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Unknown and unique Iron Age settlement discovered in melting ice masses in the high mountains of Oppland county in Norway.
The heritage management office at Oppland County Council has conducted archaeological rescue work at glaciers and ice patches since the big melt of 2006 led to the discovery of a large number of artefacts along contracting ice masses in the high mountains of Oppland. 2011 saw the start of a three year rescue program, designed to collect artefacts and gather information on the whereabouts of ice-related sites.
As part of the program, planned archaeological rescue work took place at the Lendbreen glacier in the Lomseggen mountain range in Breheimen Nationalpark, in Lom and Skjåk municipalities during the first two weeks of August 2011. The archaeological team consisted of four archaeologists from the regional heritage management (Oppland County Council) and one from the Museum of Cultural History in Oslo, led by Dr. Lars Pilø from Oppland County Council.
The glacier area was known beforehand to contain numerous artefacts, but mostly in a bad state of preservation. On Thursday 4rh of August, the 3rd day of fieldwork at the glacier, this situation changed. A hitherto unknown site with many artefacts in excellent preservation condition was discovered in the high mountain, almost 2000 meter above sea level. Subsequent fieldwork at the site led to the discovery of rare artefacts of organic materials, including leather shoes, textiles, a wooden spade, birch bark containers, and a number of wooden artefacts of unknown use. Some of the artefacts can be dated to the Iron Age, but the site may possibly contain artefacts from a longer time span.
The interpretation of the site is still ongoing. The presence of horse manure, iron horse shoes and other related artefacts point to transport having taken place here, as does the presence of cairns along what appears to be an ancient mountain path. However, signs of camping are also present, as a substantial part of the artefact material appears to be waste from settlement activities, unlikely to having been lost during transport.
Fieldwork is suspended at the moment, due to reindeer hunting in the area. However, renewed fieldwork will take place in early September, to salvage more artefacts before winter sets in, normally in the middle of September.
The main financial contributors to the archaeological rescue program are the Ministry of Environment, The Directorate of Heritage Management and Oppland County Council. The Norwegian Mountain Museum in Lom provides logistical support, while the Museum of Cultural Heritage handles the collected artefacts. The archaeological rescue program is part of Klimapark 2469 (www.klimapark2469.no), project leader is Espen Finstad.
Espen Finstad, Espen.Finstad@oppland.org, phone +47 901 79 443
Lars Pilø, Lars.Holger.Pilo@oppland.org, phone +47 948 52 220
Sist oppdatert: 16.08.2011
Publisert: 16.08.2011
Pictures from Lendbreen glacier