World Heritage Photos

The rock carvings in Tanum are situated around the town ofTanumshede in Sweden. The rock carvings in Tanum show the social life of the people from the Bronze Age, their beliefs, rites and spiritual life. Most of the Rock Carvings in Tanum can be dated to 1000-500 BC. The Vitlycke rock is unique in containing imagery relating to love, magic and power, the rock is covered with more than 400 figures, but the depiction of women is scarce. The great rock at Aspeberget depict sun symbols, mighty bulls, warriors and numerous ships. The Litsleby Spear God is 2.30 metres high and Europe's largest Bronze Age human representation. The Fossum Rock indicates that the rock art was created by a single artist. The rock art sites in Tanum are: Vitlycke, Fossum, Litsleby, Aspeberget, Gerum and Kalleby. Most of the carvings have been filled-in with red paint. This has been done by the people of the Vitlycke Museum to make the rock carvings in Tanum easier to see. If the rock carvings in Tanum were also painted-in during the Bronze Age is not known. Two burial cairns are situated nearby the Vitlycke rock, the burial cairns were created by Bronze Age people. The rock carvings in Tanum gained the status as a UNESCO World Heritage in 1994. Some other important Rock Art sites elsewhere in Europe: Alta, Côa Valley, Siega Verde, and Val Camonica. World Heritage Art: Vitlycke

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   Rock Carvings in Tanum: The Vitlycke Rock is quite unique in containing rock carvings relating to magic, rituals, power and love. Most of the figures on the Vitlycke rock can be dated to the Late Bronze Age, 1000-500 BC. The last carved rock images are from the beginning of the Iron Age, 500 BC. The Rock Carvings in Tanum gained the status as a UNESCO World Heritage in 1994.

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   Rock Carvings in Tanum: The Vitlycke Rock. The rock carvings in Tanum face the south or the east. The rock carvings were purposely carved on rocks where water runs down the surface after rainfall. The rays of the morning sun are reflected by the rain water on the rock surface. Perhaps this was an intended effect.

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   Rock Carvings in Tanum: On the right the famous Lovers of Vitlycke or the Bridal Couple. The Vitlycke Rock is unique in containing imagery relating to love, several scenes show a fertility cult. On the left hand side: a huge phallic man figure raising an axe. On the right hand side: the cup mark under the feet of the Lovers of Vitlycke is interpreted as a symbol of fertility and life.

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   Rock Carvings in Tanum: A detail of the Vitlycke Rock, the rock carvings depict boats with people aboard. Most of the carvings at Tanum have been filled-in with red paint. This has been done by the people of the Vitlycke Rock Art Museum at Tanum to make the carvings easier to see, if the rock carvings were also painted-in during the Bronze Age is not known.

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   Rock Carvings in Tanum: A smaller rock near Vitlycke. The tiny rock carvings on the left hand side are quite unique, small footprints leading to a pool, the footprints may represent a god to exalted to be directly portrayed. As similar prints are found on ancient burial urns and stones from graves they have been seen as a symbol of death.

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   Rock Carvings in Tanum: A small rock close to Vitlycke, the rock depiction shows a very virile warrior. The Vitlycke Rock is covered with more than 400 figures, the depiction of women is scare. The Vitlycke Rock art panel at Tanum is one of the largest and most important rock art sites in Scandinavia. Tanum is located in Bohuslän, a region on the west coast of Sweden.

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   Rock Carvings in Tanum: The Vitlycke Rock depicts several phallic warriors with an axe. There is also row of cup marks running across the rock surface. The rock art was chipped or ground into the rock surface, the tool used would have been a hard or sharp stone. Cup marks are the most common motif, about 40000 cup marks were found in the Tanum area.

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   Rock Carvings in Tanum: A smaller rock near Vitlycke, the rock carvings represent boats with warriors aboard. The oldest rock carvings date back to around 1700 BC, the rock carvings depict everyday life and seafaring scenes. The last rock carvings at Tanum were created just before the beginning of the Common Era.

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   The rock carvings in Tanum are situated around the small town of Tanumshede in Sweden. The rock carvings in Tanum show the social life of the Bronze Age people, their beliefs, their spiritual life and their rites, the depiction of women is scarce. The Rock Carvings in Tanum were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1994.

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    Rock Carvings in Tanum: The Great Rock at Aspeberget shows mighty bulls, phallic warriors, sun symbols, numerous boats with a crew, cup marks, animals and an unique shinning sun symbol. The bulls have a religious meaning, they also represented fertility, strength and courage. Many of the rock carvings at Aspeberget are not painted-in and also harder to find.

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    Rock Carvings in Tanum: A rock carving of a large sun wheel on the Great Rock at Aspeberget. The largest concentration of rock carvings in the area is located at Aspeberget, the site is also called the Holy Mountain. The rock carvings at Aspeberget are spread over more than twenty different rock panels.

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    Rock Carvings in Tanum: A detail of the Great Rock at Aspeberget in Tanum. The rock carvings were created by local people, mainly during the Bronze Age. The purpose of the rock carvings remains unknown. Tanum is situated on the west coast of Sweden, between Gothenburg and the Norwegian border. The area has the largest density of rock carvings in Europe.

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    Rock Carvings in Tanum: A rock at Aspeberget. On the left hand side a depiction that probably represent a calendar, the 28 cup marks are grouped in four rows are assumed to depict the cycle of the moon. Cup marks are found on almost every rock surface at Tanum and probably represent the sun, the moon and stars, but also life, death and rebirth. 

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    Rock Carvings in Tanum: The Spear God of Litseby is 2.30 metres high and the largest Bronze Age human representation in Europe. Who he really was is not known. Perhaps the Spear God of Litseby depicts a forerunner of the Viking god Odin. The Spear God of Litseby is the largest rock carving in the UNESCO World Heritage Site.

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    Rock Carvings in Tanum: The largest rock at Litsleby shows also some footprints, several ships and animals. The earliest rock carvings at Litsleby were created in the Middle Bronze Age and the last rock carvings were added in the Early Iron Age. The rock carvings of the footprints are interpreted as the footmarks of the gods.

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    Rock Carvings in Tanum: A detail of a rock at Fossum, the rock carvings depict manned boats. The rock art sites in Tanum are located in the north of Bohuslän on the west coast of Sweden. Some Rock Art Sites of Tanum are: Aspeberget, Fossum, Gerum, Kalleby, Litsleby and Vitlycke. The Rock Carvings in Tanum were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1994.

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    Rock Carvings in Tanum: The so-called stick dancers of Fossum. The rock carving depicts scenes of deer hunting, animals such as dogs, and people stick dancing. The rock at Fossum indicates that the rock art was probably created by a single artist. The rock art of Vitlycke is situated just opposite the Vitlycke Rock Art Museum in Tanumshede, Sweden.

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    Rock Carvings in Tanum: A detail of the rock carvings at Fossum. Three man are standing on board, while above them hover two bird like figures. At Fossum several boats are depicted with animal-head formed stems. The tradition of adorning boats with animal-heads survived through the Viking period.

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    Rock Carvings in Tanum: A detail of the Fossum Rock, a hunting scene with three dogs, man's best friend. The most famous rock carvings in Tanum are the Lovers of Vitlycke, the Spear God of Litseby, a shinning sun symbol and the Woman of Fossum. The meaning of the rock carvings in Tanum has been greatly debated by scholars.

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    Rock Carvings in Tanum: The burial cairns of Tanum nearby Vitlycke were created by people of the Bronze Age, the burial cairns were shaped with great care as visual landmarks both for their own people and seafarers. There are many indications that Vitlycke was a place where people met to unite the worlds of men, nature and gods with ceremonies and rituals. Some of the rock carvings at the Vitlycke Rock may perhaps date from such occasions.