“Bybanen’s Ice Age Boulders: A Historical and Artistic Addition to Kanalveien”

Almost all the way north in Kanalveien in Minde – where Bybanen’s line 2 takes off in the direction of Kronstad station, she has landed some huge rocks.

By definition, a boulder is a moving block left when a glacier has retreated.

12,000 years old

And all eight giant stones are precisely from the Ice Age.

Here we are talking about stone that is around 12,000 years old, and which appeared when the tunnel to the Bybanen through Løvstakken was to be launched.

– The starting point for this stone project was a discussion with us, after we had found these and that they came from the Ice Age. Several pointed out that this was both historical and not entirely unexciting, explains Sølvi Myrseth, who is project manager for design and architecture at Bybanen Utbygging.

Do we have a place to put these? What can we do with the stones?

The idea with the stones possibly originated in two BA articles here on page 3 in 2019. Two of our leading geologists Øystein J. Jansen and John Inge Svendsen were wildly excited about what they saw at the tunnel section in Løvstakken.

– Everything started when loose material was removed to be able to blast further into the mountain. Then ten such stones appeared.

The project manager is satisfied with the end result.

– If you walk around and look carefully enough, you can find something a little unusual on these stones. Some of them have fine sanded sides. If you look closer, you will be able to see that these are not quite ordinary stones.

Now geologists will put up more signs around the small “rock park”.

On these signs, some specialist information and a bit about the history of these stones will be given.

– The fact that they are placed precisely here is with regard to decor and, then, this with the history where the really old meets the new.

Sølvi emphasizes that it is not certain that they will be left here forever and ever.

Mindemyren and Kanalveien are in constant transformation and still a long way from final design.

Temporary, but..

– The Urban Environment Agency will take over this area, and there is a school site over there, she says.

And points in the direction of the old Postterminal building and Solheimsvannet.

– But maybe the stones on the other side of the road can be left where they are today. Who knows …

The only sure thing is that Bybanen, with its boulders from the ice age, has acquired the cheapest light rail art there is.

And it will be able to last forever!