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Name      
Sweden    Östra Eneby, Himmelstadlund EuroPreArt - European Prehistoric Art

Sweden Image map
Keywords: Bronze Age, Carving, Rock art, Open air, Human figures, Ship figures, Circle figures, Double spiral, Deer, Hunting, Procession.
Institution: Gotland University College, Visby, Sweden.  http://www.hgo.se/
Record
proposed
by
Gotland University - Sweden
 
Location
Specific feedbackSpecific feedback

Country:

Sweden

Locality:

Himmelstadlund

Region:

Östergötland

Area:

Östra Eneby

 

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Map over the Norrköping localities in Östergötland (Burenhult 1973:20).
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Copyright. No commercial use of EuroPreArt content is allowed. Specific © for pictures and drawings is mentioned in the captions or owned by each Author or Institution.
Disclaim. The EuroPreArt project fully endorses the most recent documentation policies. It must be outlined the absolute forbidding of any disruptive method and the necessity of a total respect for archaeological sites. It is also to be noticed that no substances shall be applied to rock art for recording purposes. Some pictures of the EuroPreArt records are related to past recording techniques and may not fully match these policies. They are an historical documentation. Please refer to local archaeological official authorities for any recording purpose. Please take a look also over EuroPreArt guidelines.
 
Environment & Surface

Open-air   Shelter   Cave Portable   Megalithic

Geography:
Two completely visible hillocks, NE of the Motala stream, NW of E4 road, W of Norrköping. Recreation area, plain. Largest carvings situated NE of path, through the major area of the SE panels, and also in the NE smaller area.

Proximity:

Close proximity to Motala stream, and open arable land. The sea is visible in the far distant. Situated in an area with several rock carving localities, between the Lake Glan and so called Norrköping-fault.

Geology:

Mica-schist and gneiss.

Surface:

Wide, rather smooth surface. Cracks and lines.

 

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Art        

Description:

Engravings   Paintings   Painted engravings   High or low-relief   Sculpture
Himmelstadlund, Östra Eneby parish. A total number of 1659 registered figures on 57 panels. The ship is the most dominating motif with a total number of 622 figures. One third of these are totally carved out, and others are contour-carved with crew strokes. Decoration in the hull exist especially in the W part of the locality. On some of the ships there are human figures and also tree-figures. There are 59 human figures, small and totally carved out, often depicted together with animals, spear, chariot, or on a ship. The total number of animal figures are 259, often small in size and totally carved out. Possibly depicying pigs. They are depicted in groups as the famous hoard on the NW major panel. There is also a possible human figure among these pigs, equipped with a spear or it is a shepherd with his stick. There is a distinct hunting scene with spear carrier, dogs and an oversized boar. Furthermore are horses represented and also goats. There is a total number of 33 weapon figures of which 13 are spears. There are 30 axe figures, the majority deeply carved out. There are 7 framed figures, a design specific for the province of Östergötland. The largest one is found in the NW part of the locality, and is decorated and is carried by 2 small human figures on a long pole, perhaps a spear. The symbolic designs are showing a rich variety of types, there are 47 wheel crosses, 17 circle figures and 92 foot prints, of which 19 placed in pairs. Unique is the 22 m row of paw prints, 25 in number, originally more. The stamps give an impression of a bear walking across the rock. The cup marks are relatively few in number, approximately 245 and spread out over the locality. In some cases there are younger figures carved above the older ones, for example totally carved out ship figures are superimposed by contour-carved ship figures, spears and animal figures.

Figures:
total number 1659
622 ship figures 59 human figures 259 animal figures 33 weapon figures 47 wheel crosses 17 circle figures 92 foot prints 25 paw prints 245 cup marks 30 axes

Chronology:

Palaeolithic   Epipalaeolithic - Mesolithic   Neolithic   Copper Age   Bronze Age   Iron Age   Roman   Middle Age   Modern   Unknown
The rock carvings in Östergötland are generally dated to the Bronze Age, c. 1800-500 BC on basis of the position in the landscape, the relation to other ancient monuments and of the combinations of different figures and motifs.

Notes:

The province of Östergötland in Sweden, has long been well-known for its profusion of rock carvings, but figurative carvings only abound in a small area to the W of Norrköping; elsewhere they are few and far between. It is probable that the Norrköping district was of importance as a religious centre on several spatial and social levels in a tribal society: local, regional and supra-regional; perhaps with Ekenberg functioning on the highest level. The widespread cup mark sites, on the other hand, were utilised for a domestic cult on a microlevel, probably prevailing into the Iron Age and perhaps longer (Selinge 1989:234).
 
Bibliography        





European total bibliography, by EuroPreArt partnersTotal (Europe)
Sweden EuroPreArt general bibliography, by Gotland University College, Visby, Sweden.General (country)
Specific Östra Eneby, Himmelstadlund bibliography, by Gotland University College, Visby, Sweden.Specific (site)
Rock Art Studies: A Bibliographic worldwide Database (external link). Compiled by Leigh Marymor. Copyright (C) 2001-2002 by the Library, University of California, Berkeley Bibliographic
Rock Art
Database

 

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Conservation        

Status:

Public   Private   Park   Classified site

Risk:

The rock carvings are fragile and the major risk 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. The carvings are situated in a recreation area with a large number of people passing by.

Conservation:

Good   Quite good   Mediocre   Bad

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. The carvings are partly painted.

 

By          

Compiler:

Li Winter 2001.

Institution:

Gotland University College, Visby, Sweden.  http://www.hgo.se/
 
         Record n. 805 / 807
No commercial use is allowed. Specific © is mentioned in the captions or owned by each Author or Institution  
 
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NEW: Alpine rock paintings
enter the Balma dei Cervi Virtual Museum and surf the Virtual Tour: spherical pano-views,
hi-def flat photos and tracings


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).
Instituto Politécnico de Tomar - Portugal CUEBC - European University Centre for Cultural Heritage, Ravello - Italy CSIC - Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Madrid - Spain Orme dell'Uomo - Footsteps of Man, Valcamonica - Italy Asociación Cultural Colectivo Barbaón, Extremadura -Spain Liège University - Belgium Gotland University - Sweden University College Dublin - Ireland CeSMAP - Centro Studi e Museo d'Arte Preistorica. Pinerolo, Italy Arqueo Jovem

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