Udgravninger ved helleristninger

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Scweiz er sådanne bautasten ved en omhyggelig udgravning blevet dokumenteret i en kompleks arkæologisk kontekst (Gallay 1995); men her indgår de i et gravmonument igennem flere bygningsfaser, og det er en anden historie. Ved Saint-Martin-de-Corléans i Aosta, Norditalien, har arkæologiske undersøgelser også dokumenteret, at sådanne bautasten kan findes i forbindelse med små megalitgrave. Her indgår de imidlertid i en større arkitektonisk sammenhæng, idet de dekorerede bautasten har stået på rækker, hvorved de afgrænsede et helligt område foran gravanlæggene og nogle stenbyggede platforme – en egentlig velafgrænset helligdom (Mezzena 1998). Kun ved Cemmo i Valcamonica indgår bautastenene i en helligdom, hvis fokus er en klippeflade oversået med helleristninger (det vil føre for vidt at gå videre omkring bautastens kontekst i det hele taget). I alle tilfælde håber vi snart at se en større publikation af disse udgravninger ved Cemmo med de uhyre interessante resultater. English summary Excavations at rock carvings – a survey by Flemming Kaul The systematic performance of full-scale excavations at rock carving sites is a relatively new discipline in archaeology. The results are promising, and almost at any place where an excavation has been carried out interesting traces of human activity have been revealed. The many new discoveries pose new questions, and one must naturally consider whether a relationship between the rock carvings themselves and the finds and structures seems probable. Some of the finds might reflect traces of ‘normal’ settlement activity; i.e. it is just a coincidence that such traces have been found close to the rock carvings. A significant number of finds, however, seem to reflect activities of a ‘non-practical’ kind. For instance, the Madsebakke rock, Bornholm, is delimited by a wooden fence, and part of the rock seems to have been ‘hidden’ by a pile of stones that looks like a cairn. Cooking pits or fire scorched stones have been found at some of the rock carving sites. This could of course reflect everyday activities. But when considering the whole context of the cooking pits, one comes to the conclusion that these may also have a meaning in the religious/ritual sphere, perhaps related to preparation of food, viz. ritual meals. After some very limited attempts to carry out excavations at rock carving sites, the real breakthrough in this branch of archaeological research came in the period from 1975 to 1976 with the excavations at Hornes in Østfold, southern Norway. In front of an almost vertical cliff bearing a magnificent line of ship images archaeologists unearthed a low wall formed by stones that varied in size, but were seldom larger than the size of the human head (Fig. 1). The line of the stones forming the low wall started at the southernmost ship of the carving. Then it went out in a curve, before it at last turned towards the rock again at the northernmost ship. In other words, the stone wall encloses that very part of the rock where the Late Bronze Age ship figures appear. Numerous stones (both those forming part of the wall itself, and others inside the space enclosed by the low wall) were brittle from burning, and also the rock surface here showed traces of fire. Some pottery sherds were found, as well as large quantities of burnt clay in the shape of irregular, round lumps. At Bjørnstad, a few kilometres away from Hornes, also in Østfold, piles of stones were also found in front of the rock which had carvings. It was quite evident that these stones had been intentionally placed there. There was no clearly marked stone wall as at Hornes. Nevertheless, the stones were concentrated in the space facing the ship images. In front of the 4.4 m long Bjørnstad 45
ship the stones formed a more or less complete semi-circle, which started at the foot of the rock below the stem of the ship, and curved outwards and then back towards the rock again at the stem. Once again a close connection between the rock carving itself and the structures seems to be proven. Under the auspices of the Tanum project a number archaeological digs have been carried out in recent years. At Tossene, Bohuslän, western Sweden excavation in a deep crevice in the rock revealed quantities of pottery sherds, pieces of quartz, and burnt clay. This crevice was also packed with stones, and there was evidence of fire. Carbon 14 dating indicates a time span from c.1000 BC to the approximate time of the Birth of Christ, a period of 1000 years, for the activities concerned. Stone packing or pavements in different forms seem to be a common feature revealed in the excavations. A rock carving in Tanum Parish (Raä 232) yielded a good example. Archaeologists found, partly surrounding a rock with a group of ships which typologically can be dated to the Early Bronze Age, a covering of stones that ended in a natural accumulation of stones and blocks. The human made section of the packed stones formed a low, almost semi-circular, wall with an opening, half a meter wide (fig. 2). Excavation of the structure yielded no charcoal, pottery or burnt clay. However, a small flint arrowhead with a hollow base was found (Fig. 3). The most probable dating of the arrowhead is the Early Bronze Age, even though the Late Neolithic cannot be ruled out. At other sites in Bohuslän stone packing, quartz, flint waste, and human made deposits of burnt clay have been found. On the Baltic island of Bornholm, excavations have revealed post-holes of Late Iron Age houses – at Madsebakke and Lille Strandbygård. It is of course a matter of dispute whether such houses were ever connected with the much earlier rock carvings. However, the issue needs careful consideration. At Lille Standbygård the door of one of the houses 46 must have opened just at the wheel-crosses of the rock carving, the wheel crosses being ‘a door-mat’ for the house. It is difficult to see how the ancient rock carvings could have remained unnoticed by the people of the Iron Age. Could the rock carvings have still been regarded, to some extent, as sacred? A house excavated close to a rock carving at Svarteborg 116 in southern Bohuslän, western Sweden, seems to support the view that houses built much later could have had some ritual purpose in some way connected with earlier rock carvings. The rock carvings themselves had been covered by a cairn-like stone structure. At around the Birth of Christ a ‘normal’ house was erected close to the rock carving ‘cairn’. But the house was built on the wettest, most marshy area, unlikely to survive the rainy season and, as a matter of fact, the excavation was able to demonstrate that the house had collapsed. It seems most probable that this house had had no ‘practical’ purpose, but would probably have been used for ritual purposes over a very limited span of time. When considering chronological matters regarding the activity documented at the rock carving sites it is important to note that there seem to be traces of ritual activity both before, after, and during the same period as when the rock carvings were made. This leads us to believe that we should not solely focus on the rock carvings themselves, but rather on the rock as being a sacred place in itself. Features created by nature, such as rocks, ‘mountains’ or stone blocks, could have been integrated, already before the Bronze Age, into a ritualised landscape and such ‘powerful’ places could also have served as sacred ‘cathedrals’ for a long time after the Bronze Age ended. Seen in this perspective, the creation of rock carvings was just one activity, albeit a remarkable one, which is easier for us to recognise than many other activities related to religion and rituals. Consequently one could in some cases ‘turn around’ our perception of the rock carvings. A given rock or rock surface was not necessarily sanctified through the making of the rock carvings: on the contrary, the rock carvings were made
Page 1 and 2: Flemming Kaul Udgravninger ved hell
Page 3 and 4: ehandlet forhold omkring ristninger
Page 5 and 6: Stenene dannede nogenlunde en halvc
Page 7 and 8: Fig. 2. Fladetegning over anlæggen
Page 9 and 10: dele af området. Og undersøgelsen
Page 11 and 12: Fig. 4. Regulære stykker lerklinin
Page 13 and 14: lot ikke lige ved klippen. Der kend
Page 15 and 16: Fig. 5. Udtegning af motiverne på
Page 17: Fig. 7. En af bautastenene med hell
Page 21 and 22: uilt at the same time as the rock c

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