Arrow Pre-Dating The Vikings Discovered After Being Lost In The Ice For 1,500 Years

Conny Waters - AncientPages.com  - As the ice melts, glacial archaeologists have made many fascinating discoveries recently. Scientists from the Secrets Of The Ice, a glacier archaeology program in Norway, have announced the discovery of a pre-Viking arrow that has been buried under the ice for the last 1,500 years.

Credit: Secrets Of The Ice

Archaeologists say they unearthed the arrow nestled between rocks. The ancient object was encased in ice and later transported downslope when the ice melted.

"Whoa, we have found our first arrow of the field season and it is just awesome!?? It is around 1500 years old, based on the shape of the arrowhead and the nock.
There is something special about this site. The arrows are generally very well preserved, even for glacial archaeological sites. Wonder why?" the Secret of the ice researchers wrote on a Facebook post.

It is possible the arrow was exposed and re-frozen multiple times since it was originally lost.

Credit: Secrets Of The Ice

"We have found more than 200 arrows that have melted out of the ice in recent years in Innlandet County, Norway in the last 15 years. The earliest are 6,000 years old.

The one we are talking about now is really well preserved though, with the arrowhead still attached and remains of sinew and pitch. Most arrows are preserved with only fragments of the shaft remaining," Lars Holger Pilø, an archaeologist with Secrets Of The Ice, told Newsweek.

This is a reindeer hunting site, so the arrows were lost when the hunters missed the reindeer and the arrows disappeared into the snow. A missed shot, but an archaeological bull's eye.

As reported by the Newsweek, "it's not the only arrow found by the group in recent days. Just two days after the 1,500-year-old arrow was discovered, another, slightly newer one was discovered that is thought to date back to the early Viking age.

Credit: Secrets Of The Ice

Although the newer arrow has been around for less time, it appears to have been exposed more, as evidenced by its worse preservation.

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"Most of the sinew is gone and the arrowhead has fallen out of the shaft," the group wrote in another Facebook post. "The iron arrowhead is also rusty, probably because it is in close contact with dirt. But still: What a great find!"

Written by Conny Waters - AncientPages.com Staff Writer