Innlandet County's Secrets of the Ice and the Museum of Cultural History in Oslo.
First, they uncovered an arrowhead during their fieldwork in the Jotunheimen Mountains in Norway. Shortly after, they found a special arrow at a new but undisclosed site.
The Viking Herald reached out to Lars Holger Pilø, co-director of Secrets of the Ice at the Department of Cultural Heritage of the Innlandet County Council, to get more information on the most recent find.
Likely used for reindeer hunting
Pilø was able to share information on the dating and function of the arrow.
"The arrow is 800-900 years old, which is the early medieval period here in Norway. It was presumably used for reindeer hunting.
"It was discovered on a new but undisclosed site – we do not give information on the location of sites before the surveys are completed.
"The site was found last year, and we had a short exploratory survey there before the winter snow came. Now we are back with a large team – it is a large site, the ice patch is 1 kilometer long," he explained.
Experts believe that the arrow is 800 to 900 years old. Its front end is broken off. Photo: Espen Finstad / Secrets of the Ice
A special arrow
Furthermore, he accentuated that the arrow had a special feature to it.
"The arrow is special in that it has been repaired. Part of the nock broke off, and the piece has been reattached using sinew lashings.
"But then the arrow was lost in the snow. Bad day at the office for the medieval hunter," Pilø jokingly added.
The hunter likely managed to break off part of the nock, so he had to repair it. He did so by securing the broken piece with sinew lashings. Photo: Espen Finstad / Secrets of the Ice
Secrets of the Ice
The Secrets of the Ice website and social media belong to the Glacier Archaeological Program in Innlandet County, Norway.
"We cover our own glacial archaeological work and similar work of our colleagues in North America, Canada, Mongolia, and the Alps.
"We also cover other aspects of frozen heritage such as Ice Age animals appearing from the permafrost and human burials in permafrost.
"In short, we tell the story of a world that is melting due to anthropogenic climate change," Pilø told The Viking Herald earlier this week.
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