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Melting Ice Reveals a Viking Mountain Pass

The undated remains of a dog, along with its collar and leash.
The undated remains of a dog, along with its collar and leash. Image: Espen Finstad

Mittens, shoes, horse snowshoes, bits of sleds, and the remains of a dog still attached to its collar were among the many items found in a former mountain pass in central Norway. Located on Lomseggen Ridge, the pass was used for over 1,000 years, with traffic peaking around 1000 CE during the Viking Age. A melting glacier—the result of climate change—made this and similar archaeological discoveries possible. Also, climate change still sucks.