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Description: |
Engravings
Paintings
Painted engravings
High or low-relief
Sculpture
The locality of Sotetorp, Tanum no 357:1, is one of the most famous ones in Scandinavia. The carvings are situated on a sloping rock, with other panels distributed in the terrain.
There are 3 ship figures, 27-80 cm long. 1 single-lined, 1 double-lined with crew-strokes and one with completely carved out hull.
There are a total number of 5 human figures, 2 acrobats and 3 in a ship including one with axe, sword and a disc, and one with axe and a disc.
There are 2 animals, one is 4 cm ø and 0.7 cm deep with 4 grooves and 10 cup marks form two rows above one of the ships.
Scenes on the carving: The two rows with cup marks are situated above the crew-strokes of one ship, where also the acrobats and the human figures with sword, axes and discs are situated.
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Figures: |
total number 22
3 ship figures
5 human figures
2 animals
12 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. The horned human figures of Sotetorp 1 can be compared to finds of helmets of Hallstatt-type, dated to the Late Bronze Age, and the acrobats have their counterpart in a find from Denmark with similar figurines and dated to c. 800 BC.
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Notes: |
The rock carvings of Sotetorp 2 are one of the most famous localities in Scandinavia. The images are outstanding in the pictorial world of the South Scandinavian rock carving tradition, and the acrobats over ships are only found on the west coast of Sweden, with a few exceptions in the provinces of Dalsland, Sweden, and Østfold, Norway. The acrobats and also the ship-carrier show similarities to features in the Mediterranean cultures, for example the acrobats of the Minoans on Crete and in Egypt. |
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