Norway: The world’s oldest shoes found in Norway are about 3000 years old. It is said to be of the Bronze Age. According to a report by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), the boot is one of the thousands of ancient artifacts found here during the last two decades when mountain ice melted here.
These ancient boots were originally found in 2007 in the mountainous region of Jotunheim in southern Norway. These small leather boots can be feminine or youthful. Some arrows and wooden shovels were also found along with the boots, indicating that the area was an important hunting ground. According to the researchers who invented this shoe, this shoe dates back to around 1100 BC, which may be the oldest shoe in Norway.
Scientists expressed concern
The condition of the objects found in the icebergs on the Norwegian hills, buried in acidic soils or under huge glaciers, is even better after thousands of years. Here the remains of weapons, clothing, plants and animals have emerged from the ice, revealing thousands of years of Norwegian history. But the new report says climate change could end it all.
Within a few decades, much of Norway’s ice has begun to melt. Birgit Scar, an archaeologist and associate professor at the NTNU University Museum, says a survey based on satellite imagery taken in 2020 showed that 10 selected ice belts had melted more than 40 percent of them.
Climate change can ruin antiques
Snow bands are formed at the height of the mountains, in summer this snow does not melt completely, whereas unlike glaciers, these patches of ice do not move, so things buried in ice patches are preserved for thousands of years. When the ice starts to melt, those things appear. Even after all these years, they are preserved as before. However, scientists now say that the artifacts are in danger of being lost if they are not recovered soon after the ice melts.
The authors of the report worry that climate change could cause many cultural artifacts to disappear before they can be recovered. A 2022 report by Norway’s Directorate of Water Resources and Energy estimates that 364 square kilometers of ice have melted since 2006. This portion is about half the size of New York City. Artifacts from this patch are at risk of damage or destruction, if not removed quickly they will be released.
