Archaeologists found on Norway's ice an arrow that could be 4000 years old
Archaeologists in Norway have discovered an arrow shaft that appears to date back to the Stone Age, meaning it is around 4,000 years old.
The discovery has been made on the side of Mount Lauvhøe, which is located in the Norwegian municipality of Lom. Archaeologists had previously found arrows from the Middle Ages and Iron Ages when they last explored the area in 2017. However, this new arrow was found after the ice at the site melted in recent years.
The team said the discovery predates other finds by more than 2,000 years, which adds much more "temporal depth" to the site. Researchers can determine the age of the artifact based on the arrow's shape, but will send to the laboratory a wood sample for carbon dating once the field season is over.
The find is likely evidence of ancient hunters chasing reindeer, making their way across snow and ice in the summer months thousands of years ago.
“Sometimes, when an arrow missed its target, it hid in the snow and was lost. Sad for the hunter but a gift for archaeology!“
The area where the arrow was found is one of 66 ice sites in Norway, which have preserved more than 4,000 archaeological finds over the years, Lars Holger Pilø, co-director of Secrets of the Ice, part of Norway's Department of Cultural Heritage said. Because the arrow was broken at both ends, it was difficult to date.
Archaeologists initially thought the artifact dated back to the Iron Age, but after removing glacial silt, they determined it was much older than they initially thought.
“The arrowhead is likely to have been a pressure-flaked stone projectile, meaning that the arrow is probably around 4,000 years old”
In another post, archaeologists described the preserving power of ice over time:
“Ice is a time machine: it brings precious objects from the past to our time in an unaltered state, like sleeping beauties.”
