It seems almost daily there are reports of exciting new discoveries from Norway’s landscape. Let’s dive into two recent news stories!
The rock where several ancient paintings were found. Photo from Jan Magne Gjerde and the Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research (NIKU)
The first discovery was made in Moss, Norway. A dad, Tormod Fjeld, and his family went for a hike in the area when they stopped for a quick break near a large rock. Fjeld’s eye was caught by interesting patterns and unusual colorings on the rock. After further review, he could see that the markings were painted scenes. This wasn’t Fjeld’s first run-in with paintings of this kind. In fact, he spent years searching and identifying 600 petroglyphs with two friends, so he isn’t a novice in this field. Sure enough, archaeologists confirmed the markings were ancient drawings and are estimated to be from the Bronze Age. The scenes are believed to be a hunting scene and a rowboat painting. They are also the first of their kind in the Moss area.
Archaeologists begin excavating the ancient fish trap. The visible poles are marked with white papers. Photo from the Cultural History Museum
The second exciting find was also discovered by a hiker in September of last year. This ancient uncovering came from Tesse Lake in Norway. A mountaineer, Reidar Marstein, was taking in the fresh air at the lake when he saw several wooden poles sticking out of the dry lakebed. Archaeologists determined that he had found a 7,000-year-old fishing trap and believed the shrinking lake water had exposed the trap set in the shallow water. According to the Cultural History Museum release, the traps were lollipop-shaped and the “Fish were funneled along a wooden fence and into the main circular trap chamber.” Unfortunately, the lake rose again and submerged the fish traps so the archaeologist team had to wait until June 2023 to excavate after the lake shrank again. Their eventual excavation led them to four fish traps and over 50 wooden poles. They will continue studying the traps to understand more about how they were used. One of the poles was dated to 5000 B.C. making it the oldest fish trap in Norway.
These are just two of many discoveries that are being made in Norway on a frequent basis. It is amazing what we learn about the past through findings like these and we can only imagine what still lies uncovered.