Trond Lødøen

espanolEscandinavia tiene una gran abundancia de sitios con arte rupestre y una larga tradicion de estudios sobre el mismo. Muchos enclaves se encuentran en areas todavia relativamente libres de la accion del ser humano. El hecho de que esta parte de Europa se encuentre escasamente poblada tambien supone que hay menos infraestructuras modernas en muchas regiones, lo que ha contribuido a proteger y preservar estos sitios de modo mas autentico. Una porcion de ellos solo son conocidos por una pequena parte de la comunidad internacional de investigadores del arte rupestre, ya que han sido descritos y publicados principalmente en lenguas escandinavas. No obstante, esta situacion esta cambiando gradualmente, conforme mas enclaves entran a formar parte del discurso arqueologico y a ser publicados en ingles. Sin embargo, esta zona esta lejos de ser una �utopia� rupestre, dado que muchos de los registros graficos han sido afectados de un modo u otro por factores modernos, y especialmente por el desgaste natural. Como ocurre en otras partes del mundo, algunos enclaves tienen cualidades que los hacen destacar y que los hacen especialmente importantes para centrarse en ellos con mayor detalle en el futuro. EnglishScandinavia has an abundance of rock art sites and a lengthy tradition of rock art studies, with many sites still located in relatively untouched areas. As a scantly populated part of Europe, there are less modern infrastructures in many regions, which has helped to protect the sites and keep them more authentic. Only a few of them are known to a small part of the international rock art community, as they have mainly been published in Scandinavian languages. However, this situation is gradually changing, as more of these sites become part of the archaeological discourse and are frequently published in English. Nevertheless, the area is far from being some kind of rock art �utopia�, as many of the ancient images have been influenced in one way or another by modern factors, and especially by weathering. As occurs in other parts of the world, some sites have qualities that set them apart and which are particularly important in terms of focusing on them in greater detail in the future.

The paper questions the still predominant tendency to categorize Scandinavian prehistoric rock art into just two traditions, associated with hunting societies on the one hand and farming societies on the other. More than a century ago, the iconography from this part of Europe was separated into ‘South Scandinavian’ and ‘North Scandinavian’ rock art. Later on, the terms hunters’ and agrarian rock art came into use, together with other variants, before these were reconceptualised into the ‘Northern and Southern Traditions’ in the 1930s. Despite the fact that hundreds of sites have been rediscovered since the first categorization, we are still left with just two major groups of rock art in Scandinavia. Researchers have also argued in favor of merging the two traditions and even of interaction between them, but this has often been challenged by the widely-separated dating of the supposed traditions. This paper, which takes its point of departure in the Norwegian material, discusses a number of aspects associated with this categorization, questions both the background for the separation exclusively into these two traditions as well as the possible interaction between them, and argues in favor of a much more developed and nuanced classification of the still expanding bulk of rock art. This will be thoroughly problematized, as it will be argued that some of the sites normally labelled within the Northern Tradition, at least in Western Norway, share a number of features and elements with rock art of the Atlantic tradition of Central and southern Europe, thus indicating a potential interaction between Scandinavia and southern Europe at the end of the Late Mesolithic. This adds to other supposed influences from north-eastern and eastern Europe, thereby challenging the background for both the Southern and the Northern Traditions as clearly defined and consistent traditions. Key words: Cup and Ring Tradition, Rock art, traditions, dating, contemporaneity, Northern and Southern Tradition, Atlantic and Megalithic art.

espanolUna reciente iniciativa ha sido tomada por el ayuntamiento de Bremanger en el condado de Sogn de Fjordane, en Noruega occidental, para proponer el arte rupestre del enclave de Vingen y el paisaje que lo circuanda como candidato a la lista tentativa de Patrimonio Mundial de la UNESCO. Situado en la costa en un area con infraestructuras modernas limitadas, el lugar se localiza en un entorno que no ha cambiado demasiado desde que el arte rupestre comenzo a realizarse, lo que supone que conserva un elevado numero de cualidades autenticas. Representa tambien uno de los mayores concentraciones de arte rupestre en el norte de Europa. EnglishA recent initiative has been taken by the municipality of Bremanger in the County of Sogn of Fjordane in Western Norway to nominate the rock art site of Vingen and its surrounding landscape as a candidate for the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List. Situated on the coast in an area with limited modern infrastructures, the site is located in an e...

Dating of the Vingen Rock Art The paper discusses the dating of the rock art of the Northern Tradition from the Vingen site in western Norway, for which a number of different suggestions have been proposed during the last century. Rock art is difficult to date, and in particular rock art of the Northern Tradition. The general approach for most sites has been based on shoreline displacements and the assumption that the rock art was produced on clean surfaces close to the contemporary shoreline in the past. However, this method suffers from numerous weaknesses, and the distances chosen in the past for the selected images, due to factors such as wave action or sea splash, may have led to variations in the levels chosen. Consequently, the dating of even contemporary figures and images may vary by hundreds and thousands of years. Based on evidence from a number of archaeological excavations, surveys and explorations carried out over the last couple of decades, a new chronological framewo...

The first part of the paper discusses the dating of the rock art site Ausevik in Flora, Sogn og Fjordane, and evaluates previous suggestions from the last approximately 80 years, based primarily on stylistic comparisons and to some extent shore line displacements. On the basis of new evidence from excavations at the site it is argued that the rock art should be dated to the Late Mesolithic, and that its iconography, use and expression is simultaneous with the more renown Vingen site a short distance further north. This opens for a much better understanding of the similarities of images and the organisation and expression of the narratives at the two sites. In the second part of the paper it is argued that both these sites are related to mortuary practises at the term of the Late Mesolithic period in Western Norway. It seems also to address important ideological issues in the relation between animal images and what seem to be representations of skeletons. The iconography also hints a...

ABSTRACT This paper addresses the religious, mythological and ideological importance of certain animals for Stone Age societies. The point of departure is the rock art site of Vingen, on the western coast of Norway, where more than 2000 figures have been pecked into bedrock panels or boulders. Over recent years several excavations have been undertaken in this area in order to try to contextualize and date the rock art. Results from both radiocarbon datings and archaeological material have strongly indicated that the basic activity at the site dates to a limited time span of the Late Mesolithic, predating the transition to the Neolithic. At the same time the spatial distribution of rock art on rock panels, with its many interpreted narratives, provides us with a valuable insight into Late Mesolithic religion and beliefs.

Rapporten utgis som nr. 1 i en ny skriftserie for Verdensarvsenter for bergkunst – Alta Museum (VAM): «BERGKUNST». I denne skriftserien skal det etter planen utgis både vitenskapelige arbeid, artikkelsamlinger og dokumentasjons- og seminarrapporter. Redaktørene for rapporten har vært tre medlemmer av Bergkunstnettverkets arbeidsutvalg: Trond Lødøen, Bergen Museum, Universitetet i Bergen; Helle Vangen Stuedal, Stiklestad Nasjonale Kultursenter og Bergkunstmuseet og Hans Christian Søborg, Verdensarvsenter for bergkunst - Alta Museum.

The paper discusses aspects of rock amongst Late Mesolithic societies of western Norway. It addresses the importance of rock in rock art contexts, tool production, and quarrying activity, and discusses several relational aspects of the use of rock, thus adding new perspectives to our understanding of prehistoric societies’ beliefs associated with rock. While a number of researchers in recent years have pointed at the lack of research on material culture, and addressed the importance of materiality, this paper deals first and foremost with the immateriality of rocks. Keywords: Rock Art, Stone, Rock, Membrane, Quarries, Cosmology, Votive, Late Mesolithic.

The Northern Tradition rock art of Norway features ane of the largest concentrations of whale i mages in the world. Their representations vary greatly from north to south, with a high concentration in the more central regions of Norway. The different types of whales may have represented specific clans, tri bes or groups in the past, or it is possible that each of the different types had their own specific meaning or ro les in the past. This article will attempt to provide further insight into the character of the whale i mages in the prehistorie rock art record of Norway. It is especially striking to note the association or close con­nection between land animals and whales in their different representations. At many sites, the whale i mages are positioned on the different panels in a way that may indicate a transformation from whale i mages into different types of deer i mages, and then possibly back to whale i mages aga in, a facet that will be discussed later on in this pa per. It will also be argued that the Northern Tradition rock art was re­lated to mortuary practices, and that the wild animals that are shown - including the whales - were as­sociated with beliefs about death, and that the rock i mages potentially helped to assist the transfer of sou Is that were being regenerated. The pa per also discusses aspects of past world views, and will ten­tatively provide a number of suggestions regarding the potential mythological and religious significance of these whales.

The paper questions the still predominant tendency to categorize Scandinavian prehistoric rock art into just two traditions, associated with hunting societies on the one hand and farming societies on the other. More than a century ago, the iconography from this part of Europe was separated into ‘South Scandinavian’ and ‘North Scandinavian’ rock art. Later on, the terms hunters’ and agrarian rock art came into use, together with other variants, before these were reconceptualised into the ‘Northern and Southern Traditions’ in the 1930s. Despite the fact that hundreds of sites have been rediscovered since the first categorization, we are still left with just two major groups of rock art in Scandinavia. Researchers have also argued in favor of merging the two traditions and even of interaction between them, but this has often been challenged by the widely-separated dating of the supposed traditions. This paper, which takes its point of departure in the Norwegian material, discusses a number of aspects associated with this categorization, questions both the background for the separation exclusively into these two traditions as well as the possible interaction between them, and argues in favor of a much more developed and nuanced classification of the still expanding bulk of rock art. This will be thoroughly problematized, as it will be argued that some of the sites normally labelled within the Northern Tradition, at least in Western Norway, share a number of features and elements with rock art of the Atlantic tradition of Central and southern Europe, thus indicating a potential interaction between Scandinavia and southern Europe at the end of the Late Mesolithic. This adds to other supposed influences from north-eastern and eastern Europe, thereby challenging the background for both the Southern and the Northern Traditions as clearly defined and consistent traditions.

Key words: Cup and Ring Tradition, Rock art, traditions, dating, contemporaneity, Northern and Southern Tradition, Atlantic and Megalithic art.

The paper argues that the so-called ‘hunters’ rock art’ of Scandinavia is closely connected to mortuary processes, and that its iconographic narratives are all associated with death beliefs. This will be demonstrated by a closer scrutiny of the imagery at the rock art sites Vingen and Ausevik in Western Norway including the background for their dating to the Late Mesolithic period. It will also be argued that other sites of this type elsewhere in Scandinavia should be understood as mortuary sites. To some extent the rock art sites will be studied in relation to their contemporary context and contemporary funerary remains and traditions in both Western Norway and southern Scandinavia. Through these approaches it will be suggested that rock art, death rituals and burials are complementary to each other, and that glimpses of a Late Mesolithic religion can be found where the iconography and funerary remains are merged. The approach also addresses the importance of certain animals in both religion and religious activity during the Late Mesolithic period.

The paper presents results from experimental production of rock art, and takes its point of departure in the imagery of the Hunters type, at the site Vingen, in Bremanger, Sogn og Fjordane, Western Norway. The discovery of a pecking tool of diabase under excavations at the end of the 1990s gave new insight into what kind of material that was in use under production, and inspired also to produce experimental images. This has also provided us with new knowledge about time consumption involved in the making of rock art and a number of other practical issues less focused on previously.

A recent initiative has been taken by the municipality of Bremanger in the County of Sogn of Fjordane in Western Norway to nominate the rock art site of Vingen and its surrounding landscape as a candidate for the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List. Situated on the coast in an area with limited modern infrastructures, the site is located in an environment that has not changed greatly since the rock art was first produced, meaning it conserves a number of authentic qualities. It also represents one of the largest concentrations of rock art in Northern Europe.

Una reciente iniciativa ha sido tomada por el ayuntamiento de Bremanger en el condado de Sogn de Fjordane, en Noruega occidental, para proponer el arte rupestre del enclave de Vingen y el paisaje que lo circuanda como candidato a la lista tentativa de Patrimonio Mundial de la UNESCO. Situado en la costa en un área con infraestructuras modernas limitadas, el lugar se localiza en un entorno que no ha cambiado demasiado desde que el arte rupestre comenzó a realizarse, lo que supone que conserva un elevado número de cualidades auténticas. Representa también uno de los mayores concentraciones de arte rupestre en el norte de Europa.

Scandinavia has an abundance of rock art sites and a lengthy tradition of rock art studies, with many sites still located in relatively untouched areas. As a scantly populated part of Europe, there are less modern infrastructures in many regions, which has helped to protect the sites
and keep them more authentic. Only a few of them are known to a small part of the international rock art community, as they have mainly been published in Scandinavian languages. However, this situation is gradually changing, as more of these sites become part of the archaeological discourse and are frequently published in English. Nevertheless, the area is far from being some kind of rock art “utopia”, as many of the ancient images have been influenced in one way or another by modern factors, and especially by weathering. As occurs in other parts of the world, some sites have qualities that set them apart and which are particularly important in terms of focusing on them in greater detail in the future.

Escandinavia tiene una gran abundancia de sitios con arte rupestre y una larga tradición de estudios sobre el mismo. Muchos enclaves se encuentran en áreas todavía relativamente libres de la acción del ser humano. El hecho de que esta parte de Europa se encuentre escasamente poblada también supone que hay menos infraestructuras modernas en muchas regiones, lo que ha contribuido a proteger y preservar estos sitios de modo más auténtico. Una porción de ellos sólo son conocidos por una pequeña parte de la comunidad internacional
de investigadores del arte rupestre, ya que han sido descritos y publicados principalmente en lenguas escandinavas. No obstante, esta situación está cambiando gradualmente, conforme más enclaves entran a formar parte del discurso arqueológico y a ser publicados en inglés. Sin embargo, esta zona está lejos de ser una “utopía” rupestre, dado que muchos de los registros gráficos han sido afectados de un modo u otro por factores modernos, y especialmente por el desgaste natural. Como ocurre en otras partes del mundo, algunos enclaves tienen cualidades que los hacen destacar y que los hacen especialmente importantes para
centrarse en ellos con mayor detalle en el futuro.

This paper will try to provide answers to a number
of basic but challenging questions about rock art
that were asked by the editor of this volume. The
questions are meant to provide answers on when rock
art was produced, why it was created and to whom
it was directed.

This paper specifically addresses the question
of cup marks, one of the least understood
categories of rock art. The aim is to offer a tentative
approach to enhance their potential, through new
documentation and systematic sampling of data
from minor excavations and associated scientific
analyses. A systematic approach of this kind will
in all certainty produce new evidence for a deeper
knowledge of their age, meaning, potential function
– ritual or profane – and their use. In its initial phase,
a large number of sites will be prospected and
surveyed in order to identify the best objects for
detailed studies, and at a later stage many of these
will be more closely investigated. This will provide
the best background for the identification of new
patterns within the cultural context in which they
occur, and detailed analyses from a more holistic
perspective.

The first part of the paper discusses the dating of the rock
art site Ausevik in Flora, Sogn og Fjordane, and evaluates
previous suggestions from the last approximately 80 years,
based primarily on stylistic comparisons and to some extent
shore line displacements. On the basis of new evidence from
excavations at the site it is argued that the rock art should be
dated to the Late Mesolithic, and that its iconography, use
and expression is simultaneous with the more renown Vingen
site a short distance further north. This opens for a much
better understanding of the similarities of images and the
organisation and expression of the narratives at the two sites.
In the second part of the paper it is argued that both these
sites are related to mortuary practises at the term of the Late
Mesolithic period in Western Norway. It seems also to address
important ideological issues in the relation between animal
images and what seem to be representations of skeletons. The
iconography also hints at reasons why cemeteries or graves
have not been found in any numbers. The practise in Western
Norway might have been of another tradition.

Dating of the Vingen Rock Art.
This paper discusses the dating of the rock art of the Northern Tradition from the Vingen site in western Norway, for which a number of different suggestions have been proposed during the last century. Rock art is difficult to date, and in particular rock art of the Northern Tradition. The general approach for most sites has been based on shoreline displacements and the assumption that the rock art was produced on clean surfaces close to the contemporary shoreline in the past. However, this method suffers from numerous weaknesses, and the distances chosen in the past for the selected images, due to factors such as wave action or sea splash, may have led to variations in the levels chosen. Consequently, the dating of even contemporary figures and images may vary by hundreds and thousands of years. Based on evidence from a number of archaeological excavations, surveys and explorations carried out over the last couple of decades, a new chronological framework is suggested for the Vingen rock art complex. It is argued that the rock art production took place within the time span cal 5400–4200 BC, in the latter part of the Late Mesolithic period.

Til tross for et overveldende antall kalksteinsgrotter i Salten, Tysfjord og Bardu er det arkeologiske
potensialet lite utredet. Ikke en eneste grotte har vært gjenstand for en profesjonell systematisk
arkeologisk undersøkelse med tanke på å sikre eventuelle forhistoriske spor etter menneskelig
virksomhet. Dette står i kontrast til en rekke brennings-grotter langs kysten som er forholdsvis
godt undersøkt og hvor det er funnet både gjenstander og ikke minst store forekomster av bergmalerier.
Artikkelen søker å bevisstgjøre de mange besøkende av grotter om det arkeologiske
kildepotensialet, samtidig som det gis en bedre innføring i arkeologisk materiale som er kjent fra i
brenningsgrotter langs kysten av Nord-Trøndelag og Nordland. Et økende press på grottene gjennom
ulike varianter av ferdsel – fra små grupper til større turisttiltak - bidrar sakte men sikkert til
å redusere kildepotensialet, ettersom gjenstander, bålrester eller andre forhistoriske rester tråkkes
i stykker, forstyrres eller forurenses som kilder. Det lange tidsrommet som mange av grottene
representerer – fl ere hundre tusen år - gjør dem også unike som vitenskapelige kilder for tidsrom
eldre enn siste istid. I lukkede eller isolerte systemer kan det fortsatt være mulig å fi nne bevarte
rester som ikke lar seg fi nne andre steder i det geografi ske Norge ettersom iserosjon gjennom
lange tidsrom har brutt ned eller erodert bort alle slike kilder i tilknytning til mer åpne lokaliteter.

Within the objectives of the Norwegian rock art project initiated by the Directorate for Cultural Heritage for the preservation and documentation of a number of sites, interdisciplinary research into processes that combine to break down rock art panels was carried out in Vingen, Bremanger municipality, and to a lesser extent also associated with the World Heritage rock art area at Hjemmeluft, Alta municipality. The project has been underway since 1997, and was scheduled to last until 2005. In addition to the research on weathering processes, various remedial measures to alleviate or prevent damage to rock art have been implemented and tested. In both Vingen and Hjemmeluft, the species used for rock carvings consists of metasandstone, but in several different states of composition. Both sites are situated near the sea, but in different climatic zones. A comparison of the results from Vingen and Hjemmeluft will make it possible to determine the significance of rock species and climate in the degradation of rock art and how this may affect the choice of preservation measures.

Blant henvendelsene Universitetsmuseet i Bergen mottar, som gjelder ny-oppdagelser av kulturminner kommer det også opplysninger om ny-funnet bergkunst. En del av disse viser seg likevel ikke å være menneskeskapte bilder, men naturlige strukturer eller sprekker i berg som kan forveksles med bilder av forhistorisk karakter. Det må straks legges til at de aller fleste tilfeller av bergkunst-oppdagelser er det lekfolk som står bak. Samtlige henvendelser blir uansett gitt full oppmerksomhet.

Rapporten utgis som nr. 1 i en ny skriftserie for Verdensarvsenter for bergkunst – Alta Museum):«BERGKUNST». I denne skriftserien skal det etter planen utgis både vitenskapelige arbeid, artikkelsamlinger, dokumentasjons- og seminarrapporter.

Within the objectives of the Norwegian rock art project initiated by the Directorate for Cultural Heritage for the preservation and documentation of a number of sites, interdisciplinary research into processes that combine to break down rock art panels was carried out in Vingen, Bremanger municipality, and to a lesser extent also associated with the World Heritage rock art area at Hjemmeluft, Alta municipality. The project has been underway since 1997, and was scheduled to last until 2005. In addition to the research on weathering processes, various remedial measures to alleviate or prevent damage to rock art have been implemented and tested. In both Vingen and Hjemmeluft, the species used for rock carvings consists of metasandstone, but in several different states of composition. Both sites are situated near the sea, but in different climatic zones. A comparison of the results from Vingen and Hjemmeluft will make it possible to determine the significance of rock species and climate...

LATE MESOLITHIC HABITATION UNEARTHED AT FLEMSØY IN NORTH WESTERN NORWAY. The process of building mainland road links for a number of exposed islands on the Coast of Møre og Romsdal in North Western Norway has led to massive rescue excavations and a arger archaeological project - FV 659 Nordøyvegen