First Weekend Getaway - Part 3 : Fossumristningen (Fossum Rock Carvings)

4 June 2017

The night before, he has driven from Gothenburg and parked in front of a lake. He drove for about 2 hours. He has suggested to go to Halden, a small town in Norway which lies at the Sweden-Norway border. The place we slept for the night was about an hour drive to Halden.

Along the route, I spied a UNESCO sign and requested for a detour. I am on a mission to view all of UNESCO World Heritage, if I am given the opportunity. I told him that I am going to mark all the UNESCO sites in Sweden and we shall go there. My rationale - The place must hold some history or some unique attributes to be worthy of a UNESCO recognition.

The parking lot was empty. It was a short walk to the UNESCO site. What we saw is Fossumristningen (Fossum Rock Carvings).

The Rock Carvings in Tanum are a collection of petroglyphs near Tanumshede, Bohuslän, Sweden, which were declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1994 because of their high concentration. In total there are thousands of images called the Tanum petroglyphs, on about 600 panels within the World Heritage Area. These are concentrated in distinct areas along a 25 km stretch, and covers an area of about 51 hectares (126 acres or 0.5 km²). While the region was on the coastline when the drawings were made, it is now at an elevation of 25m.

Scandinavian Bronze Age and Iron Age people were sophisticated craftsmen and very competent travelers by water. (Dates for ages vary with the region; in Scandinavia, the Bronze Age is roughly 1800 to 500 BCE) Many of the glyphs depict boats of which some seem to be of the Hjortspring boat type carrying around a dozen passengers. Wagons or carts are also depicted.

One of the larger rocks of Nordic Bronze Age petroglyphs in Scandinavia (at 22 metres tall and 6 metres wide), the Vitlyckehäll, is located in Tanumshede. It contains nearly 300 carvings of a variety of scenes, people, and objects. The rock carvings are endangered by erosion due to acid rain and some are thus covered either permanently or during certain times of the year. Some have been painted red to make them more visible for tourists; a practice which has drawn criticism for removing the authenticity and original state of the drawings. Source from Wikipedia.

Now some information the Rock Carvings in Fossum.

The rock carvings at Fossum are some of Tanum´s most striking. The closely connected composition and similarity in cutting style are indication that the majority of the carvings were carried out by one and the same person. Many of these scenes and happenings are framed by a number of look alike ships. It is most probable that what we see is a whole story in pictures, with glimpses of a world of gods and goddesses. Myths that were told are pictured here, and we obtain a fascinating insight into the mythology and world appreciation of the Bronze Age people

The Fossum carvings are fine examples of scenic representation in that the scenes are interconnected and tells a story. This is a characteristic of many of the carvings in Tanum and was contributory to their inclusion in the World Heritage List.

About 100 m to the east of the Fossum panel are further large carvings. They are not painted, but are signboarded. The carvings have a deep cut and are quite distinct. Possibly the most prominent feature of this panel is in the picture of a horse pulling the sun. The conception that the sun was pulled by a horse were widespread through out Europe during the Broze Age. Sometimes in Scandinavia the horse was replaced by a ship. The rock face is badly eroded and very fragile, and must not be walked on. Source from Vast Sverige.

There were some further up by 100metres but we did not proceed on as we were short on time to go to Norway. We planned to go back to Sweden the same day itself. 

Before we stepped into Norway border, we stopped at a rest area to make mushroom soup. Here comes the familiar storm kitchen we have used in our trips in Pyrenees and Romania. I have learned to use a beanie now to cover my ears and buff to keep my neck warm. I was not freezing so bad. 

The drive continues to Halden, Norway.