Relic of bygone era found on beach

OSLO, Norway -- A wooden lion-shaped figurehead from a 17th century ship has been washed up on a remote Arctic island off north Norway.

"Thanks to the climate the wood has been almost all preserved," said Dag Naevestad, a marine archaeologist from Norway's shipping museum in Oslo.

The four-metre (13ft) figurehead was found by a man clearing rubbish from a remote beach at Prince Karls Forland, part of the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard.

The name of the ship, of which no other trace was found, is unknown.

In the early 17th century, about 40 whaling expeditions a year visited the chill waters around Svalbard.

Naevestad said English and Dutch fishermen were the first whalers in the region, followed by Germans, French, Basques, Danes and Norwegians.

It is believed the figurehead will go on display later in the year.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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