Every spring, water from the Tesse mountain lake is drained to produce power, and then the old lake bed comes into view.
In June this year, mountaineer Reidar Marstein discovered dozens of pointed sticks stuck in the sand along the lake bed.
Marstein has a wealth of knowledge about the history of the mountain and has worked closely with archaeologists for many years. He quickly understood that these were the remains of old fishing traps.
In consultation with Innlandet County Council, Marstein and freshwater biologist Trygve Hesthagen managed to complete a rough overview of the fishing facility. They took a wood sample for carbon dating.
7,000-year-old fishing traps
The carbon dating showed that the wooden stick turned out to be a whopping 7,000 years old – from the Stone Age! The fishing traps in Tesse are thus among the oldest found in Norway.
As the water has now returned to Tesse lake, the fishing traps are submerged under approx. 2–4 meters of water.
Divers from the Norwegian Maritime Museum will help researchers ensure a minimum of knowledge about the unique find.
From September 26 to 29, marine archaeologists retrieved several dating samples, measured the sticks precisely, and carried out preservation work.
The first sketch of what the fish traps at Tesse may have looked like. Photo: Ingvild Tinglum Bøckman / Innlandet County Municipality
Full survey to take place in 2023
Archaeologists from the Museum of Cultural History are planning a complete survey of the fishing system immediately after the ice melts in 2023, according to Innlandet County's website.
The water level will then be low, and it will be possible to conduct a thorough and more effective investigation of the old lakebed.
The fish traps found in Tesse lake have been placed in shallow water and are probably trap chambers with funnel-shaped inlets.
Long fence-like structures probably helped guide the fish into the traps. The live fish could be hauled in from a boat or caught by stepping into the cold mountain water.
Previous archaeological discoveries in the Nordic region have shown that the principle of building trap chambers out of poles is very old.
Nevertheless, the find in Tesse is startlingly old and among the very oldest trapping facilities of this type in Northern Europe.
Jotunheimen's hunting traditions in the Stone Age
Tesse is a fairly large lake located in the northeast of the Jotunheimen mountain area. Several archaeological investigations have previously been carried out here, with finds dating back to approx. 7,000 BCE.
To a large extent, it was probably the reindeer that drew hunters and gatherers to this mountainous area.
The remains of poles that formed the fishing trap system have been marked by placing fresh poles next to them. Photo: Reidar Marstein
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