Bronze Age

1800 - 500 B.C.

Here in Scandinavia Bronze age and rock carvings are closely related to each other. Bronze age in the scandinavian area is much later then in the Mediterranean area, 1800 - 500 B.C. It was in this period the absolute majority of the rock carving was produced.

Rock Carvings

The Bronze Age people were very hard working leaving their marks on the smooth rocks, in which purpose we can only speculate. Rock carvings are to be found throughout the inhabited world. Wildly spread and occurring, in Europe they occur in Italy, Spain, Russia and Scandinavia.

In the area of northern Bohuslän they are very common occurring on the smooth rocks, especially of mountains south slopes, often with a little rivulet crossing the carvings.

Chiseled not Carved

The term rock carving is actually misleading; the marks were probably chiseled, not carved into the rock. Experiments show that some two hours are necessary to make a simple bowl-shaped cavity often called cup-marks. This is one of the most common carvings.

Different Types

Other types are ships with men, human beings, animals, warriors, hunters and footprints. Men occur more often then women. Sometimes one can see that certain pictures have been carved in upon earlier pictures even if it is rather exceptional.

Interpretation

The significance of the rock carvings in not fully known. Nowadays it is agreed that they are connected with the religious conception of the people of the Bronze Age. The cup-marks have even in much later time been used as a sacrifice to appease their gods.

World Heritage Area

Since 1994 the rock carvings in Tanum have been a world heritage area. The area itself is divided into four separate areas: Vitlycke, Aspeberget, Litsleby and Fossum.

In Vitlycke there are also a museum and visitor center with exhibitions, gift shop, restaurant and guides. The rock carvings in this area are filled in with red paint to be more visible.

The Justification

The justification of the World Heritage Committee was: "The rock carvings in Tanum area are unique examples of Bronze Age art of highest quality. The range of motifs provides rare evidence of many aspects in European Bronze Age.

The interaction between continuous settlement and land use, as reflected in the rock carvings, the cemeteries and the landscape make Tanum into a unique of continuous human settlement during eight thousand years".

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