 The trying times we live in are challenging our well-being like never before. For a lot of people there is real worry that our generation will be defined by this struggle. But it is this very struggle that makes our efforts even more vital. Sure we will have a few moments of despair but we will pull through at the other side no matter how bleak that may seem today. United we will stand and future generations will ask with disbelief of the measures our people went through to defeat the hidden enemy. We will prevail and we will again prosper. Our isolation today gives us the fuel for tomorrow to live our lives in a way that we can only now dream about. Countless civilizations before us have been tested in unforeseen ways also. Sudden volcanic eruptions, solar flares, asteroids and comet strikes have triggered long periods of Earth cycles that had previously thrown humanity to its knees. Our own greed and frustrations have sent men and women into the field of war and the future advancements in artificial intelligence and nanorobotics gives us a deep sense of responsibility that our people are very special indeed. Our understanding, though of whom we are in the cosmic scheme of things, leads us to the stars as we contemplate ancient understanding of astronomy and zodiacal cycles and modern times here on the good Earth. The lockdown now enforced across the world and history literally being rewritten as we speak. Travel restrictions has put an abrupt end to the discovery of the past but we can look much closer to home to find the things that have been literally lost to history. Wait till you hear this. Limbream Pass in Norway's central mountainous region began a cyclical meltback in 2011 and this drew the attention of archaeologists from all over Europe who were drawn to the fast melting ice because of a wooden artifact that was preserved there in the ice and released when the thaw began. The wooden tunic in question was carbon dated to the 3rd century AD and this has proven that during the Viking period this region must have been much warmer than that of today. The past seems to have not only been vital but it was a super highway for ancient travelers and the scale of artifacts being discovered which have been dropped at the side of the road over a thousand years ago and perfectly preserved is boggling the minds of researchers across the globe. Methods of carbon dating can be applied to these artifacts to get an accurate dating to within a few hundred years at either side. This means the pinpointing of such a culture can take place and this essential piece of the jigsaw is one of the biggest surprises ever uncovered by modern archaeology. Common artifacts have dated from the 3rd century which is classed as the Nordic Iron Age all the way through to the 14th century when it is thought the past fell out of use possibly as the great plague took hold of Europe. The bulk of items found are dating to 1000 years old, a truly mouthwatering array of objects that can help connect the movement of the Viking legend and their enormous influence on the world at this time. The ice has retreated significantly in the years since, exposing a wealth of artifacts including knitted mittens, leather shoes and astonishingly arrows still with their feathers attached. Described as a dream discovery by glacial archaeologist, the finding was also a poignant and evocative reminder of how change in the earth can affect human beings in dramatic ways. We sometimes take our very existence here for granted but these little wake up calls can inspire us to do things that we want to do. Life is indeed very short and time stops for no one. One thing is for sure, more of us are going to get more busy living than ever before after the great lockdown is finally lifted. The stunning finds in Norway highlights a struggle to survive that has always existed. Humans are instinctive predators and we have always survived in any circumstance we find ourselves in. These tools of the ancients with glue still holding feathers to the shaft of an arrow are extremely remarkable and preserved as it laid for 1,000 years or more truly remarkable. Of the hundreds of discoveries exposed by the retreating ice, some are structural such as stone built cairns that would have guided travelers through the fog or the remains of a small shelter. Other finds are products that were being transported by local farmers to and from their summer pastures such as dairy products and fodder or by traders potentially carrying them much further afield including reindeer pelts and antlers. Among them are delicate wooden items such as a small wood turned bit for a lamb or goat and a carved disc staff for spinning wool, even a bronze age ski. This summer's melt exposed an item that archaeologists have identified as a snowshoe for horses. What is really important archaeologically about them isn't the individual objects, it's the story putting together all the objects can tell us about the past and the people who traveled it. Thanks to large scale melting in 2019 most of the Lindbrin ice has retreated meaning soon there will be no ice left to cover these artifacts. On the other hand there is a lot of ice patches in the high elevations in this part of Norway that are potentially preserving something in the ice that will be a complete game changer in our quest to discover who we are.