As glaciers in Switzerland melt at an alarming rate due to climate change, old objects, historical materials, and evidence of environmental change that have been buried in the ice for years are beginning to emerge. The Glacier Garden in Lucerne has organized an exhibition called ‘Treasury of Ice’ to showcase these materials.
The exhibition features items such as bows used by ancient hunters, an empty mayonnaise tube, a discarded wine bottle, a broken helmet of a mountaineer, and Roman-era statues. The skull of a cow, shoes, an old type of Swiss army knife, and ski equipment are also included in the exhibition.
Swiss glaciologists have stated that 5.5 percent of the country’s total glacier area was lost this year. This is the second-largest decline since records began. Andreas Buri, director of the Glacier Garden, said that the exhibition was organized to publicly present the materials and evidence of environmental history that are safely preserved in the glaciers before they are lost as the glaciers melt at a rapid pace.
“Glaciers are disappearing very rapidly now. We want to show people the important and interesting records we are about to lose before they disappear completely,” he said.
The exhibition includes not only objects but also videos of Swiss glaciers, data showing the melting rate over the years, and models explaining how glaciers flow. Buri mentioned that some items may even be garbage that people have lost or thrown away. Although it is not certain how these objects ended up there, he believes the exhibition is useful for understanding what kind of materials emerge as glaciers melt.
The objects displayed in the exhibition are arranged on white boxes used for collecting materials from the mountains and transporting them to the laboratory. This creates a scene resembling materials stored in a warehouse. A cylinder of ice extracted from a glacier is also displayed, appearing to be in a melting state. This serves as a reminder of the rapid changes occurring in nature.
Glaciers preserve not only solid objects but also microscopic evidence of environmental history. The exhibition also presents the fact that pollen, greenhouse gases, and microscopic particles of radioactive substances generated from nuclear tests in the mid-20th century have been preserved in the ice.
Similarly, it shows that black smoke particles and charcoal residue from forest fires caused by drought and extraordinary heat around 500 years ago, in the mid-16th century, are also preserved in the ice. This evidence helps to understand that high temperatures and extreme weather conditions existed in the past as well.
Human remains are not displayed in the exhibition. However, the bodies of mountaineers who disappeared decades ago are sometimes found as glaciers melt. In August, the bodies of two Belgian mountaineers who disappeared decades ago were found near the Trift Glacier, south of Lucerne. In 2015, the remains of two Japanese mountaineers who disappeared in 1970 were found near the famous Matterhorn mountain.
The exhibition highlights the importance of preserving and studying materials found in glaciers, as they provide significant information about past human activities, natural conditions, and environmental changes. This exhibition will run until August 22.