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Country: |
Sweden |
Locality: |
Gerum RAÄ 311 |
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Region: |
Bohuslän |
Area: |
Tanum |
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Environment & Surface |
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Altitude:
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15 m
Open-air
Shelter
Cave
Portable
Megalithic
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Geography: |
150 m from creek, at the edge of a ravine, a flat rock in the middle of the Tanum plain. Grassy surroundings. |
Proximity: |
Close to creek, in the middle of the huge Tanum plain. Grave field from the Roman Iron Age beside the carving. |
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Geology: |
Greyish kind of rock, dark in colour. |
Surface: |
Low, rather flat surface. Smooth, grinded, microflora. |
Dimensions:
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Length 9.00 m.
Width 6.00 m.
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Art |
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Description: |
Engravings
Paintings
Painted engravings
High or low-relief
Sculpture
Gerum, Tanum parish. The carving covers an area of c. 25 square meters, on one connected panel. There are c. 205 figures of which 65 are ship figures, 11 human figures, 6 foot prints, 12 animal figures, 4 circle figures, of which one is a wheel cross and c. 90 cup marks. Several ship figures are carved along the upper and lower part of the panel. An unique and strange figure is the tree-figure with an extension at the top. There is a platform at the top of the pole, where a human figure with raised arms is standing. Lines or ropes are hanging from the platform. There are a number of human figures attached to the lines or ropes, previously interpreted as acrobats. This is the central engraving at the Gerum panel, and it is surrounded by ship figures, human figures with raised arms/adorating position, a foot print and a strange figure thought to be some kind of animal.
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Figures: |
total number 205
65 ship figures
11 human figures
6 foot prints
12 animal figures
4 circle figures, of which one is a wheel cross
90 cup marks.
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Chronology: |
Palaeolithic
Epipalaeolithic - Mesolithic
Neolithic
Copper Age
Bronze Age
Iron Age
Roman
Middle Age
Modern
Unknown
The rock carvings of Southern Scandinavia are generally dated to the middle and later part of the Bronze Age, c. 1500-500 BC. Occasionally, more absolute dating of single panels or figures can be made, based on typological or stylistic features of the image, and by comparisons with identifiable objects.
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Notes: |
The strange figure at Gerum, the so called "May-pole" has been interpreted to depict a real festively-dressed pole, still a part of the ceremonies at Midsummer in Sweden. The decoration could vary in different villages in Sweden, but most common is the use of leaves, wild flowers and garlands. Young children are holding these laces and are singing and dancing around the pole. The custom is old but still practised in Sweden. The purpose is to promote fertility (Hygen & Bengtsson 1999:160). |
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Bibliography |
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Conservation |
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Status: |
Public
Private
Park
Classified site
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Risk: |
The major risk for rock carvings are chemical weathering, which makes the hard quartzite losen up and fall out, leaving white dots on the darker rock surface. Also natural weathering (mechanical weathering) during winter/spring, when water freeze in cracks and openings in the rock, creates major damage to rock faces with carvings. The biological weathering is also a danger to the rock carvings, and even to intense cleaning of the rock surface during documentation can make the rock fragile and expose the carvings to wind, water and air-born pollution. |
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Conservation: |
Good
Quite good
Mediocre
Bad
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Intervention: |
Problems concerning conservation and preservation, registration and documentation of rock carvings in Scandinavia are discussed by several departments, i.e. Riksantikvaren in Norway, Riksantikvarieämbetet in Sweden, several universities and research departments. Different methods are tested, for example covering of carved surfaces, measuring of temperature and different contents in water and air and also the composition in the granite. Hollows and cracks in the rock surface can be repaired and carefully filled in. An easy method of taking care of the rock surface is by ordinary sweeping. |
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By |
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Record n. 786 / 807 |
No commercial use is allowed. Specific © is mentioned in the captions or owned by each Author or Institution |
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EuroPreArt, European Prehistoric Art, is a web-based archaeological project funded by the European Union which aims to establish a lasting data-base of European prehistoric art documentation, to launch the base of an European institutional network and to contribute to the awareness of the diversity and richness of European Prehistoric Art.
It is proposed by: Instituto Politécnico de Tomar (IPT, Portugal),
CUEBC - European University Centre for Cultural Heritage (Italy - Europe),
Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (España),
Asociación Cultural Colectivo Barbaón (España),
Université de Liège (Belgique),
Gotland University College (Sverige),
University College Dublin (Eire),
Cooperativa Archeologica Le Orme dell'Uomo (Italia),
Study Centre and Museum of Prehistoric Art of
Pinerolo (Italia),
The European Centre for Prehistoric Research in the Alto Ribatejo (Portugal),
ArqueoJovem - a youth NGO (Portugal).
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