Archaeologists in Horten, eastern Norway, have uncovered a remarkably well-preserved 9,000-year-old Stone Age hammer, one of the rarest finds of its kind. The discovery was made during excavations ahead of the construction of a new bike path, revealing traces of an ancient settlement, including a house, tools, fishhooks, and bone remains. The stone hammer, known as a shaft-hole club, was skillfully drilled from both sides to fit a handle — evidence of advanced craftsmanship for its time. Such tools were likely used for practical tasks like pounding fibers but may also have held symbolic or ceremonial significance. The find sheds new light on early settled life in Norway, when people began to build sturdier homes, fish more extensively, and return seasonally to the same locations. More than 5,000 artefacts have been collected from the site, described by archaeologists as a “time capsule” of early Stone Age life along what was once Norway’s coastline — now lying far inland after millennia of geological change.
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