DID YOU THINK SKIING IS A NEW SPORT? THINK AGAIN...
Eden Ski & Snowboard School is excited to present the latest information about a new archaelogical discovery that shows just how old skiing really is. We feel humbled to have the chance to teach such an amazing sport and it brings us so much joy to see how, each year, more and more people become interested in skiing. With over 2,000 students that we have intiated in this wonderful sport we always look forward to sharing the joy and beauty of skiing with youngsters and adults alike. Welcome to our world and enjoy a bit a culture while waiting for the start of the 2021-2022 ski season.
ARCHAEOLOGISTS IN NORWAT FOUNDS WHAT THEY BELIEVE IS THE SECOND SKI IN A PAID THAT WERE LOST DURING THE IRON AGE 1,300 YEARS AGO
The first ski emerged from thawing ice due to climate change on Mount Digervarden in 2014 and now the returning archaeologists used GPS to locate the second ski in the set seven years later. They then used poling water and chipped away at the ice to get to the second ski. Unlike its modern descendants, the two skis are different. The first ski was 170 cm long and the newly found one is 187 cm in lengh. The newly found ski is also 2 cm wider at 17 cm compared to 15 cm, the width of the ski discovered back in 2014. The skis show signs of repair indicating they were considered valuable and worth preserving. The second ski is in a better state of preservation than the first, according to archaeologist Lars Holger Pilo and it has three twisted birch bindings and a leather strap to fix it to the skier's foot.
As yet there is no sign of the skis' owner. Although the skis are the oldest and best-preserved set of skis ever found, older single skis have been found over the years. A primitive ski was found in a peat bog in Hoting in Jamtland Country in Sweden that is thought to be somewhere between 6500 and 4500 years old. Skis have also veen found in peat bogs near Lake Sindor in Russia that are claimed to date from 6,000 BC, or 8000 years ago. The preservation is so good that a carved elk head if visible on it. THe oldest possible evidence of skiing dated back further still, perhaps, in the Xinjiang region of China - where the 2021-22 ski season just got underway.
A rock painting from there dated to 8,000 BC, or 10.000 years ago appears to show an early skier. However, there is an ongoing debate about the age of the image - some believe it is "only" 4000 - 5250 years old.
Source: Snow-Forecast.com, photo credit: Museum of Cultural History Oslo
