The World's Next Oldest Finding Of Ski Fragments: A Hidden Treshure
These are the fragments from the finding of the world’s next oldest historic ski parts. This picture was made available to mosjøen.com/Lokalmagasinet.no to correspond with the publication of the article of this finding.
Photo by Per E. Fredriksen/Vitenskapsmuseet/NTNU, Trondheim ©
 Published April 8th 2011. On reflexion after a fantastic Nordic Championship 2011 in Oslo this vinter: Norway’s oldest and the world’s next oldest ski finding. Around 5000 years old! It has mostly been a bit hidden at Vitenskapsmuseet in Trondhjem since it was found north of Mosjøen. It is referred to as the Drevja finding and moves Norway’s skiing history dramatically backwards in time. It is twice as old as “Øvrebu-skia” from Vest-Agder, which for long has been considered Norway’s oldest. The finding at Mosjøen is remarkable little known, and for a long time it has existed quite anonymously even in the scientific community.
By Svein-H. Strand, LM editor
♦ Of all the findings that have a certain dating, only one ski has been found, at Umeå in Sweden, that is older than the Drevja finding. This is around 500 years older, tells Steinar Sørensen at Glomsdalmuseet in Elverum.
♦ The dating of the Drevja-finding, which Sørensen himself initiated and carried out, using the C-14 method, confirms that the skifragments are from between around 3343 and 2939 BC.
♦ The two well-preserved fragments, of a total length of 65 cm, constitute the rare of the ski, and was found already in 1959.
♦ Sørensen says that the ski in question is made of quarter-sawn wood, the opposite of calibered flat sawn wood. The component of knot in the ski suggests that it was not an gliding ski.
♦ - Rather, it seems likely that it was clothed in skin to optimize its grip, he says.
♦ It was found by Johan Kleivhaug, at 190 cm depth during drainage work on his house. In Nyland in Holandsvika in Vefsnfjorden. Approximately one mile north of Mosjøen, in the former municipality of Drevja.
♦ The ski fragments was situated in bogged ground, 34 meter above the ocean, but just above sea level 5000 years ago. Because of Kleivhaug’s evaluations, the pieces were taken care of and delivered to Vitenskapsmuseet in Trondheim.
ANONYMEOUS EXISTENCE
The archeological sensation has been in the museum’s care for more than 50 years. It has been a relatively anonemous existing. The finding has also received little attention. This is primarily on account of the fact that the carbon dating was carried out as late as in 1993.
♦ Even after it was clear that we were facing one of the oldest historical findings in the world, the attention has been modest, even within the scientific community itself.
♦ At Vitenskapsmuseet, a division of Norges Teknisk Naturvitenskapelige Universitet, førsteamanuensis Lars Stenvik is responsible for the Drevja finding.
♦ Stenvik told LM’s editor in 2004, the first time something major was written about the subject, on the net site mosjoen.com, our partner, that the clenodium was lent out to Sverresborg-museet/Trøndelag Folkemuseum in Trondheim, where it was the main attraction in an exibition of old skis.
IN RELATIVELY GOOD CONDITION
- In what condition were the skis when they arrived?
♦ - They needed a good deal of preparing, but they were in relatively good condition, Stenvik said.
♦ Other examples of skis 4000-5000 years old are extremely rare and have only been found a few other places, in Sweden, Finland, and Russia. To put the age in perspective: The younger stone age is counted from around ca 2500 to ca 1500 BC.
♦ It has come to our attention that the validity of the carbon dating was questioned in some circuits by the time. Such doubt is totally unfounded, says Steinar Sørensen. The C-14-method measures the mass of radioactive radiation from carbon. Radiocarbon dating is generally perceived as the most secure method for dating archeological findings of organic material.
LM will publish more material from the ski finding in bouth Norwegian and English.
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