1300-year-old skis found in Norway
A team of archaeologists found a 1,300-year-old ski encased in ice on top of a mountain in Norway in September, completing a set that Scientific journal described as “the best preserved pair of prehistoric skis on record”.
Another team found the first ski on the mountain 5 meters from the second in 2014. The new team waited seven years for the ice to melt, then discovered the second ski partially exposed inside the melting ice, Science noted.
Many artifacts have been discovered recently in cold northern places like Norway amid increased ice melt caused by climate change, Smithsonian magazine reported.
cnxps.cmd.push (function () {cnxps ({playerId: ’36af7c51-0caf-4741-9824-2c941fc6c17b’}). render (‘4c4d856e0e6f4e3d808bbc1715e132f6’);});
if (window.location.pathname.indexOf (“656089”)! = -1) {document.getElementsByClassName (“divConnatix”)[0].style.display = “none”;} else if (window.location.pathname.indexOf (“/ israel-news /”)! = -1) {document.getElementsByClassName (“divConnatix”)[0].style.display = “none”; var script = document.createElement (‘script’); script.src = “https://player.anyclip.com/anyclip-widget/lre-widget/prod/v1/src/lre.js”; script.setAttribute (‘pubname’, ‘jpostcom’); script.setAttribute (‘widgetname’, ‘0011r00001lcD1i_12258’); document.getElementsByClassName (‘divAnyClip’)[0].appendChild (script);} else if (window.location.pathname.indexOf (“/ health-and-wellness /”)! = -1) {document.getElementsByClassName (“divConnatix”)[0].style.display = “none”; var script = document.createElement (‘script’); script.src = “https://player.anyclip.com/anyclip-widget/lre-widget/prod/v1/src/lre.js”; script.setAttribute (‘pubname’, ‘jpostcom’); script.setAttribute (‘widgetname’, ‘0011r00001lcD1i_12246’); document.getElementsByClassName (‘divAnyClip’)[0].appendChild (script);}
The Science The article noted that while fragments of skis have been found that could be traced back to 6000 BCE, these particular skis are fully intact, offering unique insight into how these tools were used.
The skis had been “deeply repaired,” suggesting they were valuable and would have been difficult to replace, according to the article.
“The skis are handmade, not mass produced. They have a long individual history of wear and tear and repair before an Iron Age skier used them together and ended up in the ice, ”said Lars Pilø of the Norwegian Glacier Archeology Program. (GAP), according to Smithsonian.
Science archaeologists had previously thought that the undersides of the skis may have been covered with fur to facilitate climbs, but researchers noticed a wide groove in the center of the newly discovered ski, a feature that would be unnecessary if the fur had been, in done, been used.
“Archaeologists have also found several cairns that may have been associated with an ancient mountain trail. They assume the owner of the skis was a hunter, traveler, or both.” Smithsonian added.