Protection of Rock Art - Riksantikvaren

1. Introduction
On January 1, 1996 the ten year Protection of Rock Art – The Rock Art Project was initiated
and subsequently completed on December 31, 2005. The Rock Art Project was initiated
following significant individual efforts from a number of parties within regional cultural
heritage management through many years, and over time also through a collective
understanding of problem areas, motivation and efforts within the Norwegian professional
community.
This report will provide an overview of the background and conditions for the project, its
progress, organization, central problem orientations and discussion themes, experiences and
results. Following completion of the project, a comprehensive guide for the protection of rock
art was produced, developed by the Norwegian Working Group for Rock Art Conservation
(Bjelland & Helberg (eds.) 2006). Therefore this report will not go into detail regarding the
concrete professional results and recommendations that the project has produced.
Ten years with the Rock Art Project has given us important results and experiences, but we do
not have all the answers and have not reached our objective with regard to protection of the
Norwegain rock art. Nor will this ever be possible. Protection efforts are far from complete
even though the goals for the actual project, protecting 300 localities, was achieved by a good
margin. Firstly, this figure only represents a lesser share of the collective Norwegian rock art;
secondly, it is an obligation to follow up work with the protected localities with active
protection, management and long-term maintenance efforts; thirdly, acquired knowledge and
experience must not only be maintained but further built upon through continued research and
development. It has been gratifying to see that the Government funding for continued
protection of rock art has been maintained following completion of the project.
The Rock Art Project could never have been carried out without the significant efforts of and
cooperativeness within regional cultural heritage management. Administration of the project
has been the responsibility of the Directorate for Cultural Heritage, but the work has been
carried out regionally and locally with great energy and willingness. There have never been
sufficient resources to do everything that was desired each year, nor for available manpower.
It was therefore seen as extremely positive when the project period was extended from 5 to 10
years in 1998 with the following argument given in Parliamentary Proposition No. 1,
1997/98: “A time frame up to 2005 is necessary in order to protect 300 rock art localities
responsibly, based on the knowledge that is acquired through the project on influential factors
and preservation procedures.” Subsequent experience confirms that this was a correct
conclusion. We have needed this additonal time in order for knowledge and experience to
develop stepwise and at an appropriate pace, and be spread to and involve additional
institutions and individual parties.
The Rock Art Project has received considerable attention, both in Norway and elsewhere in
the world. Within Norway, we have experienced both an appreciation of and support for the
actions taken and the project itself, and our experience and expertise is sought after
internationally. This is also a strong incentive for continued efforts and further development.
In 2000, the Directorate for Cultural Heritage published a halfway report for the Rock Art
Project, with contributions from the five regional archeological museums, Norwegian Institute
for Cultural Heritage Research (NIKU) and the Directorate for Cultural Heritage (Hygen (ed.)
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