Secrets Of The Ice

02/10/2026

One of this year’s most exciting discoveries was a 3,600-year-old arrow tipped with a freshwater mussel shell!

Thanks to the preservative power of the ice, the arrowhead, birch bark tar and binding had all survived. Even the arrow shaft was intact.

This remarkable find leaves us with a fascinating mystery; Where did the freshwater mussel shell come from? Was it brought from rivers in Eastern Norway, or did it originate on Norway’s west coast?

29/09/2026

Live from the mountains!

Even though winter is fast approaching we are still recovering finds. Just now in the past hours we found two complete arrowshafts.

One from the late Neolithic that would have had a pressure flaked lithic point.

The other one is more unknown to us. It seems like an early Bronze Age shaft for projectile point of river mussel. But it just so big!

28/09/2026

A Once-in-a-Lifetime Discovery!
Every artifact that emerges from the ice has a story to tell. At first glance, this arrowhead looks like a classic slate point, carefully shaped with the same form and craftsmanship seen on slate arrowheads. But there's a surprise: it's not made of slate at all. It's made of bone.

What makes this find truly remarkable is just how rare it is. Across all of Scandinavia, only two similar arrowheads are known. One is illustrated in Oscar Montelius' "Minnen från vår forntid" (1917). The other was discovered in the Kirkhellaren rock shelter in northern Norway and published by Guttorm Gjessing in "Træn-funnene" (1943).

But this discovery goes one step further.
This approximately 5,000-year-old bone arrowhead is the only known example found together with its original arrow shaft. The wooden shaft was recovered alongside the point. Because the shaft can be radiocarbon dated, it will provide an exceptionally precise age for the arrow.

Photo: Frys film, Innlandet fylkeskommune, Secrets of The Ice.

23/09/2026

The stone age is melting out - A perfect slate arrowhead reveals itself

Excitement ran high when this remarkable slate arrowhead was spotted among gravel and pebble, resting on top of a large boulder in the scree. The discovery became even more thrilling when we realized that two fragments of the arrow shaft had also survived.

After spending thousands of years preserved in the ice, even traces of the bindings and birch bark tar remain intact. These materials were originally used to secure the arrowhead to the shaft, offering a rare glimpse into prehistoric hunting technology.

The moment became even more memorable when a herd of domesticated reindeer gathered on the ice, watching us as we worked. The reindeer can be seen in the background of the photograph.

A slate arrowhead, found at Langfonne in Jotunheimen, is approximately 5,000 years old.

23/09/2026

The Year of the Arrow
This year's field season has been remarkable in several ways. Not only does it mark the 20th anniversary of glacial archaeology in Innlandet, but we have also discovered 48 arrows in Jotunheimen, Norway. In addition, many of this year's finds are among the oldest artifacts ever documented by the project.

Three intensive weeks in the high mountains have yielded exceptional discoveries, revealing a clear pattern: many of the artifacts are more than 2,000 years old, while the oldest date back over 6,000 years. The material spans both the Stone Age and the Bronze Age.

The age of these finds is striking. Our earliest prehistory, the Stone Age, is now quite literally emerging from the ice. The oldest ice preserves the oldest artifacts, and as this ice melts, the earliest traces of human activity are coming to light. We see this clearly in the field, where the retreat of the ice is transforming both the landscape and the age profile of the discoveries.

In the coming weeks, we will present a selection of this year's most exciting finds. Snow conditions in the high mountains vary, and fieldwork will continue if conditions permit.

For more information, visit our website. You will find the link in the comments section.

26/05/2026

A new feature article in Smithsonian Magazine takes readers into the world of glacial archaeology where melting mountain ice is revealing extraordinary artefacts from the past, but also threatening them with destruction.

From ancient arrows and Viking textiles to lost shoes and skis, the article follows the global race to rescue fragile objects emerging from the ice before they decay.

As Julian Post-Melbye from Secrets of the Ice says in the article:

“As the mountain landscape is changing before my eyes, I realize it has fallen upon my generation of archaeologists to secure the achievements and histories of our ancestors in the high mountains. If we don’t do it now, we will never get the chance again.”

The article also explores how human-caused climate change is accelerating ice melt worldwide, opening a unique archaeological window, but one that may close in decades.

It is a thoughtful and beautifully written introduction to a field where archaeology, climate science, and mountain history meet. Click on the link below to read it.

In Norway’s highest mountains, experts are scouring perilous terrain for pieces of the past, long stored in mint condition in ice patches. As temperatures rise across the world, glacial archaeologists must find the emerging artifacts before they degrade forever

06/02/2026

New open-access paper on glacial archaeology – just published!

Glacial archaeology is a young field, but one that is growing rapidly as ice melts around the world. A new scientific paper brings together research from mountain regions across the globe and traces how glacial archaeology emerged, what kinds of discoveries it has produced, and what they tell us about past human activity in high mountain landscapes.

The paper looks at everything from early accidental discoveries to systematic research, from Ötzi to recent finds melting out of ice patches, and from weapons and clothing to human remains.

It also places these discoveries in their modern context: human-caused climate change is accelerating ice loss worldwide, creating an unprecedented archaeological record, but also putting fragile cultural heritage at immediate risk once it melts out of the retreating ice.

The paper draws on international research, including work from the Secrets of the Ice programme, but its scope is global.

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/annals-of-glaciology/article/archaeology-of-glaciers-and-ice-patches-the-intersection-of-climate-change-glacier-retreat-and-cultural-heritage/CA12E07940A446A909FEC220E289B331

18/01/2026

So… what happens to ice finds after they melt out?

We often get questions about how fragile artefacts from melting ice patches can possibly survive once they leave the ice.

In a new open-access paper, we take you behind the scenes and explain what happens next: how ice finds are rescued, stabilised, and conserved, and why they need very different treatment from objects found in soil, bogs, or water.

If you have ever wondered how a 1,000-year-old shoe, mitten, or arrow can still be studied today, this is the story you have been asking for. 👇
https://www.icom-cc-publications-online.org/6981/The-history-and-treatment-of-ice-patch-finds-from-the-high-mountains-in-Norway

17/01/2026

A Viking Age Mitten from Lendbreen

Someone lost this mitten while crossing the Lendbreen ice in the Viking Age. It disappeared into the snow and ice, and the owner probably thought it was gone forever — but not quite 🙂

We found it melting out of the retreating ice patch 1,100 years later. The mitten is made from several pieces of woven textile sewn together, making it the only known Viking Age mitten from Norway. While mittens were probably commonly used during winter back then, fragile textiles rarely survive, which makes this find so exceptional.

Clothing items like this are often lost in mountain passes, sometimes accidentally, like being blown away by the wind. Even today, we have left our fair share of gloves and hats behind on our sites 😄

Without the ice, this mitten would have decayed long ago, and we would never have seen this personal glimpse into everyday life in the Viking Age.

This week, we have shared five ice finds that are exceptional because of their preservation. Made from fragile materials or preserving delicate details, they would not have survived in this condition — or at all — without the ice. Hope you enjoyed the series!🙂

16/01/2026

An Iron Age Shoe in Roman style!

During the big melt of 2019, a mountain hiker sent us a tip: objects had appeared on the ice in the Horse Ice Patch pass. One photo caught our attention — it showed a hide object on the ice that looked like a shoe.

We rushed to the pass and collected as many objects as we could before snow arrived the next day. Among them was the hide object — a well-decorated shoe, later radiocarbon-dated to around AD 300, in the Iron Age.

What’s truly remarkable is that this shoe bears a striking resemblance to Roman footwear! While we knew Roman influence reached Norway via imported goods and weapons, seeing Roman-style shoes in a remote mountain pass 1,700 years ago is astonishing. Someone crossed these treacherous ice patches wearing shoes inspired by distant fashion 😮

Without the ice, this delicate hide shoe would have decayed long ago, and we would never have known about this glimpse of style, travel, and everyday life in the Iron Age.

This week, we are sharing five ice finds that are exceptional because of how they were preserved. These fragile objects would not have survived in this condition — or at all — without the ice. New post tomorrow!🙂