Sunday, September 1, 2013

Iron Age outerwear

The bad news is that the Norwegian glaciers are melting. The good news is that frequent discoveries of ancient artifacts are being made, including this Iron Age pullover sweater. The garment was analyzed by Marianne Vedeler of the University of Oslo, who concluded that it had been woven from 2 types of lamb's or sheep's wool between 230 and 390 A.D. The discarded tunic had been partly bleached by sun and wind exposure. It may have had more than one owner who wore it hard while hunting reindeer and repaired it with patches. Martin Callanan of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, who analyzed ancient arrows and bow fragments also found in the melting snow, concludes: "The number and antiquity of some of these artefacts is unprecedented in the almost century-long history of snow patch surveying in the region. At the same time, as the climate continues to heat up and the snows melt away, one wonders what long-term price there will be to pay for these glimpses of the frozen past."

 

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