Norway’s southernmost glacier is disappearing. ❄️📉
New research shows that Breifonn has lost 94% of its area since 1955.
Rising mountain temperatures mean more melt during longer and warmer summers. The glacier simply cannot keep up.
From 3.3 km² in 1955 to just 0.17 km² in 2024… and it may vanish completely within a few decades.
The figure shows Breifonn shrinking step by step — a stark reminder of how fast the ice is changing in southern Norway ❄️
The paper can be found here: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/annals-of-glaciology/article/tracing-the-rapid-loss-of-breifonn-norways-southernmost-glacier/A84EA59D45C3B4161C407FD22F85C54D
🏆 We won the Grand Prix at the European Heritage Awards / Europa Nostra Awards 2025! ❄️
Earlier this year, Secrets of the Ice was honoured with a European Heritage Award in the Research category. At tonight’s ceremony in Brussels, it was revealed that our program also received the highest prize - the Grand Prix, as one of only five projects across Europe.
We are deeply honoured by this recognition – not only for our research, but for the collaboration, fieldwork, and dedication that make glacial archaeology possible. A huge thank you to all our colleagues, partners, and volunteers who help us uncover the past as the ice melts - and tell the stories that emerge as we melt back in time.
This award belongs to the whole Secrets of the Ice community. 💙
In 2019, during the melting of the Lendbreen ice patch, we discovered the remains of a dog from the 1500s – complete with collar, leash, and even the remains of its last meal (fish). This touching find revealed the close bond between the dog and its owner 500 years ago.
Now the dog has reached a new audience: it has just been voted the most beautiful Europa stamp of the year. Designed by Kristin Slotterøy for Posten Norge, the stamp cleverly recreates the dog as if it is emerging from the ice – just like it did in real life.
This year’s theme for the Europa stamp competition was archaeology, with 57 countries taking part. The award is both a recognition of great design and a celebration of Norwegian history and glacial archaeology reaching far beyond our borders.
The dog on the stamp can currently be seen at the Norwegian Mountain Center in Lom.
Sometimes even a small stamp can carry a big story.
Just ten days ago, Olav from the Norwegian Mountain Center made an amazing find at one of our ice sites – a fragment of a composite bow, part of the belly.
This site has already given us two other bow fragments (found in 2019 & 2021), one of them radiocarbon-dated to the late 1200s. Those pieces are now on display at the Norwegian Mountain Center.
Olav`s piece melted out from the very same area, and is similar to the two pieces already found! So it is the thrid part of the medieval bow puzzle revealed by the ice.
Some pieces are still missing… but who knows what future summer melt may bring? #norskfjellsenter...
