Hällristningar i Tanum - ett Unesco världsarv

Rock carvings in Tanum will be the topic today. Soooo exciting! Imagine that our ancestors sat and tapped all these images to tell us about war and peace, agriculture, love and ideas about the world. No wonder this is a Unesco World Heritage Site!

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The rock carving area in Tanum

The rock carving area in Tanum is a World Heritage Site with over 500 rock carving sites, which together contain tens of thousands of images. The images were carved in the Bronze Age, between 1700 BC and 500 BC.

Some images are clear and relatively easy to interpret. Others are more tricky and make the imagination run wild. What could they have meant, our ancestors? Why did they knock on that particular door? Scientists may have different theories, and even we as visitors may allow ourselves to guess...

The rock carvings - which were not carved but tapped into - are today located some distance from the sea. However, since the water was higher in the past, they were probably originally located close to the coast, where people had their homes and boats.

The rock carving area in Tanum is located in the municipality of Tanum in Bohuslän. Four of the sites are prepared with car parks, footpaths and signs: Litsleby, Aspeberget, Vitlycke and Fossum.

The rock carvings in Tanum - a UNESCO World Heritage Site

The rock carvings in Tanum were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1994. The World Heritage Committee's justification reads:

The Tanum rock carving site is an outstanding example of Bronze Age art of the highest quality. The variety of motifs is a unique testimony to life in the European Bronze Age. The interplay between continuous settlement and land use, as reflected in the rock carvings, burial sites and landscape, makes the Tanum area an outstanding example of continuous human settlement over eight thousand years.

Litsleby rock carvings

We started by checking out the rock carvings in Litsleby. Here, among other things, there is the large "The God of the Spear". This warrior is a full 2.3 metres high and thus unusually large. There is really only the 'Shoemaker' in Brastad outside of Lysekil that can compete in size. The "spear god" has sometimes been interpreted as a god of war - perhaps an early version of Odin or Tyr.

Close to Litslebyhällen, if you follow a path up into the forest, you will find Tegnebyhällen. Here there is another interesting carving, in the form of "Equestrian battle at Tegneby". What is special about this image is that all the figures are part of the same scene - a battle with horses and riders equipped with spears and shields.

Hällristningar i Tanum - ryttarstriden på Tegneby

At Litsleby rock carvings there is a car park where we stayed overnight. Here we stood well, and there is also a dry toilet.

Aspebergets rock carvings

The next place we visited was the Aspeberget rock carvings. Here there are lots of images, including warriors, ships, bulls and other animals.

The bulls are deeply carved and therefore visible, even if the mould has been damaged by weathering. You can also see deer and farmers ploughing. Aren't these pictures beautiful?

A special and slightly different image shows an old man holding up a large hand, above which there are four rows of seven pits, plus an extra pit squeezed in between the rows.

According to the information sign, this is the most difficult to interpret image on the whole hill. However, we think absolute that this looks like two blokes kicking a ball... What do you think?

One of the carvings shows a long line of people. Why so many people in a row? In the past, it was thought to be a procession or a ritual. Another interpretation today is that it is a row of slaves. Who knows?

Vitlyckehällen

Vitlyckehällen is another of the rock carvings in Tanum that is interesting to visit. There are around 500 individual images depicting everything from boats to people and animals.

Three closely spaced ships are particularly famous because they have been on the Swedish 50-krona banknote since 2015. The finely engraved figures hold paddles, an axe and a nap in their hands.

The most famous carving on the hill is the "The bride and groom". It is thought that this may be an image of a ritual prehistoric wedding. The man next to it, holding an axe, may be a ritual leader conducting the ceremony and blessing the couple with his axe.

One carving that caught our eye, but we couldn't find any information about, was a man who looks like he's being chased by a giant snake. Huh, that looks scary!

Vitlycke Museum

Right next to Vitlyckehällen is Vitlycke Museum. The museum is completely free to visit and tells more about the rock carvings in Tanum, and the people of the Bronze Age, in an easily accessible and interactive way. We highly recommend a visit here!

Fossum carving

Last but not least, we went to the Fossumristningen. Here, too, the carvings are crowded, and you'll find images of ships, people, the soles of feet, animals and bowl pits, for example.

What animals do you see in the pictures below? And what weapons do the people use? You can get stuck for a long time looking, guessing and thinking about what life was like so long ago...

Right next to the largest rock is a smaller rock called Balken. The rock carvings here are unpainted, and we found it difficult to distinguish them. The most beautiful and well-known is "Sunbirds", which was also depicted at Tanum's rock carving museum in Underslös, which we did not visit.

Similar 'sun horses' are engraved on bronze artefacts, and the interpretation is that these pull the sun across the sky during the day. At night, they hand over to the nightship which takes the sun back to the east... Kind of neat, isn't it?

Solhästen — A picture of the Sun Horse at Tanum's rock carving museum in Underslös.

Film from the rock carvings in Tanum

More to see and do in the neighbourhood

When you have had your fill of rock carvings in Tanum, there is of course more to discover in the surrounding area. For example, you can visit the beautiful Fjällbacka and charming Grebbestad.

Have you visited the rock carvings in Tanum?

Have you visited the rock carvings in Tanum? Do you like to discover this kind of ancient historical remains?

Facts about the rock carvings in Tanum

Municipality: Tanum municipality
County: Västra Götaland County
Landscape: Bohuslän
The age of the carvings: The Bronze Age (1700 BC - 500 BC)
World Heritage since: 1994
Read more: You can find more information at Vitlycke museum.

All our top tips about Sweden! Click on the image

READ MORE: What to do in Bohuslän - tips for sights and experiences

2 Comments

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BP says:

The Tanum rock carvings are probably the finest I have seen. The style is different - thicker lines, for example - than the rock carvings you see around here. However, I think the pictures are incredibly difficult to interpret. This probably favours people with a vivid imagination;-)

28 September 2022 - 20:28

- Comment by post author
  
  Helena says:
  
  Aren't there some exciting rock carvings? We were completely caught up in looking around and guessing 😉 There are many images that are really not obvious ...
  
  28 September 2022 - 20:32

Rock carvings in Tanum - a Unesco World Heritage Site

The rock carving area in Tanum

The rock carvings in Tanum - a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Litsleby rock carvings

Aspebergets rock carvings

Vitlyckehällen

Vitlycke Museum

Fossum carving

Film from the rock carvings in Tanum

More to see and do in the neighbourhood

Have you visited the rock carvings in Tanum?

Facts about the rock carvings in Tanum

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