Secrets of the Ice (FB page)

[Jerrod Miller]

That is pretty neat, thanks @Aiden CC!

[Gerhard Gerber]

On 4/20/2022 at 3:17 PM, Joshua States said:

I am trying to visualize the process of inserting a straight tang through a block of wood, and then curling the tang end around a leather strap so that the ring formed is inset into the butt of the handle. There must have been a notch in the handle heel. The tang end is then partially hammered into the loop. Insert the leather through the hole and close the loop down into the notch. Brilliant!

What I was thinking as well, guess it's not the greatest steel so it could be worked cold?

[Aiden CC]

1 hour ago, Gerhard Gerber said:

What I was thinking as well, guess it's not the greatest steel so it could be worked cold?

It is quite possible the steel was fairly low in carbon (especially if a wrought iron tang was welded on), though I might argue that the cold work implies a somewhat higher quality, at least with regards to refinement. You can bend a piece of many annealed modern blade steels into a loop like that without any issue, but low quality bloom iron/steel has it's ductility diminished (potentially greatly) by the shape, size, and concentration of slag inclusions/bad welds. There is actually an experiment recorded in one of Leonardo Da Vinchi's notebooks where he measured the tensile strength of iron wire and found it to decrease with increasing length of the wire, i.e. the probability that the piece had some "weak link" in it. Generally we think of there being trade offs between strength/hardness and ductility/toughness, but it is certainly possible to have less of both at the same time!

 

I do want to make a version of this knife myself out of hearth steel and wrought iron, but I plan do to some experiments with the bend first to make sure the materials I'm using can handle it.

 

[Alan Longmire]

8 minutes ago, Aiden CC said:

I might argue that the cold work implies a somewhat higher quality, at least with regards to refinement.

 

This is the theory behind early iron age "currency bars" of iron.  These always have a socket or loop forged into the ends, in theory to prove the quality of the bar, since badly refined iron won't roll into a socket or loop.

[Joshua States]

Just another post on the Book of Faces today. A complete arrow.

 

 

 

 

 

[Gerhard Gerber]

14 hours ago, Aiden CC said:

 You can bend a piece of many annealed modern blade steels into a loop like that without any issue,

 

I have not tried, and I did not know that!

[Joshua States]

Another one from today's posts.

"We also found an arrow with an antler arrowhead during our 2019 fieldwork. The arrowhead is quite similar in shape to iron arrowheads from AD 300 onwards. Perhaps the arrow dates to the centuries preceding this date.

Based on observations in 2013 and 2019, the ice patch retreated 100 m in the front during these six years. So far, we have only been able to survey a small part of this newly exposed foreland. We plan to return to the site with a proper large-scale systematic survey. The eight arrows recovered from the site, with only limited survey, tell us that there are bound to be more arrows here waiting to be discovered.

There was very little snow this winter in the area where the site is located, so conditions for ice melt and archaeological survey may become excellent this autumn. As always, summer temperatures will decide. Fingers crossed – though we are not sure whether this is for a chilly or a warm summer, the classical dilemma of glacial archaeology… (6/6)"

 

 

 

 

[Joshua States]

Two more arrows.

"One of the arrows was still stuck in the ice and we had to melt it out carefully, using lukewarm water. The preservation of this 1500-year-old arrow is just awesome! Arrowhead, sinew, shaft, fletching – it’s all there. This arrow will be a prime target for our on-going arrow research program. Finds of steering feathers are very rare (4/6)"

Note the twine or wrapped cordage is either braided or twisted.

 

 

 

"Julian holds one of the other well-preserved arrows found on the site during our 2019 fieldwork. The arrowhead is of a rare type, having a socket instead of the usual tang. It dates to c. AD 600. Most of the arrows are remarkably well-preserved compared to other sites. This may be caused by the ice being “calmer” here (5/6)"

 

 

 

[Gerhard Gerber]

Why would there be so many finds in that one place?

[Aiden CC]

1 hour ago, Gerhard Gerber said:

Why would there be so many finds in that one place?

The website has a pretty good explanation of the site IIRC, my basic understanding is that it was a fairly heavily trafficked and narrow travel route due to the difficult terrain, where other activities like hunting were also conducted and was in use for a very long time. Is also happened to be an environment really good at preserving whatever falls on the ground with the ice to keep things from decomposing or getting buried. 

[Brian Dougherty]

It would be pretty awe-inspiring to find something that old and intact that was made by human hands.  I've found a few fossils over the years.  They are obviously far older, but they don't have that human connection.

 

It must be a pain to do an archeological survey in a boulder field like that.

[Alan Longmire]

2 minutes ago, Brian Dougherty said:

 

It must be a pain to do an archeological survey in a boulder field like that

 

Much nicer now than when I started.  In the old days we'd set up a grid out of string to map the finds, trying hard not to trip over it.  Now we just set up a total station (AKA laser transit) on the site datum and shoot everything in as it's found.  The computer maps it for you in three-dimensional space.

 

I learned it with a 1929 navy surplus optical transit, steel surveyors tape, wooden stadia rod, and folding wood rulers.  The guy who taught me learned from one of the guys who did the WPA archaeology for all the TVA dams in the 1930s-1940s. They had total stations by the time I learned, but the school wouldn't buy us one since we had all the perfectly good antique equipment. 

[Joshua States]

For some strange reason, I just got the idea to redo the "Four Yorkshiremen" sketch as "Four Archeologists".

Edited May 12, 2022 by Joshua States

[Jeroen Zuiderwijk]

On 4/20/2022 at 3:17 PM, Joshua States said:

I am trying to visualize the process of inserting a straight tang through a block of wood, and then curling the tang end around a leather strap so that the ring formed is inset into the butt of the handle. There must have been a notch in the handle heel. The tang end is then partially hammered into the loop. Insert the leather through the hole and close the loop down into the notch. Brilliant!

I don't think they would have made a notch in the wood. The wood just automatically dents inwards as you hammer the tang in to a loop against it. It probably wasn't even the intention that the loop was sunk into the wood. 

Edited May 16, 2022 by Jeroen Zuiderwijk

[Joshua States]

The lastest posts included a very rare find. They found a 3-bladed arrowhad. I'm hoping they post some still photos. All they have now is a short video on FB

Facebook

 

[Joshua States]

I know it's been a while, but here is another special find.

 

The melting ice released one final secret for us this year  - an arrow with the quartzite arrowhead still in place!  The fibers fastening the arrowhead are intact, and black pitch still covers the arrowhead. The complete arrowshaft is there as well, in three pieces. The fletches are also preserved - it looks like there are three!  The arrow likely dates back to the Late Stone Age or the Bronze Age. What an incredible find! 

 

 

and the fletching

 

[Charles dP]

Wow