On a lonely mountain in Norway, glacial archaeologists have discovered a collection of weapons and secret hiding places used by reindeer hunters more than a thousand years ago.
The archaeological team found five arrows during a survey of the inland mountain peak of Sandgrove Scarlet, three of which are more than 1,700 years old. In addition, the researchers found 40 hunting shelters built of stone, making hunters "invisible" to nearby reindeer.
"When the reindeer approach 10-20 meters (33 to 66 feet), the hunter stands up and starts shooting arrows," explains Lars Peele, an archaeologist at the Norwegian Cultural Heritage Department, the Inlanders County Council, co-director of the Glacier Archaeology Project and editor of the Secrets of Ice website.
Peel and his colleagues spent years traversing the mountains, looking for objects exposed by receding glaciers. They discovered the site in 2013, but a large-scale systematic survey wasn't possible until 2018, when they discovered the weapons and hunting hideaways. "Due to climate change, glacier melting is severe and we must prioritize other sites within a short window of glacial archaeological research," he explained. ”
Three of the arrows still retain iron arrowheads. According to Peale, depending on the shape of the arrow, the weapons are likely to be between 300 and 600 AD.
In an email to Live Science, Peale said the iron arrow of one of the arrows was "an unusual shape that was also rare in previous ice and lowland tombs." When Secrets of Ice and Snow posted the discovery on social media in February, he said "a lot of people thought it was the spearhead" but "the arrow shaft was right next to it." So this is an arrow. ”
According to Peale, the other two arrows without iron arrows are likely from the period of the first millennium BC.
The range of these arrows will not exceed 20 meters (66 feet). "Therefore, hunters need a shelter. If not, they build one themselves. "The Secret of Ice and Snow is a book of Secrets of Ice and Snow.
The hunters did not live on this 1900-meter-high mountain. Glacial archaeologist Espen Finstad told us: "They probably lived in the lowlands, but certainly had huge hunting sites in the mountains. "People in this area lived in small communities during the Stone Age. According to Finstad, later they lived in "large longhouses in the valley" during the Iron Age. According to Natural Science, glacial archaeologists announced the discovery of several such longhouses in 2021.
The team also found 77 reindeer antlers and bones, as well as 32 repellent sticks that would be buried in the ground like fence pillars to guide frightened reindeer toward waiting archers, Peale said. He noted that these repelling sticks date back to the Iron Age between 200 and 1000 AD.
Peale told Natural Science: "Repellent sticks are used to guide reindeer towards hunting shelters, but exactly how this is still a question we are trying to figure out. ”
Peel and his colleagues plan to continue making glacier melting observations in the surrounding mountains. After all, time is running out. According to a translation statement issued by the Norwegian Water and Energy Authority in February, Norway's extensive glacial area has declined by 14 percent since measurements from 1999 to 2006.