NEWS
GOOD PEOPLE
HISTORY
LIFE HACKS
THE PLANET
SCIENCE & TECH
POLITICS
WHOLESOME
WORK & MONEY
About Us Contact Us Privacy Policy
GOOD is part of GOOD Worldwide Inc.
publishing family.
© GOOD Worldwide Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Climate change is unearthing artifacts from melting glaciers

One of the unexpected "benefits" of climate change.

Climate change is unearthing artifacts from melting glaciers
via Shoshi Parks

Climate change means our future is uncertain, but in the meantime, it's telling us a lot about our past. The Earth's glaciers are melting at an alarming rate, but as the ice dwindles, ancient artifacts are being uncovered. The Secrets of the Ice project has been surveying the glaciers on Norway's highest mountains in Oppland since 2011. They have found a slew of treasures, frozen in time and ice, making glacier archeologists, as Lars Pilø, co-director of Secrets of the Ice, put it when talking to CNN, the "unlikely beneficiaries of global warming."

Instead of digging, glacier archeologists survey the areas of melting ice, seeing which artifacts have been revealed by the thaw. "It's a very different world from regular archaeological sites," Pilø told National Geographic. "It's really rewarding work.


Archeologists have found a wooden ski with leather binding dating back to circa 700. Tunics from the Iron Age have turned up, and they've even spotted an old shoe that's 3,400-years-old. There are Viking swords, pack horse skulls, and the requisite arrowheads surfacing from their frosty tombs. Almost 3,000 archeological artifacts have been found in Oppland. Because they were frozen, the artifacts are well preserved. Organic materials, such as leather and fabric, are still intact.

RELATED: New study finds whales might be our best defense against climate change

The one thing glacier archeologists have yet to find is an ice mummy. Ötzi the Iceman, a 5,300-year-old body, is Europe's oldest known natural mummy. Ötzi the Iceman was discovered in the Alps in 1991, and some scientists believe the find was a result of climate change. Glacier archeologists also had trouble finding the same abundance artifacts from the eleventh century onward. This is partly because the bubonic plague would have prevented our ancestors from traveling through the mountains.

RELATED: No, climate change protesters did not leave behind a bunch of trash, despite what a viral photo claims

Glacier archeologists have to work fast. When artifacts are exposed to the sun, they start to deteriorate. Plus, there's the whole matter of the rapid pace which glaciers are disappearing. Much of the mountain ice in the Northern Hemisphere is between 7,000 and 9,000 years old. Norway's ice was at its fullest between 1550 and 1850, also known as the Little Ice Age. It has been slowly (and now quickly) melting since. Currently, we are at the same ice levels we experienced 6,000 years ago. According to Professor Atle Nesje of the University of Bergen, 90% of Norwegian glaciers might melt away by the middle of this century. "There is definite urgency," Vibeke Vandrup Martens, an archaeologist at the Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research, told CNN. "If the archaeologists do nothing, the artifacts and/or sites that belong to the whole community may be lost forever, without any recording they ever existed."

We have a window. If we act fast, we can curb climate change and, in a way, reap its benefits, too.

More on Good.is

Archaeologists Race Melting Glaciers to Rescue Iron and Bronze ...

Norway's melting ice is revealing priceless ancient artifacts | MNN ...

Climate change melting pre-Viking artifacts out of Norway's glaciers ...

Global Warming Reveals Amazing Glacier Artifacts from ...

Melting glaciers are revealing Viking relics in Norway | Adventure.com

Climate Change Reveals Glacial Archaeology Finds in Oppland ...

Climate change reveals and threatens thawing relics - CNN

8 Amazing Things Uncovered by Melting Glaciers and Ice | Mental ...

Norway's Melting Glaciers Release Over 2,000 Artifacts | Smart ...

Melting Glaciers Reveal Stunning Archeological Finds | Art & Object

GOOD10 // The Oceans Issue // The Artist: Zaria Forman - GOOD

California officials calmly shut down Trump's climate change denial during wildfire meeting - GOOD

Cancel All Coal Projects to Have 'Fighting Chance' Against Climate Crisis, Says UN Chief - GOOD

GOOD10 // The Oceans Issue // The Artist: Zaria Forman - GOOD

Zaria Forman - GOOD

10 Terrifying Images Of What Coastal Cities Will Soon Look Like Underwater - GOOD

More Stories on Good