Melting Ice in Norway Reveals Historic Artefacts

25th August 2024

Wooden artifacts once used by ancient reindeer hunters have been discovered in a mountainous region of Scandinavia.

The objects, known as “scaring stick” flags, were found in Breheimen National Park, Norway.

A team of two archaeologists and a mountain guide with Secrets of the Ice, which specializes in the archaeology of glaciers and ice patches, found the items.

The team spotted the artifacts during an exploratory survey of an area where a large ice patch, essentially, a small non-moving glacier frozen to the ground, has melted back significantly and split up into smaller ice and snow patches. 

First artefact finds of the year!🥰

We just completed our first survey of the year in Breheimen National Park. We were thrilled to find a complete scaring stick flag and a broken one flag as well!

These flags are believed to be around 1500 years old. pic.twitter.com/a1twDRG38c

— Secrets Of The Ice (@brearkeologi) August 11, 2024