Presentation: Glacial Archaeology in South-Tyrol

During the last "Frozen Pasts" conference, taken place in Innsbruck (A) from 12. to 16. October, we have presented - charged by the Cultural Heritage Department of South-Tyrol - the most important glacial sites discovered during the last 25 years in this region.

25 years ago, the dicovery of the iceman „Ötzi“ marked the beginning of a new discipline of archaeological research and cultural heritage preservation in South-Tyrol: The glacial archaeology.

Since than the Department of Archaeological Heritage has been focusing on several new high altitude sites, detected and reported exclusively by private persons: Leggings, socks and residues of shoes from the Iron Age on the Rieserferner (2.841 m Puster Valley).

For some years we have been investigating at the Langgrubenjoch (3.017 m Schnals Valley) remains of leather, pelt, and a wooden belt hook dating from the Copper Age, residues of a wooden building (roofing shingles made of larch) from the Bronze Age and other wooden findings from the Roman Age. Frequent visits to the main Alpine ridge since prehistory are documented by new finds on the Gurgler Eisjoch (3.134 m Schnals Valley).

Glacial archaeology meets modern conflict archaeology on the highest mountain group of the South-Tyrolean territory:

From the Stilfserjoch to Mt. Cevedale we have to deal with the remains of the frontline of WW1 between 1915 and 1918. Even the highest peaks like Mt. Ortler (3.905m) and Königspitze (3.851m) were permanently occupied by Austro-Hungarian and Italian mountain troops.

100 years later climate change uncover extraordinarily well preserved materials and structures which give us new insights into events and every day life on the high altitude positions.

Here is the presentation together with the live-recording of the talk.

Glacial Finds from the Langgrubenjoch (Gde. Mals and Gde. Schnals) in South Tyrol. Preliminary Report

We've published a preliminary report in german language about our project on Langgrubenjoch (South-Tyrol) in the german journal Archäologisches Korrespondenzblatt.
It has a profile as a topical scientific journal on issues of Prehistoric, Roman and Medieval archaeology and related sciences in Europe. Beside topical debates the journal provides a place for the publication of new finds and short analysis of general interest. (Definition by RGZM)

Bringing home the finds

Finds from thawing névés and ice fields were discovered at the Langgrubenjoch (3017 m a. s. l.) between Matscher- and Schnalstal in the southern Ötztal Alps. The finds are predominantly made up of wooden parts, many of which are fragments of boards and show tool marks. 

GPS

First radiocarbon and dendro dates reveal artefacts dating back to the Copper Period, middle to late Bronze Age as well as the Roman period. The toolmarks and comparable finds suggest that the pieces of boards consisting of larch (Larix decidua) were the remains of the roof shingles of a late Bronze Age hut. 

Parallel documentation with Geopaparazzi

Although the Langgrubenjoch cannot be crossed easily it is the shortest route between the Obere Vinschgau in the area of Mals and Schnalstal and the region north of the alpine main ridge. The periods of time indicated by the finds, i. e. the late 3 rd and 2 nd millennia BC as well as the Rom an period, witnessed a relatively low extent of the glaciers or warm phases.

Documentation

In those times the Langgrubenjoch was possibly easier accessible and therefore used more intensively.

Glacial Finds from the Langgrubenjoch (Gde. Mals and Gde. Schnals) in South Tyrol. Preliminary Report

Authors:
Alessandro Bezzi, Giuseppe Naponiello, Rupert Gietl (Arc-Team)
Hubert Steiner (Cult. Heritage Dep. of South-Tyrol)
Kurt Nicolussi, Thomas Pichler (Uni Innsbruck)

Archäologisches Korrespondenzblatt 46 (2016) 167-182.

Related postings & videos:

• Professionals at Work - the "Frozen Stories" videoclip
• Flying on 3.100 Meters

Arc-Team: Professionals at Work - the "Frozen Stories" videoclip

Since several years, the Department of Archaeology of the Autonomous Province of South-Tyrol has been documenting and rescuing various archaeological remains in high alpine environment. The project area for late summer 2013 was the Langgrubenjoch a passage between the Schnalser- and the Matscher-Valley.

The site is located on an altitude of about 3100m.a.s.l. (10170ft) and offers a striking variety of wooden finds from prehistory to antiquity.

The project was directed by Dr. Hubert Steiner, member of the Department of Archaeology of the Autonomous Province of South-Tyrol, who is also one of the curators of the exibition "FROZEN STORIES - Discoveries in the Alpine glaciers" at the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology (Bozen) from 25 February 2014 to 22 February 2015.

+Luca Bezzi announced it on ATOR first in february 2014 in the post "High mountain archaeology: Frozen Stories".

The South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology is home of the "Iceman Ötzi"  one of the biggest archaeological sensations in the 20th century. The site of Langgrubenjoch is situated just a few kilometers from his finding place.

Frozen Stories provides for the first time some of the findings from Langgrubenjoch toegether with a video clip, filmed during the survey by ourselves, which shows the whole archaeological working process in such extreme circumstances.

The publication on ATOR was possible by courtesy of the directorship of the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology, represented by Andreas Putzer. Thanks also to Hubert Schönegger and the Team of Geosfilm, for converting the video and splitting the soundtrack.