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Country: |
Sweden |
Locality: |
Ekenberg |
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Region: |
Östergötland |
Area: |
Östra eneby |
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Environment & Surface |
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Open-air
Shelter
Cave
Portable
Megalithic
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Geography: |
Rocky islet 200 m N of road to Fiskeby-Leonardsberg, 125 m NNE of Ekenberg estate. Wide, sloping rock surfaces, several panels. |
Proximity: |
Situated in an area with several rock carving localities, between the Lake Glan and so called Norrköping-fault. In the vicinity of Motala stream and E4. Down the road from Skälv. |
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Geology: |
Mica-schist and gneiss. |
Surface: |
Wide, smooth surface. Cracks and lines. |
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Art |
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Description: |
Engravings
Paintings
Painted engravings
High or low-relief
Sculpture
Ekenberg, panel no 7, Östra Eneby parish. The total number of figures at the Ekenberg locality are c. 399. The panels are very smooth, and the majority of the carvings are found in the S part of the rock. There are about 113 ship figures, half the number are totally carved out and the other are contour-carved, double-lined with short crew strokes. Some of the ship figures have rich ornamental details in the hulls, and elaborately decorated prows. There are more than 70 human figures and c. 50 animal figures (horse and deer). Most famous are the 26 weapon figures, the majority consists of totally carved out swords in natural size. There are a number of scenes: ship figures drawn by horses, hunting scenes, human figures onboard ships, a long procession and a man holding a double spiral over the head, like a decorated disk or shield. Notable is that the framed figures are lacking at Ekenberg, they are typical to the carvings in the Norrköping area. It is also notable that there are only 28 cup marks at the locality.
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Figures: |
total number 399
Ship figures
Human figures
Weapons/spear/sword
Wheel cross
Circle figures
Animal figures/Deer/horse
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 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.
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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). |
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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 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. |
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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. The carvings are partly painted. |
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By |
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Record n. 807 / 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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