As well as threatening natural ecosystems, climate change can also threaten history's relics. The upheaval caused by the rise in the Earth's surface temperature is affecting archaeological remains in Norway, a new study reveals.
Many archaeological sites located in Norway could disappear in the next few years because of global warming. Yet the north of the country and the millennia old glaciers that it harbors are particularly propitious territories for discoveries. There, archaeologists have found a 6,100-year-old arrow shaft, a 3,000-year-old leather sandal and a perfectly preserved bird corpse dating back to 2,000 BC, according to a report from NTNU University Museum.
These archaeological treasures have long been preserved by the coolness of the ground, and the cold and humid climate of this region. "Objects and remains of animals and human activity have been found that we didn't even know existed," Birgitte Skar, archeologist and co-author of the report, told Norwegian SciTech News. "Not a year goes by without surprising finds that shift the boundaries of our understanding."
A real threat to polar archaeology
However, melting ice due to climate change is threatening many of these Norwegian cultural artifacts. A report cited in the NTNU University Museum study states that more than 585 km2 of Norwegian snow patches and glaciers have melted since 2006. This phenomenon endangers some historical sites, although it also reveals, in places, archaeological treasures buried for centuries. This happened in the Jotunheimen mountains, in the southwest of Norway. In April 2020, scientists there found hundreds of artifacts dating back to the Viking era, which had emerged from the Lendbreen ice patch.
Despite these discoveries, climate change represents a real threat to archeological heritage in Norway. Especially since many archaeological sites have not yet been excavated and could disappear before they have revealed all of their secrets, taking with them unique evidence of the customs of the Vikings and Norwegian indigenous peoples. "We used to think of the ice as desolate and lifeless and therefore not very important," Jørgen Rosvold, biologist and assistant research director at the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), told Norwegian SciTech News. "That's changing now, but it's urgent. Large amounts of unique material are melting out and disappearing forever. Finds can provide important information about the history of both people and nature."
