Full Breakdown
Prehistoric Arrows Surface as Jotunheimen Ice Retreats
By Drooid · · How we work
Core Discovery: Hundreds of Ancient Projectiles Uncovered
Archaeologists from the Secrets of the Ice programme spent three weeks surveying ice patches on Norway’s Jotunheimen mountains and recovered 48 prehistoric arrows. Among them is a slate arrowhead and fragments of its wooden shaft, dated to roughly 5,000–6,000 years ago, with preserved birch-bark tar bindings. The find adds to a cumulative record of more than 100 arrowheads and shafts recovered from a single ice patch over two decades of work.
Background & Context: Two Decades of Glacial Archaeology
The glacial archaeology effort began in 2006 in Innlandet County, initially yielding mainly Viking-Age artefacts less than 2,000 years old. As the oldest ice layers melt, older material from the Stone Age and Bronze Age is being exposed. The programme now documents 73 sites and over 5,000 artefacts, including bows, clothing, shoes, pack-horse remains and a pair of skis.
Data & Statistics
- 48 arrows recovered in the current field season.
- Over 100 arrowheads and shafts recovered from the same ice patch since 2006.
- Artefacts span from the Stone Age (? 6,000 years old) to the Viking Age (? 1,000 years old).
- The team has identified 73 archaeological sites and catalogued more than 5,000 objects across the Jotunheimen region.
Why It Matters: Climate Change Meets Cultural Heritage
The retreat of mountain ice is simultaneously unveiling and endangering Norway’s deep-time record. Ice that preserved organic materials such as wood, leather and textiles for millennia is now disappearing faster than anticipated, threatening the loss of artefacts that would otherwise remain intact. The emerging stone-age projectiles provide rare insight into prehistoric hunting technology, including the use of birch-bark tar and cordage to bind shafts.
Official Statements & Responses
Espen Finstad, leader of Secrets of the Ice, emphasized the dual nature of the work: ancient ice has long protected unique objects, but the ice is now vanishing. Kjetil Loftsgarden of the Museum of Cultural History in Oslo highlighted the significance of a complete 1,800-year-old bone-arrow specimen, while Åsa Rommetveit Celius of Innlandet County Municipality documented a 1,000-year-old arrow shaft.
Verbatim Quotes
- “We have been at the edge of the ice,” — Espen Finstad
What’s Next: Ongoing Fieldwork Amid Rapid Melt
The team plans additional surveys in the coming weeks, weather permitting, focusing on the Kvittingskjølen area and the ice patches at Langfonne, Storefonne and Hanklefonne. Several newly recovered items have already been placed on display at the Norwegian Mountain Centre in Lom, offering the public immediate access to the findings. Researchers estimate that, without intervention, the remaining ice that shelters archaeological sites could disappear within the next two decades.