Litsleby rock carvings
The rock carvings from Litsleby are about three kilometers (as the crow flies) south of the church of Tanum in Sweden . They come from the Nordic Bronze Age (approx. 1500–500 BC). The oldest footprints , swastikas , animals and ships on the rocky slab sloping to the west may be around 1500 BC. BC or even earlier. As part of the rock carvings in Tanum Litsleby belongs to the world heritage of UNESCO .
A special feature of Litsleby's rock carvings ( Hällristningar in Swedish ) are two large pictures of ships showing boats of the Hjortspringboot type and dating from 800 to 900 BC. To be dated. One large and two small representations that are mistaken for plank boats and date from 1000 to 1200 BC are important. To be dated. These would be the oldest representations of this type. In almost all Litsleby ships, the gunwale bends down amidships, while it rises towards the stern - in many other rock carvings this is not the case or is only indicated. For a seaworthy vessel in the Skagerrak , which lies in front of Litsleby, this would be essential.
It remains unclear whether the early depictions are actually about watercraft or death ships pulled over land on runners, especially since one is provided with concentric perforated wheels as stern boards and is therefore not at all seaworthy. A representation of teams or rowers (as in Boglösa -Brandskogen) does not appear consistently either.
Stepping out of the frame under the rock carvings by Litsleby is a 2.5 m tall, spear-bearing male figure that was struck over other pictures. The explanation for this is that the religion of the Bronze Age initially did not allow the depiction of God - which it has in common with some other religions - and instead one depicted footprints. Such a pair with worked toes can be found on the left of the large figure. Later a representation of the god was allowed and his image was carved into the rock over the earlier drawings. Litsleby is not the only example of a representation of a spear-bearing god (Bro utmark, Finntrop - near Tanum), but most of the representations show the "holding up" of other utensils such as axes , lures, sickles , wheels or plows .
See also
literature
- Åke Fredsjö, Sverker Janson, Carl Axel Moberg: Hällristningar i Sverige. 2nd, changed edition. Forum, Stockholm 1969.
Coordinates: 58 ° 41 ′ 20.4 ″ N , 11 ° 19 ′ 27.9 ″ E