Tanumshede (58.733° N 11.317° E) is a town in Bohuslän, Västra Götaland County in western Sweden with a population of 1,600. It is the seat of Tanum Municipality. The area around Tanumshede has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, because of its high concentration of petroglyphs (rock carvings). â–¶ (help· info), (Latin: Bahusia, English, Norwegian BÃ¥huslen) is a province (landskap) in west Sweden. ... Västra Götaland County, or Västra Götalands län is a County or län on the western coast of Sweden. ... Tanum is a Swedish municipality in Västra Götaland County, in western Sweden. ... Site #86: Memphis and its Necropolis, including the Pyramids of Giza (Egypt). ... UNESCO logo The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, commonly known as UNESCO, is a specialized agency of the United Nations system established in 1945. ... Petroglyphs on Newspaper Rock State Historic Monument, southern Utah, USA Petroglyphs are images incised in rock, usually by prehistoric, especially Neolithic, peoples. ...

The Vitlycke flat rock

The largest flat rock of Nordic Bronze Age petroglyphs in Scandinavia, the Vitlyckehäll, is located in Tanumshede. It was discovered in 1972 by Age Nilsen, who was originally intending to place an explosive charge for construction work. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1632x1232, 914 KB) The flat rock of Vitlycke close up. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1632x1232, 914 KB) The flat rock of Vitlycke close up. ... Map of the Nordic Bronze Age culture, ca 1200 BC The Nordic Bronze Age (also Northern Bronze Age) is the name given by Oscar Montelius (1843-1921) to a period and a Bronze Age culture in Scandinavian pre-history, ca 1800 BC - 600 BC, with sites that reached as far...

In total there are about 3000 Tanum petroglyphs, occurring in about 100 panels. These are concentrated in five distinct areas along a 25 km stretch, which was the coastline of a fjord during the bronze age, and covers an area of about 51 hectares (126 acres or 0.5 km²).

Scandinavian Bronze Age and Iron Age people were sophisticated woodworkers and very competent travelers by water. (Dates for ages vary with the region; in Scandinavia, the Bronze Age is roughly 1800 to 600 BCE) Some of the glyphs depict long boats of the Hjortspring boat type carrying around a dozen passengers. Wagons or carts are also depicted. Map of the Nordic Bronze Age culture, ca 1200 BC The Nordic Bronze Age (also Northern Bronze Age) is the name given by Oscar Montelius (1843-1921) to a period and a Bronze Age culture in Scandinavian pre-history, ca 1800 BC - 600 BC, with sites that reached as far... The Hjortspring boat is a ship from the Pre-Roman Iron Age that was excavated in 1921–1922 in Hjortspring Mose at Als in Sønderjylland. ...

Three men in a ritual

One glyph depicts a hunter with a bow, and others depict hunting scenes. Some of the stone pictures show people performing agrarian tasks. There is a human at a plow drawn by two oxen, holding what might be a branch or an ox-goading crop made of a number of strips of hide. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1632x1232, 937 KB) This is believed to be some ritual dance Men with raised axes, and swords. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1632x1232, 937 KB) This is believed to be some ritual dance Men with raised axes, and swords. ...

The rock carvings are endangered by erosion due to pollution. To the dismay of some archaeologists, they have been painted red to make them more visible for tourists.

The Grieving Woman	Birds	Funeral Boat
Chariot	Rock Carvings at Tanun, Sweden	The Snake

Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1024x768, 378 KB) Sumario Description: Rock carving with the shape of a grieving woman at Tanun (Sweden) Source: Photo taken by me. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1024x768, 378 KB) Sumario Description: Rock carving with the shape of a grieving woman at Tanun (Sweden) Source: Photo taken by me. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1024x768, 355 KB) Sumario Description: Rock carving with the shape of a flock of birds at Tanun (Sweden) Source: Photo taken by me. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1024x768, 355 KB) Sumario Description: Rock carving with the shape of a flock of birds at Tanun (Sweden) Source: Photo taken by me. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1024x768, 407 KB) Sumario Description: Rock carving with the shape of a funeral boat at Tanun (Sweden) Source: Photo taken by me. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1024x768, 407 KB) Sumario Description: Rock carving with the shape of a funeral boat at Tanun (Sweden) Source: Photo taken by me. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1024x768, 350 KB) Sumario Description: Rock carving with the shape of a man on a chart with a horned helmet (upper right corner) at Tanun (Sweden) Source: Photo taken by me. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1024x768, 350 KB) Sumario Description: Rock carving with the shape of a man on a chart with a horned helmet (upper right corner) at Tanun (Sweden) Source: Photo taken by me. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1024x768, 364 KB) Summary Description: Rock carving with the shape of a snake at Tanun (Sweden) Source: Photo taken by me. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1024x768, 364 KB) Summary Description: Rock carving with the shape of a snake at Tanun (Sweden) Source: Photo taken by me. ...

References

• Coles, John, And On They Went ... Processions in Scandinavian Bronze Age rock carvings, Acta Archaeologica 74 (2003), 211–250. [1]

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