A hiker accidentally found a pair of ancient sandals in the Horse Ice Patch area during his trip. He contacted researchers, sent the location and pH๏τos to the center for conservation of items found in ice so they could come to the site to examine.
Espen Finstad, the head of the research, said the discovery of the Iron Age sandals on the mountain in Norway provided further evidence that this place was once a heavily used ancient path, estimated to be about 1,700 years ago.
When Espen Finstad and the research team arrived at the site to collect the sandals and search for more artifacts, they received a forecast of heavy snowfall here. If the snow covered Espen Finstad, he would have to wait many years for the ice to melt before he could retrieve it. The snow fell heavily here and the temperature dropped very low, his team had to work hard all day long.
Luckily, they completed the job smoothly. Using radiocarbon dating, the team dated the sandals to around 300 AD.
The icy mountain route connecting inland Norway to the sea was a popular route for people to travel and transport goods. To make it easier to move on the ice, ancient people used scraps of cloth or animal skin inside the sandals.
Espen Finstad said: “The wild, desolate, icy mountain landscape today was once a popular prehistoric traffic route, with many traces of humans. People at that time did not hesitate to move through difficult and dangerous mountain areas. They had to travel long distances to exchange and trade goods.”
The sandals tend to be inspired by fashion in the Roman Empire, which indicates that people who pᴀssed through the Norwegian mountains had contact with the outside world.
Espen Finstad’s team also found other items on the trail, including arrowheads and shafts dating back 2,000 to 3,000 years. These are evidence that hunters frequented the site, using reindeer as a means of transport.
There have been few discoveries of transportation on the mountain. At the nearby Lendbreen Pᴀss, researchers found some footwear, but none older than this discovery.
