Melting ice unearths three millennia-old shoes in Norway

Oldest shoe in Norway, dating to 3,000 years ago, recovered from melting ice patch.

The oldest shoe belonging to the Bronze Age  is just one of thousands of ancient artifacts that were recovered from the country's melting mountain ice patches in the past two decades, according to a new report from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU).

Unlike objects trapped in acidic soil or beneath gargantuan glaciers, the artifacts recovered from Norwegian ice patches are often found in impeccable condition, showing minimal decomposition and deformation, even after thousands of years of frozen slumber. That's because ice patches are relatively stable, unmoving and free from corrosive compounds. Perfectly intact weapons, clothing, textiles, and plant and animal remains have all emerged from the ice, helping to bring thousands of years of Norwegian history to light.

But now, the report authors said, climate change could bring that all to an end.

Within just a few decades, vast swaths of Norway's ice patches have begun to melt, exposing undiscovered artifacts to the elements and almost certain deterioration, the authors wrote.

"A survey based on satellite images taken in 2020 shows that more than 40 percent of 10 selected ice patches with known finds have melted away," report co-author Birgitte Skar, an archaeologist and associate professor at the NTNU University Museum, said in a statement. "These figures suggest a significant threat for preserving discoveries from the ice, not to mention the ice as a climate archive."