Smithsonian Magazine · People & society

5,000-Year-Old Arrow Found in Melting Norwegian Ice

Archaeologists in Norway discovered 48 prehistoric arrows, including one 5,000-6,000 years old, from melting mountain ice. The finds are part of the "Secrets of the Ice" project, which has recovered over 5,000 artifacts.

Discoveries were made in Jotunheimen, Norway, during a three-week expedition. The "Secrets of the Ice" program has excavated for 20 years, finding items like hunting gear, packhorse remains, clothing, a 3,400-year-old shoe, and the world's oldest skis.

Ice preserves organic materials by slowing decay. This has allowed survival of items like a tunic from 300 CE and a mitten from 1000 CE.

Accelerated glacial melt due to climate change is revealing older artifacts. Researchers noted that disappearing oldest ice layers contain the oldest finds.

This summer's finds include a 5,000-6,000-year-old slate arrowhead, a 3,600-year-old complete arrow with a mussel shell arrowhead, and other arrowheads made of bone and iron.

While exciting, the discoveries bring sadness. Archaeologist Espen Finstad called the situation "brutal" and a reminder of global change.

The team is securing artifacts before winter. Some are displayed at the Norwegian Mountain Center, with others to be conserved at the Museum of Cultural History.

Researchers are pessimistic, predicting ice at many sites may disappear within 20 years, losing millennia of preserved history.

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