http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/20...ient-artefacts

"From hunting gear to shoes, ancient artefacts
covered by ice are being uneathed in Norway.
Now scientists face a race against time to
preserve them."

David Christainsen

On Sep 26, 4:20*pm, Meteorologist wrote:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/20...rming-ancient-...

"From hunting gear to shoes, ancient artefacts
covered by ice are being uneathed in Norway.
Now scientists face a race against time to
preserve them."

David Christainsen

and?

On Sep 26, 4:24*pm, Jack Linthicum
wrote:
On Sep 26, 4:20*pm, Meteorologist wrote:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/20...rming-ancient-...

"From hunting gear to shoes, ancient artefacts
covered by ice are being uneathed in Norway.
Now scientists face a race against time to
preserve them."

David Christainsen

and?

I don't correspond your way, Jack. If you have an interest in
the subject, make a contribution.

I add that as a meteorologist I am 100 % sure there has
been accelerating Global Warming the past 30 years.

David Christainsen

On Sep 26, 4:39*pm, Meteorologist wrote:
On Sep 26, 4:24*pm, Jack Linthicum
wrote:

On Sep 26, 4:20*pm, Meteorologist wrote:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/20...rming-ancient-....

"From hunting gear to shoes, ancient artefacts
covered by ice are being uneathed in Norway.
Now scientists face a race against time to
preserve them."

David Christainsen

and?

I don't correspond your way, Jack. *If you have an interest in
the subject, make a contribution.

I add that as a meteorologist I am 100 % sure there has
been accelerating Global Warming the past 30 years.

David Christainsen

That ios sort of the point. First, you are no meteorologist, second
you slice off two sentences and thereby contribute nothing.

"Jack Linthicum" wrote in message
...
On Sep 26, 4:20 pm, Meteorologist wrote:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/20...rming-ancient-...

"From hunting gear to shoes, ancient artefacts
covered by ice are being uneathed in Norway.
Now scientists face a race against time to
preserve them."

David Christainsen

and?


I think he's trying to make the debatable point that melt glaciers are
revealing artifacts of ancient history.

On Sep 26, 4:54*pm, Jack Linthicum
wrote:
On Sep 26, 4:39*pm, Meteorologist wrote:





On Sep 26, 4:24*pm, Jack Linthicum
wrote:

On Sep 26, 4:20*pm, Meteorologist wrote:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/20...rming-ancient-...

"From hunting gear to shoes, ancient artefacts
covered by ice are being uneathed in Norway.
Now scientists face a race against time to
preserve them."

David Christainsen

and?

I don't correspond your way, Jack. *If you have an interest in
the subject, make a contribution.

I add that as a meteorologist I am 100 % sure there has
been accelerating Global Warming the past 30 years.

David Christainsen

That ios sort of the point. First, you are no meteorologist, second
you slice off two sentences and thereby contribute nothing.

If you are too lazy to read the interesting Guardian
article, just say so...

Further, I recently posted in soc.religion.quaker and uk.sci.weather:

"Is global warming man made or is it caused by
the effects of solar activity on cosmic rays?"

http://ikfia.ysn.ru/pdf/Cosmic_Ray_Symp/s1.15.pdf

I suggest that anybody who can follow the argument is a
meteorologist.

David Christainsen

David Christaiinsen

On Sep 26, 5:13*pm, Peter Alaca wrote:
...
And the 'news' was already posted in this group.

Not "and". Further, Lawrence Jenkins hit the nail on
the head "the debatable point".

And it is crossposted to soc.religion.quaker and uk.sci.weather

Appropriately.

So, if Peter Alaca wants to educate Lawrence Jenkins in this thread,
be my guest.

David Christaiinsen

On Sep 26, 5:26*pm, Carl wrote:
Not "and". *

Nice one, kook! Derp!

So, if Peter Alaca wants to educate Lawrence Jenkins in this thread,
be my guest.

So, if Carl the Kook wants to shut the **** up,
be my guest. Carl.

On Sep 26, 5:07*pm, "Lawrence Jenkins" wrote:
"Jack Linthicum" wrote in message

...
On Sep 26, 4:20 pm, Meteorologist wrote:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/20...rming-ancient-...

"From hunting gear to shoes, ancient artefacts
covered by ice are being uneathed in Norway.
Now scientists face a race against time to
preserve them."

David Christainsen

and?

I think he's trying to make the debatable point that melt glaciers are
revealing artifacts of ancient history.

Which I reported on in two separate posts 12 days ago with additional
pics from Jerry T. You are late, thin in content and not hip.




Despite the Koch brothers the temperature rises, the ice melts,
uncovering artifacts of the age of the Vikings and Iron Age objects in
the Alps.

FEATURE-Home of "Ice Giants" thaws, shows pre-Viking hunts

Tue Sep 14, 2010 5:59am EDT

* In Norway, "ice patch archaeologists" work as ice thaws

* Warming shrinks bastion of ice giants of Norse mythology

* Part of wider climate change, from Alps to Andes

By Alister Doyle, Environment Correspondent

JUVFONNA, Norway, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Climate change is exposing
reindeer hunting gear used by the Vikings' ancestors faster than
archaeologists can collect it from ice thawing in northern Europe's
highest mountains.

"It's like a time machine...the ice has not been this small for many,
many centuries," said Lars Piloe, a Danish scientist heading a team of
"snow patch archaeologists" on newly bare ground 1,850 metres (6,070
ft) above sea level in mid-Norway.

Specialised hunting sticks, bows and arrows and even a 3,400-year-old
leather shoe have been among finds since 2006 from a melt in the
Jotunheimen mountains, the home of the "Ice Giants" of Norse
mythology.

As water streams off the Juvfonna ice field, Piloe and two other
archaeologists -- working in a science opening up due to climate
change -- collect "scare sticks" they reckon were set up 1,500 years
ago in rows to drive reindeer towards archers.

But time is short as the Ice Giants' stronghold shrinks.

"Our main focus is the rescue part," Piloe said on newly exposed rocks
by the ice. "There are many ice patches. We can only cover a few...We
know we are losing artefacts everywhere."

Freed from an ancient freeze, wood rots in a few years. And rarer
feathers used on arrows, wool or leather crumble to dust in days
unless taken to a laboratory and stored in a freezer.

Jotunheimen is unusual because so many finds are turning up at the
same time -- 600 artefacts at Juvfonna alone.

Other finds have been made in glaciers or permafrost from Alaska to
Siberia. Italy's iceman "Otzi", killed by an arrow wound 5,000 years
ago, was found in an Alpine glacier in 1991. "Ice Mummies" have been
discovered in the Andes.

RESCUE

Patrick Hunt, of Stanford University in California who is trying to
discover where Carthaginian general Hannibal invaded Italy in 218 BC
with an army and elephants, said there was an "alarming rate" of thaw
in the Alps.

"This is the first summer since 1994 when we began our Alpine field
excavations above 8,000 ft (2,438 m) that we have not been inundated
by even one day of rain, sleet and snow flurries," he said.

"I expect we will see more 'ice patch archaeology discoveries'," he
said. Hannibal found snow on the Alpine pass he crossed in autumn,
according to ancient writers.

Glaciers are in retreat from the Andes to the Alps, as a likely side-
effect of global warming caused by human emissions of greenhouse
gases, the U.N. panel of climate experts says.

The panel's credibility has suffered since its 2007 report exaggerated
a thaw by saying Himalayan glaciers might vanish by 2035. It has stuck
to its main conclusion that it is "very likely" that human activities
are to blame for global warming.

"Over the past 150 years we have had a worldwide trend of glacial
retreat," said Michael Zemp, director of the Swiss-based World Glacier
Monitoring Service. While many factors were at play, he said "the main
driver is global warming".

In Norway, "some ice fields are at their minimum for at least 3,000
years," said Rune Strand Oedegaard, a glacier and permafrost expert
from Norway's Gjoevik University College.

The front edge of Jovfunna has retreated about 18 metres (60 ft) over
the past year, exposing a band of artefacts probably from the Iron Age
1,500 years ago, according to radiocarbon dating. Others may be from
Viking times 1,000 years ago.

Juvfonna, about 1 km across on the flank of Norway's highest peak,
Galdhoepiggen, at 2,469 metres, also went through a less drastic
shrinking period in the 1930s, Oedegaard said.

REINDEER

Inside the Juvfonna ice, experts have carved a cave to expose layers
of ice dating back 6,000 years. Some dark patches turned out to be
ancient reindeer droppings -- giving off a pungent smell when thawed
out.

Ice fields like Juvfonna differ from glaciers in that they do not
slide much downhill. That means artefacts may be where they were left,
giving an insight into hunting techniques.

On Juvfonna, most finds are "scare sticks" about a metre long. Each
has a separate, flapping piece of wood some 30 cm long that was
originally tied at the top. The connecting thread is rarely found
since it disintegrates within days of exposure.

"It's a strange feeling to be tying a string around this stick just as
someone else did maybe 1,500 years ago," said Elling Utvik Wammer, a
archaeologist on Piloe's team knotting a tag to a stick before storing
it in a box for later study.

All the finds are also logged with a GPS satellite marker before being
taken to the lab for examination.

The archaeologists reckon they were set up about two metres apart to
drive reindeer towards hunters. In summer, reindeer often go onto snow
patches to escape parasitic flies.

Such a hunt would require 15 to 20 people, Piloe said, indicating that
Norway had an organised society around the start of the Dark Ages,
1,500 years ago. Hunters probably needed to get within 20 metres of a
reindeer to use an iron-tipped arrow.

"You can nearly feel the hunter here," Piloe said, standing by a
makeshift wall of rocks exposed in recent weeks and probably built by
an ancient archer as a hideaway.

http://www.archaeologynews.org/story...e=FEATURE-Home....

Reply Reply to author Forward



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2. JerryT
View profile
More options Sep 14, 11:18 am
Newsgroups: sci.archaeology
From: JerryT
Date: Tue, 14 Sep 2010 08:18:14 -0700 (PDT)
Local: Tues, Sep 14 2010 11:18 am
Subject: Home of "Ice Giants" thaws, shows pre-Viking hunts
Reply | Reply to author | Forward | Print | Individual message | Show
original | Report this message | Find messages by this author
On 14 Sep, 12:38, Jack Linthicum wrote:

- Hide quoted text -
- Show quoted text -
Despite the Koch brothers the temperature rises, the ice melts,
uncovering artifacts of the age of the Vikings and Iron Age objects in
the Alps.

FEATURE-Home of "Ice Giants" thaws, shows pre-Viking hunts

Tue Sep 14, 2010 5:59am EDT

* In Norway, "ice patch archaeologists" work as ice thaws

* Warming shrinks bastion of ice giants of Norse mythology

* Part of wider climate change, from Alps to Andes

By Alister Doyle, Environment Correspondent

JUVFONNA, Norway, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Climate change is exposing
reindeer hunting gear used by the Vikings' ancestors faster than
archaeologists can collect it from ice thawing in northern Europe's
highest mountains.

"It's like a time machine...the ice has not been this small for many,
many centuries," said Lars Piloe, a Danish scientist heading a team of
"snow patch archaeologists" on newly bare ground 1,850 metres (6,070
ft) above sea level in mid-Norway.

Specialised hunting sticks, bows and arrows and even a 3,400-year-old
leather shoe have been among finds since 2006 from a melt in the
Jotunheimen mountains, the home of the "Ice Giants" of Norse
mythology.

As water streams off the Juvfonna ice field, Piloe and two other
archaeologists -- working in a science opening up due to climate
change -- collect "scare sticks" they reckon were set up 1,500 years
ago in rows to drive reindeer towards archers.

But time is short as the Ice Giants' stronghold shrinks.

"Our main focus is the rescue part," Piloe said on newly exposed rocks
by the ice. "There are many ice patches. We can only cover a few...We
know we are losing artefacts everywhere."

Freed from an ancient freeze, wood rots in a few years. And rarer
feathers used on arrows, wool or leather crumble to dust in days
unless taken to a laboratory and stored in a freezer.

Jotunheimen is unusual because so many finds are turning up at the
same time -- 600 artefacts at Juvfonna alone.

Other finds have been made in glaciers or permafrost from Alaska to
Siberia. Italy's iceman "Otzi", killed by an arrow wound 5,000 years
ago, was found in an Alpine glacier in 1991. "Ice Mummies" have been
discovered in the Andes.

RESCUE

Patrick Hunt, of Stanford University in California who is trying to
discover where Carthaginian general Hannibal invaded Italy in 218 BC
with an army and elephants, said there was an "alarming rate" of thaw
in the Alps.

"This is the first summer since 1994 when we began our Alpine field
excavations above 8,000 ft (2,438 m) that we have not been inundated
by even one day of rain, sleet and snow flurries," he said.

"I expect we will see more 'ice patch archaeology discoveries'," he
said. Hannibal found snow on the Alpine pass he crossed in autumn,
according to ancient writers.

Glaciers are in retreat from the Andes to the Alps, as a likely side-
effect of global warming caused by human emissions of greenhouse
gases, the U.N. panel of climate experts says.

The panel's credibility has suffered since its 2007 report exaggerated
a thaw by saying Himalayan glaciers might vanish by 2035. It has stuck
to its main conclusion that it is "very likely" that human activities
are to blame for global warming.

"Over the past 150 years we have had a worldwide trend of glacial
retreat," said Michael Zemp, director of the Swiss-based World Glacier
Monitoring Service. While many factors were at play, he said "the main
driver is global warming".

In Norway, "some ice fields are at their minimum for at least 3,000
years," said Rune Strand Oedegaard, a glacier and permafrost expert
from Norway's Gjoevik University College.

The front edge of Jovfunna has retreated about 18 metres (60 ft) over
the past year, exposing a band of artefacts probably from the Iron Age
1,500 years ago, according to radiocarbon dating. Others may be from
Viking times 1,000 years ago.

Juvfonna, about 1 km across on the flank of Norway's highest peak,
Galdhoepiggen, at 2,469 metres, also went through a less drastic
shrinking period in the 1930s, Oedegaard said.

REINDEER

Inside the Juvfonna ice, experts have carved a cave to expose layers
of ice dating back 6,000 years. Some dark patches turned out to be
ancient reindeer droppings -- giving off a pungent smell when thawed
out.

Ice fields like Juvfonna differ from glaciers in that they do not
slide much downhill. That means artefacts may be where they were left,
giving an insight into hunting techniques.

On Juvfonna, most finds are "scare sticks" about a metre long. Each
has a separate, flapping piece of wood some 30 cm long that was
originally tied at the top. The connecting thread is rarely found
since it disintegrates within days of exposure.

"It's a strange feeling to be tying a string around this stick just as
someone else did maybe 1,500 years ago," said Elling Utvik Wammer, a
archaeologist on Piloe's team knotting a tag to a stick before storing
it in a box for later study.

All the finds are also logged with a GPS satellite marker before being
taken to the lab for examination.

The archaeologists reckon they were set up about two metres apart to
drive reindeer towards hunters. In summer, reindeer often go onto snow
patches to escape parasitic flies.

Such a hunt would require 15 to 20 people, Piloe said, indicating that
Norway had an organised society around the start of the Dark Ages,
1,500 years ago. Hunters probably needed to get within 20 metres of a
reindeer to use an iron-tipped arrow.

"You can nearly feel the hunter here," Piloe said, standing by a
makeshift wall of rocks exposed in recent weeks and probably built by
an ancient archer as a hideaway.

http://www.archaeologynews.org/story...e=FEATURE-Home....

Something for the eye. Click on underlined NESTE

http://www.oppland.no/Klimapark2469/...lder-fra-funn/

JjT

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3. Jack Linthicum
View profile
More options Sep 14, 11:50 am
Newsgroups: sci.archaeology
From: Jack Linthicum
Date: Tue, 14 Sep 2010 08:50:28 -0700 (PDT)
Local: Tues, Sep 14 2010 11:50 am
Subject: Home of "Ice Giants" thaws, shows pre-Viking hunts
Reply | Reply to author | Forward | Print | Individual message | Show
original | Remove | Report this message | Find messages by this author
On Sep 14, 11:18 am, JerryT wrote:

- Hide quoted text -
- Show quoted text -
On 14 Sep, 12:38, Jack Linthicum wrote:

Despite the Koch brothers the temperature rises, the ice melts,
uncovering artifacts of the age of the Vikings and Iron Age objects in
the Alps.

FEATURE-Home of "Ice Giants" thaws, shows pre-Viking hunts

Tue Sep 14, 2010 5:59am EDT

* In Norway, "ice patch archaeologists" work as ice thaws

* Warming shrinks bastion of ice giants of Norse mythology

* Part of wider climate change, from Alps to Andes

By Alister Doyle, Environment Correspondent

JUVFONNA, Norway, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Climate change is exposing
reindeer hunting gear used by the Vikings' ancestors faster than
archaeologists can collect it from ice thawing in northern Europe's
highest mountains.

"It's like a time machine...the ice has not been this small for many,
many centuries," said Lars Piloe, a Danish scientist heading a team of
"snow patch archaeologists" on newly bare ground 1,850 metres (6,070
ft) above sea level in mid-Norway.

Specialised hunting sticks, bows and arrows and even a 3,400-year-old
leather shoe have been among finds since 2006 from a melt in the
Jotunheimen mountains, the home of the "Ice Giants" of Norse
mythology.

As water streams off the Juvfonna ice field, Piloe and two other
archaeologists -- working in a science opening up due to climate
change -- collect "scare sticks" they reckon were set up 1,500 years
ago in rows to drive reindeer towards archers.

But time is short as the Ice Giants' stronghold shrinks.

"Our main focus is the rescue part," Piloe said on newly exposed rocks
by the ice. "There are many ice patches. We can only cover a few...We
know we are losing artefacts everywhere."

Freed from an ancient freeze, wood rots in a few years. And rarer
feathers used on arrows, wool or leather crumble to dust in days
unless taken to a laboratory and stored in a freezer.

Jotunheimen is unusual because so many finds are turning up at the
same time -- 600 artefacts at Juvfonna alone.

Other finds have been made in glaciers or permafrost from Alaska to
Siberia. Italy's iceman "Otzi", killed by an arrow wound 5,000 years
ago, was found in an Alpine glacier in 1991. "Ice Mummies" have been
discovered in the Andes.

RESCUE

Patrick Hunt, of Stanford University in California who is trying to
discover where Carthaginian general Hannibal invaded Italy in 218 BC
with an army and elephants, said there was an "alarming rate" of thaw
in the Alps.

"This is the first summer since 1994 when we began our Alpine field
excavations above 8,000 ft (2,438 m) that we have not been inundated
by even one day of rain, sleet and snow flurries," he said.

"I expect we will see more 'ice patch archaeology discoveries'," he
said. Hannibal found snow on the Alpine pass he crossed in autumn,
according to ancient writers.

Glaciers are in retreat from the Andes to the Alps, as a likely side-
effect of global warming caused by human emissions of greenhouse
gases, the U.N. panel of climate experts says.

The panel's credibility has suffered since its 2007 report exaggerated
a thaw by saying Himalayan glaciers might vanish by 2035. It has stuck
to its main conclusion that it is "very likely" that human activities
are to blame for global warming.

"Over the past 150 years we have had a worldwide trend of glacial
retreat," said Michael Zemp, director of the Swiss-based World Glacier
Monitoring Service. While many factors were at play, he said "the main
driver is global warming".

In Norway, "some ice fields are at their minimum for at least 3,000
years," said Rune Strand Oedegaard, a glacier and permafrost expert
from Norway's Gjoevik University College.

The front edge of Jovfunna has retreated about 18 metres (60 ft) over
the past year, exposing a band of artefacts probably from the Iron Age
1,500 years ago, according to radiocarbon dating. Others may be from
Viking times 1,000 years ago.

Juvfonna, about 1 km across on the flank of Norway's highest peak,
Galdhoepiggen, at 2,469 metres, also went through a less drastic
shrinking period in the 1930s, Oedegaard said.

REINDEER

Inside the Juvfonna ice, experts have carved a cave to expose layers
of ice dating back 6,000 years. Some dark patches turned out to be
ancient reindeer droppings -- giving off a pungent smell when thawed
out.

Ice fields like Juvfonna differ from glaciers in that they do not
slide much downhill. That means artefacts may be where they were left,
giving an insight into hunting techniques.

On Juvfonna, most finds are "scare sticks" about a metre long. Each
has a separate, flapping piece of wood some 30 cm long that was
originally tied at the top. The connecting thread is rarely found
since it disintegrates within days of exposure.

"It's a strange feeling to be tying a string around this stick just as
someone else did maybe 1,500 years ago," said Elling Utvik Wammer, a
archaeologist on Piloe's team knotting a tag to a stick before storing
it in a box for later study.

All the finds are also logged with a GPS satellite marker before being
taken to the lab for examination.

The archaeologists reckon they were set up about two metres apart to
drive reindeer towards hunters. In summer, reindeer often go onto snow
patches to escape parasitic flies.

Such a hunt would require 15 to 20 people, Piloe said, indicating that
Norway had an organised society around the start of the Dark Ages,
1,500 years ago. Hunters probably needed to get within 20 metres of a
reindeer to use an iron-tipped arrow.

"You can nearly feel the hunter here," Piloe said, standing by a
makeshift wall of rocks exposed in recent weeks and probably built by
an ancient archer as a hideaway.

http://www.archaeologynews.org/story...e=FEATURE-Home...

Something for the eye. Click on underlined NESTE

http://www.oppland.no/Klimapark2469/...lder-fra-funn/

JjT

Marvelous and foot inch ruler for those who don't do metric.

Reply Reply to author Forward



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4. Russell
View profile
More options Sep 14, 8:15 pm
Newsgroups: sci.archaeology
From: Russell
Date: Wed, 15 Sep 2010 08:15:35 +0800
Local: Tues, Sep 14 2010 8:15 pm
Subject: Home of "Ice Giants" thaws, shows pre-Viking hunts
Reply | Reply to author | Forward | Print | Individual message | Show
original | Report this message | Find messages by this author
On Tue, 14 Sep 2010 08:50:28 -0700 (PDT), Jack Linthicum

- Hide quoted text -
- Show quoted text -
wrote:
On Sep 14, 11:18 am, JerryT wrote:
On 14 Sep, 12:38, Jack Linthicum wrote:

Despite the Koch brothers the temperature rises, the ice melts,
uncovering artifacts of the age of the Vikings and Iron Age objects in
the Alps.

FEATURE-Home of "Ice Giants" thaws, shows pre-Viking hunts

Tue Sep 14, 2010 5:59am EDT

* In Norway, "ice patch archaeologists" work as ice thaws

* Warming shrinks bastion of ice giants of Norse mythology

* Part of wider climate change, from Alps to Andes

By Alister Doyle, Environment Correspondent

JUVFONNA, Norway, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Climate change is exposing
reindeer hunting gear used by the Vikings' ancestors faster than
archaeologists can collect it from ice thawing in northern Europe's
highest mountains.

"It's like a time machine...the ice has not been this small for many,
many centuries," said Lars Piloe, a Danish scientist heading a team of
"snow patch archaeologists" on newly bare ground 1,850 metres (6,070
ft) above sea level in mid-Norway.

Specialised hunting sticks, bows and arrows and even a 3,400-year-old
leather shoe have been among finds since 2006 from a melt in the
Jotunheimen mountains, the home of the "Ice Giants" of Norse
mythology.

As water streams off the Juvfonna ice field, Piloe and two other
archaeologists -- working in a science opening up due to climate
change -- collect "scare sticks" they reckon were set up 1,500 years
ago in rows to drive reindeer towards archers.

But time is short as the Ice Giants' stronghold shrinks.

"Our main focus is the rescue part," Piloe said on newly exposed rocks
by the ice. "There are many ice patches. We can only cover a few...We
know we are losing artefacts everywhere."

Freed from an ancient freeze, wood rots in a few years. And rarer
feathers used on arrows, wool or leather crumble to dust in days
unless taken to a laboratory and stored in a freezer.

Jotunheimen is unusual because so many finds are turning up at the
same time -- 600 artefacts at Juvfonna alone.

Other finds have been made in glaciers or permafrost from Alaska to
Siberia. Italy's iceman "Otzi", killed by an arrow wound 5,000 years
ago, was found in an Alpine glacier in 1991. "Ice Mummies" have been
discovered in the Andes.

RESCUE

Patrick Hunt, of Stanford University in California who is trying to
discover where Carthaginian general Hannibal invaded Italy in 218 BC
with an army and elephants, said there was an "alarming rate" of thaw
in the Alps.

"This is the first summer since 1994 when we began our Alpine field
excavations above 8,000 ft (2,438 m) that we have not been inundated
by even one day of rain, sleet and snow flurries," he said.

"I expect we will see more 'ice patch archaeology discoveries'," he
said. Hannibal found snow on the Alpine pass he crossed in autumn,
according to ancient writers.

Glaciers are in retreat from the Andes to the Alps, as a likely side-
effect of global warming caused by human emissions of greenhouse
gases, the U.N. panel of climate experts says.

The panel's credibility has suffered since its 2007 report exaggerated
a thaw by saying Himalayan glaciers might vanish by 2035. It has stuck
to its main conclusion that it is "very likely" that human activities
are to blame for global warming.

"Over the past 150 years we have had a worldwide trend of glacial
retreat," said Michael Zemp, director of the Swiss-based World Glacier
Monitoring Service. While many factors were at play, he said "the main
driver is global warming".

In Norway, "some ice fields are at their minimum for at least 3,000
years," said Rune Strand Oedegaard, a glacier and permafrost expert
from Norway's Gjoevik University College.

The front edge of Jovfunna has retreated about 18 metres (60 ft) over
the past year, exposing a band of artefacts probably from the Iron Age
1,500 years ago, according to radiocarbon dating. Others may be from
Viking times 1,000 years ago.

Juvfonna, about 1 km across on the flank of Norway's highest peak,
Galdhoepiggen, at 2,469 metres, also went through a less drastic
shrinking period in the 1930s, Oedegaard said.

REINDEER

Inside the Juvfonna ice, experts have carved a cave to expose layers
of ice dating back 6,000 years. Some dark patches turned out to be
ancient reindeer droppings -- giving off a pungent smell when thawed
out.

Ice fields like Juvfonna differ from glaciers in that they do not
slide much downhill. That means artefacts may be where they were left,
giving an insight into hunting techniques.

On Juvfonna, most finds are "scare sticks" about a metre long. Each
has a separate, flapping piece of wood some 30 cm long that was
originally tied at the top. The connecting thread is rarely found
since it disintegrates within days of exposure.

"It's a strange feeling to be tying a string around this stick just as
someone else did maybe 1,500 years ago," said Elling Utvik Wammer, a
archaeologist on Piloe's team knotting a tag to a stick before storing
it in a box for later study.

All the finds are also logged with a GPS satellite marker before being
taken to the lab for examination.

The archaeologists reckon they were set up about two metres apart to
drive reindeer towards hunters. In summer, reindeer often go onto snow
patches to escape parasitic flies.

Such a hunt would require 15 to 20 people, Piloe said, indicating that
Norway had an organised society around the start of the Dark Ages,
1,500 years ago. Hunters probably needed to get within 20 metres of a
reindeer to use an iron-tipped arrow.

"You can nearly feel the hunter here," Piloe said, standing by a
makeshift wall of rocks exposed in recent weeks and probably built by
an ancient archer as a hideaway.

http://www.archaeologynews.org/story...e=FEATURE-Home...

Something for the eye. Click on underlined NESTE

http://www.oppland.no/Klimapark2469/...lder-fra-funn/

JjT

Marvelous and foot inch ruler for those who don't do metric.

It would be a very thick arrow shaft and a massive arrow head if the
scale was indeed inches.
Suspect cm and mm.

(cf to the image 3 photos further along with a metric/imperial dual
scale.)

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5. Jack Linthicum
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More options Sep 15, 10:44 am
Newsgroups: sci.archaeology
From: Jack Linthicum
Date: Wed, 15 Sep 2010 07:44:31 -0700 (PDT)
Local: Wed, Sep 15 2010 10:44 am
Subject: Home of "Ice Giants" thaws, shows pre-Viking hunts
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On Sep 14, 11:18 am, JerryT wrote:

- Hide quoted text -
- Show quoted text -
On 14 Sep, 12:38, Jack Linthicum wrote:

Despite the Koch brothers the temperature rises, the ice melts,
uncovering artifacts of the age of the Vikings and Iron Age objects in
the Alps.

FEATURE-Home of "Ice Giants" thaws, shows pre-Viking hunts

Tue Sep 14, 2010 5:59am EDT

* In Norway, "ice patch archaeologists" work as ice thaws

* Warming shrinks bastion of ice giants of Norse mythology

* Part of wider climate change, from Alps to Andes

By Alister Doyle, Environment Correspondent

JUVFONNA, Norway, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Climate change is exposing
reindeer hunting gear used by the Vikings' ancestors faster than
archaeologists can collect it from ice thawing in northern Europe's
highest mountains.

"It's like a time machine...the ice has not been this small for many,
many centuries," said Lars Piloe, a Danish scientist heading a team of
"snow patch archaeologists" on newly bare ground 1,850 metres (6,070
ft) above sea level in mid-Norway.

Specialised hunting sticks, bows and arrows and even a 3,400-year-old
leather shoe have been among finds since 2006 from a melt in the
Jotunheimen mountains, the home of the "Ice Giants" of Norse
mythology.

As water streams off the Juvfonna ice field, Piloe and two other
archaeologists -- working in a science opening up due to climate
change -- collect "scare sticks" they reckon were set up 1,500 years
ago in rows to drive reindeer towards archers.

But time is short as the Ice Giants' stronghold shrinks.

"Our main focus is the rescue part," Piloe said on newly exposed rocks
by the ice. "There are many ice patches. We can only cover a few...We
know we are losing artefacts everywhere."

Freed from an ancient freeze, wood rots in a few years. And rarer
feathers used on arrows, wool or leather crumble to dust in days
unless taken to a laboratory and stored in a freezer.

Jotunheimen is unusual because so many finds are turning up at the
same time -- 600 artefacts at Juvfonna alone.

Other finds have been made in glaciers or permafrost from Alaska to
Siberia. Italy's iceman "Otzi", killed by an arrow wound 5,000 years
ago, was found in an Alpine glacier in 1991. "Ice Mummies" have been
discovered in the Andes.

RESCUE

Patrick Hunt, of Stanford University in California who is trying to
discover where Carthaginian general Hannibal invaded Italy in 218 BC
with an army and elephants, said there was an "alarming rate" of thaw
in the Alps.

"This is the first summer since 1994 when we began our Alpine field
excavations above 8,000 ft (2,438 m) that we have not been inundated
by even one day of rain, sleet and snow flurries," he said.

"I expect we will see more 'ice patch archaeology discoveries'," he
said. Hannibal found snow on the Alpine pass he crossed in autumn,
according to ancient writers.

Glaciers are in retreat from the Andes to the Alps, as a likely side-
effect of global warming caused by human emissions of greenhouse
gases, the U.N. panel of climate experts says.

The panel's credibility has suffered since its 2007 report exaggerated
a thaw by saying Himalayan glaciers might vanish by 2035. It has stuck
to its main conclusion that it is "very likely" that human activities
are to blame for global warming.

"Over the past 150 years we have had a worldwide trend of glacial
retreat," said Michael Zemp, director of the Swiss-based World Glacier
Monitoring Service. While many factors were at play, he said "the main
driver is global warming".

In Norway, "some ice fields are at their minimum for at least 3,000
years," said Rune Strand Oedegaard, a glacier and permafrost expert
from Norway's Gjoevik University College.

The front edge of Jovfunna has retreated about 18 metres (60 ft) over
the past year, exposing a band of artefacts probably from the Iron Age
1,500 years ago, according to radiocarbon dating. Others may be from
Viking times 1,000 years ago.

Juvfonna, about 1 km across on the flank of Norway's highest peak,
Galdhoepiggen, at 2,469 metres, also went through a less drastic
shrinking period in the 1930s, Oedegaard said.

REINDEER

Inside the Juvfonna ice, experts have carved a cave to expose layers
of ice dating back 6,000 years. Some dark patches turned out to be
ancient reindeer droppings -- giving off a pungent smell when thawed
out.

Ice fields like Juvfonna differ from glaciers in that they do not
slide much downhill. That means artefacts may be where they were left,
giving an insight into hunting techniques.

On Juvfonna, most finds are "scare sticks" about a metre long. Each
has a separate, flapping piece of wood some 30 cm long that was
originally tied at the top. The connecting thread is rarely found
since it disintegrates within days of exposure.

"It's a strange feeling to be tying a string around this stick just as
someone else did maybe 1,500 years ago," said Elling Utvik Wammer, a
archaeologist on Piloe's team knotting a tag to a stick before storing
it in a box for later study.

All the finds are also logged with a GPS satellite marker before being
taken to the lab for examination.

The archaeologists reckon they were set up about two metres apart to
drive reindeer towards hunters. In summer, reindeer often go onto snow
patches to escape parasitic flies.

Such a hunt would require 15 to 20 people, Piloe said, indicating that
Norway had an organised society around the start of the Dark Ages,
1,500 years ago. Hunters probably needed to get within 20 metres of a
reindeer to use an iron-tipped arrow.

"You can nearly feel the hunter here," Piloe said, standing by a
makeshift wall of rocks exposed in recent weeks and probably built by
an ancient archer as a hideaway.

http://www.archaeologynews.org/story...e=FEATURE-Home...

Something for the eye. Click on underlined NESTE

http://www.oppland.no/Klimapark2469/...lder-fra-funn/

JjT

More pics and a video. Some in situ pics both still and video.

http://qmackie.wordpress.com/2010/09...archaeology-bo...

http://qmackie.wordpress.com/

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