融化的冰川揭示了消失已久的维京山口和古代遗迹

融化的冰川揭示了消失已久的维京山口和古代遗迹

As the glaciers of Scandinavia melt, the long-forgotten journeys of intrepid Vikings are revealed.

随着斯堪的纳维亚的冰川融化，勇敢的维京人被遗忘已久的旅程被揭示。

Reported in the journal Antiquity today, a retreating Lendbreen glacier in the mountains of Norway has recently revealed a mountain pass used by Vikings over 1,000 years ago, along with a treasure trove of rare artifacts, weapons, and ancient horse poop.

据《今日古物》杂志报道，位于挪威山区的伦德布伦冰川正在消退，最近发现了1000多年前维京人使用过的山口，以及珍贵的文物、武器和古代马粪。

Tom Hale

The mountain pass was brought to light in 2011 when the receding Lendbreen ice patch revealed a stunningly well-preserved wool tunic from around 1,600 years ago. While other archaeological digs have headed to these hills in the years following, a huge increase in melting on the glacier in 2019 revealed even more long-lost possessions that were carelessly dropped by Vikings centuries ago.

2011年，伦德布林冰原消退，露出了一件保存完好的1600年前的羊毛束腰外衣。在接下来的几年里，当其他考古发掘人员前往这些山丘时，2019年冰川融化的急剧增加揭示了更多几个世纪前维京人不小心掉落的失物。

Archaeologists from the University of Cambridge in the UK and NTNU University Museum in Norway used radiocarbon dating on at least 60 artifacts from the site, suggesting the mountain pass was used by humans for over millennia, between 300 CE and 1500 CE. This also indicated that the mountain pass was most widely used around 1000 CE during the Viking Age, a time in Scandinavian history when Norsemen expanded their influence across Europe and beyond through trade and a hefty dose of violence.

英国剑桥大学和挪威NTNU大学博物馆的考古学家们对至少60件来自该遗址的文物进行了放射性碳年代测定，表明在公元300年到1500年之间，人类使用这座山口已经有上千年的历史了。这也表明，在公元1000年左右的维京时代，山口的使用最为广泛。在斯堪的纳维亚历史上，北欧人通过贸易和大量的暴力活动，扩大了他们在欧洲和其他地区的影响力。

An array of horse-related objects discovered at the site. Pilø et al., 2020, Antiquity

Among the glacier’s hidden loot the team discovered a knife with a preserved wooden handle, the remains of a shoe, a fur mitten, and a distaff used to spin natural fibers. Many of the objects actually detail the journey of Vikings through the pass, including objects such as horseshoes, bones of horses, horse dung, remain of sleds, and a walking stick with a runic inscription.

在冰川隐藏的赃物中，研究小组发现了一把保存完好的木柄小刀，一只鞋的残骸，一副毛皮手套，以及一根用来纺天然纤维的线绳。许多物品实际上详细描述了维京人通过山口的旅程，包括马蹄铁、马骨、马粪、雪橇残骸和一根刻有符文的手杖。

"My favorite find from Lendbreen is a small wooden bit with pointed ends [pictured below]. When we found it, we could not understand what it was used for," Lars Pilø, co-director Department of Cultural Heritage at Innlandet County Council, told IFLScience.

“我在伦德布伦找到的最喜欢的东西是一个尖头小木块(见下图)。当我们发现它时,我们无法理解它是用于什么,”Lars Pilø文化遗产学系副主任Innlandet郡议会,告诉IFLScience。

A "bit", probably for a young animal like a kid or lamb to prevent it suckling, maximizing milk for human consumption. Made from juniper wood in the 11th century CE. Pilø et al., 2020, Antiquity

"It was exhibited at a local museum, and an elderly woman who visited the exhibition immediately identified it. It is a bit for goat kids and lambs to prevent them from suckling their mother, as the milk was used to produce dairy products on the summer farms," Pilø explained. "The women had herself seen such bits in use in the 1930s. They were made in Juniper then, and so is ours, but the bit from Lendbreen is radiocarbon-dated to the 11th century CE!"

这幅画在当地一家博物馆展出，一位参观过展览的老妇人立刻认出了它。有点为山羊的孩子和羊羔阻止他们吮吸他们的母亲,牛奶是用来生产乳制品在夏天农场,”Pilø解释道。在20世纪30年代，这些妇女自己就见过这种钻头的使用。它们当时是用杜松木做的，我们的也是如此，但伦德布林的那块是用放射性碳做的，可追溯到公元11世纪!”

Judging from the artifacts left here, it’s believed this passway was used to access high-elevation farms in the warm summer months and as a major trade route, whether for local use or even to transport rare pelts and antlers to the rest of Europe.

从这里遗留下来的文物来看，这条通道被认为是在温暖的夏季通往高海拔农场的通道，也是一条主要的贸易路线，无论是用于当地使用，还是将稀有的毛皮和鹿角运输到欧洲其他地方。

At some time around the 11th century CE, however, the journeys along this busy road dried up. In the centuries following 1000 CE, northern Europe was hit with a number of big social, economic, and climatic changes of fortune that saw the passageway become used less and less. One of these big changes was the Black Death, which first struck Norway in 1348 or 1349, and caused more than its fair share of human misery and economic turmoil.

然而，大约在公元11世纪的某个时候，这条繁忙道路上的旅行已经干涸。在公元1000年以后的几个世纪里，北欧遭遇了一系列重大的社会、经济和气候变化，使得这条通道的使用越来越少。其中一个重大的变化就是黑死病，它于1348年或1349年首次袭击挪威，造成了比它所能承受的更多的人类苦难和经济动荡。

"It seems likely that the amount of mountain travel here declined and ultimately stopped as the Little Ice Age and then, in the middle of the 1300s, the Black Death, took their toll," said Dr James H Barrett, Reader in Medieval Archaeology at the University of Cambridge.

剑桥大学中世纪考古学的读者詹姆斯·H·巴雷特博士说:“似乎这里的山地旅行数量下降了，并最终在小冰河时期停止了，然后在14世纪中期，黑死病造成了损失。”

"The decline in population reduced demand for mountain products, and there were simply fewer travellers on the road. When population and the economy recovered, the pass had been forgotten and new routes were created."

“人口的减少减少了对山货的需求，路上的旅行者也少了。当人口和经济复苏时，通口就被遗忘了，新的路线就出现了。”

Lendbreen within its regional and Norwegian setting. Pilø et al., 2020, Antiquity.