Melting Ice Reveals 1,500-Year-Old Reindeer Trap on Aurlandsfjellet

Researchers have recorded a roughly 1,500-year-old wooden reindeer trap on the Aurlandsfjellet plateau after melting ice exposed hundreds of stakes and logs. Local hiker Helge Titland first noticed the remains in 2024, prompting investigations by Vestland County Council and the University Museum of Bergen. The funnel-shaped corral, dated to the mid-sixth century, is unique in Norway and possibly Europe; nearby finds include antlers with cut marks, spearheads and a decorated wooden oar. Conservators are keeping the objects frozen to prevent rapid decay as the ice continues to retreat.

12:13 AM, 11/25/2025Culture

Melting Ice Reveals 1,500-Year-Old Reindeer Trap on Aurlandsfjellet

High on the Aurlandsfjellet plateau in western Norway, researchers have documented an exceptionally well-preserved wooden reindeer trap that lay hidden beneath ice for centuries until recent melting exposed it.

In 2024, 76-year-old local hiker Helge Titland noticed unusual wooden stakes protruding from thawing snow. Having previously reported other ancient hunting remains in the area, Titland realised the find could be significant and alerted authorities.

Field teams from Vestland County Council and the University Museum of Bergen visited the site and found the structure increasingly revealed as the ice retreated. "We have never seen anything like this before," said archaeologist Oystein Skar, describing the discovery as completely unique.

Archaeologists recorded hundreds of logs and branches arranged in two long, parallel rows that form a funnel-like guiding fence narrowing into a large enclosure. The design would have channelled reindeer toward a corral where hunters could capture or kill large numbers of animals.

Radiocarbon dating and context place the mass-capture corral at roughly the mid-sixth century — at the close of the early Iron Age — making it about 1,500 years old. The team believes snow and ice buried the structure soon after it was abandoned, which helped preserve the wooden elements for centuries.

Close to the fence, archaeologists recovered hundreds of reindeer antlers, many bearing cut marks, along with iron spearheads, fragments of arrows and bows, and several carved wooden objects. These finds suggest wild reindeer hunting may have played a larger role in early Iron Age subsistence and social life than previously recognised, according to Leif Inge Astveit of the University Museum of Bergen.

One of the most puzzling items recovered at the site, located at about 1,400 metres above sea level, is a richly decorated wooden oar. "What these were used for, and why they were brought into the mountains 1,500 years ago, is still a mystery," Skar said.

Although melting ice made these extraordinary finds visible, it also places them at risk of rapid decay. All objects have been kept frozen at the University Museum of Bergen so they can be slowly thawed and stabilised by conservators, a process intended to prevent further damage.

This discovery not only offers a rare glimpse into large-scale hunting strategies in the early Iron Age, but also highlights the double-edged impact of climate change: retreating ice reveals archaeological treasures while simultaneously exposing them to deterioration.