Melting mountain ice reveals 'rare' 1,500-year-old hunting facility still smelling of reindeer

An past reindeer trap and weapons precocious emerged from Norway's melting mountains, astonishing archaeologists and giving them a glimpse into upland beingness 1,500 years ago.

The discovery, announced by the Vestland County Municipality connected Nov. 10, was made connected the Aurlandsfjellet plateau successful Sogn, a distant portion successful occidental Norway. Archaeologists from the University Museum of Bergen and Vestland County worked unneurotic to papers the site. 

The probe began erstwhile a hiker noticed woody logs adjacent the melting crystal and reported them to section authorities.

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The remains, it turns out, were a 1,500-year-old reindeer hunting facility, consisting of respective 100 hewn woody logs and 2 fences made of woody stakes.

Officials besides recovered robust spearheads, arrow shafts, parts of bows and a woody spear — on with a monolithic fig of well-preserved reindeer antlers.

Archaeologists precocious uncovered a 1,500-year-old reindeer hunting trap connected a Norwegian upland plateau. (Thomas Bruen Olsen, Universitetsmuseet, UiB)

Speaking to Fox News Digital, archaeologist Leif Inge Åstveit said the full installation came arsenic a "significant surprise" to researchers.

"We person agelong been alert that chromatic trapping facilities existed successful the mountains of Norway, but the information that this installation is wholly constructed of wood was unexpected," helium said.

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"Building this has been challenging," helium said. "Thousands of logs, weighing respective tons successful total, were transported precocious into the mountains."

The installation was designed to lure reindeer into a pen. Åstveit said the barriers of the reindeer trap "stretched acold out" into a funnel that measured arsenic overmuch arsenic 1,000 feet wide.

"The antlers are incredibly well-preserved, inactive retaining a reindeer scent aft 1,500 years."

"The animals were apt calmly driven guardant astatine first, but arsenic they were funneled into a narrower area, their gait accrued and panic whitethorn person dispersed done the herd," helium said.

"The obstruction astir apt became much coagulated person to the trapping pen, preventing immoderate reindeer from breaking free. Eventually, the animals were clustered into a sluice-like enclosure, and past the animals would beryllium extracted 1 by one."

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The spears that archaeologists recovered were utilized for this purpose. 

Researchers besides recovered a heap of antlers that were collected and discarded. Most of them apt belonged to younger reindeer and females, portion larger subordinate antlers were astir apt repurposed arsenic items similar combs and pins.

The woody trap strategy stretched crossed the mountainside, funneling animals into a constrictive enclosure. (Thomas Bruen Olsen, Universitetsmuseet, UiB; Leif Inge Åstveit, Universitetsmuseet, UiB)

Remarkably, aft 1,500 years, Åstveit said the antlers inactive odor similar the animals that erstwhile bore them. 

"The antlers are incredibly well-preserved, inactive retaining a reindeer scent aft 1,500 years," helium said. 

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"[They] are clustered lone a fewer meters from the trapping pen, suggesting they were apt severed from the skull with an axe, arsenic astir each person chiseled chopped marks."

Oddly, nary bones oregon skeletons person been recovered astatine the tract truthful far. This suggests it was a "specialized" installation wherever animals were processed and transported, Åstveit said. 

The trap was utilized for nutrient processing, the researchers believe, and apt supported a specialized operation. (Thomas Bruen Olsen, Universitetsmuseet, UiB.)

"Transporting specified ample quantities of nutrient — perchance tons — would undoubtedly person been a demanding task," helium said.

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Another prima find, Åstveit said, was a decorated oar made of pine, which helium called a "major revelation."

"What this oar, which intelligibly belonged to a rowboat located 1,400 meters little successful the landscape, is doing up present is simply a mystery," helium said.

"This uncovering is exceptionally uncommon and was selected arsenic the ‘Find of the Year’ astatine the yearly archaeology league successful Norway."

"Our proposal is that it whitethorn person been utilized successful the assembly of the guiding barriers … [but it] is besides eye-opening to see that an oar features specified elaborate ornamentation. These radical apt surrounded themselves with items that exhibited assorted creator expressions and ornamentation."

Archaeologists besides recovered an axe-shaped covering pin made of antler, which Åstveit said is "so well-preserved and crisp that it is wholly imaginable to sting yourself connected it."

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He added, "Such items person not been recovered successful Norway previously."

Looking forward, Åstveit said aboriginal enactment won't beryllium a accepted excavation successful the mode astir radical imagine; rather, it volition impact monitoring and documenting what emerges from melting ice.

"Such items person not been recovered successful Norway previously," said an archaeologist. (Adnan Icagic, Universitetsmuseet, UiB; Leif Inge Åstveit, Universitetsmuseet, UiB)

"This uncovering is exceptionally uncommon and was selected arsenic the ‘Find of the Year’ astatine the yearly archaeology league successful Norway, contempt precise beardown contention this year," helium said.

But Åstveit emphasized that overmuch much probe volition request to beryllium done connected the subject, and archaeologists person lone collected samples truthful far.

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"This worldly volition apt beryllium captious for probe astatine the University of Bergen successful the adjacent future," helium said.

"As caller technological methods emerge, it volition undoubtedly supply caller insights into assorted aspects of Early Iron Age society."