Don't know what to make of it, but it's nonetheless interesting.
http://archiv.ethlife.ethz.ch/e/articles/sciencelife/gruenealpen.html#oben
To clarify the matter, the Geology Professor examined and carbon dated the samples in the laboratory. What he found was quite astounding: "The age indicated by the data is not a chaotic cloud of data spread over the past 10,000 years but falls into clearly definable time windows," says Schlüchter. "Until now we have managed to identify ten time windows. Taken over the last 10,000 years this means that, for more than half that period, the glaciers were shorter than they are today.“ In other words, since the last ice age our glaciers have rarely been as extended as they are today.
Moreover, Schlüchter draws another conclusion from the results: "Between 1900 and 2300 years ago the lower tips of the glaciers lay at least 300 metres higher than today. At the time of the Romans they would hardly have been recognised as glaciers for the simple reason that their lower reaches lay above the Alpine passes that were used at the time and would not have been an obstacle.“ This would also explain why, in the otherwise very detailed accounts, the Roman chronicles contain hardly any mention of glaciers. Schlüchter says, "These findings call for a fundamental revision of the prevalent view of a relatively strong coverage of the Alps with glaciers since the ice age. Because for long periods the Alps were greener than they are today."
http://archiv.ethlife.ethz.ch/e/articles/sciencelife/gruenealpen.html#oben
To clarify the matter, the Geology Professor examined and carbon dated the samples in the laboratory. What he found was quite astounding: "The age indicated by the data is not a chaotic cloud of data spread over the past 10,000 years but falls into clearly definable time windows," says Schlüchter. "Until now we have managed to identify ten time windows. Taken over the last 10,000 years this means that, for more than half that period, the glaciers were shorter than they are today.“ In other words, since the last ice age our glaciers have rarely been as extended as they are today.
Moreover, Schlüchter draws another conclusion from the results: "Between 1900 and 2300 years ago the lower tips of the glaciers lay at least 300 metres higher than today. At the time of the Romans they would hardly have been recognised as glaciers for the simple reason that their lower reaches lay above the Alpine passes that were used at the time and would not have been an obstacle.“ This would also explain why, in the otherwise very detailed accounts, the Roman chronicles contain hardly any mention of glaciers. Schlüchter says, "These findings call for a fundamental revision of the prevalent view of a relatively strong coverage of the Alps with glaciers since the ice age. Because for long periods the Alps were greener than they are today."
