A Study of Bronze Age Rock Art in Hardanger and Sunnhordland
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Finding your place: Rock art and local identity in West Norway. A study of Bronze Age rock art in Hardanger and Sunnhordland. Melanie Wrigglesworth Dissertation for the Degree of philosophiae Doctor University of Bergen, 2011 2 Preface The cows were beginning to lose interest. After all, I had been waiting for some time, perched rather uncomfortably on a small stone. At long last the sunlight reached the rock. Slowly, the ship became visible; it came to life and seemed almost to release itself from the rock. Such moments are the reason for my fascination with rock art; that second when the sunlight hits the grey stone and images emerge from a lifeless surface. Ultimately, that is also why I have written this dissertation. Rock art sites also highlight a second interest, place and landscape. This fascinates me because it is something that people get involved in today. A salient example is the long- running campaign against a planned power line running through Hardanger to Bergen – on the grounds that it will destroy an area of natural beauty. To me places are interesting because that is how we have an affinity with the world in which we live, by relating to places and through them, to people we know and have known, and to periods of our lives. Writing this dissertation has been a long journey. Several persons have in one way or another shared this journey and experience with me. I would like to thank my supervisors, Professors Liv Helga Dommasnes and Lars Forsberg for constructive discussions. I would also like to thank my colleagues at the Cultural History Collections at Bergen Museum for their help, patience, and friendship. Special thanks to Svein Skare and Hans Davanger for providing photographs from the archives. My friends Marit Midtun and Dorthe Nistad proof read the manuscript, cheered me on, and encouraged me over countless cups of coffee and copious amounts of chocolate. Thanks for reminding me of life in the “real world”! Finally, I would like to thank my family and my partner Trygve, for their support and understanding. I could not have done this without you. Bergen, April 2011 Melanie Wrigglesworth Front cover: Linga in Kvam municipality, as the light brings the ships to life 3 4 Contents Preface........................................................................................................................................ 3 Contents...................................................................................................................................... 5 List of figures ............................................................................................................................. 7 Chapter One: Introduction........................................................................................................ 11 1.1. Some central concepts................................................................................................... 12 1.2. Aims and methods......................................................................................................... 13 1.3. Archaeological sources ................................................................................................. 15 1. 4. The study area .............................................................................................................. 15 1.5. The Nordic Bronze Age ................................................................................................ 19 1.6. Chronology.................................................................................................................... 21 1.7. The structure of the thesis ............................................................................................. 21 Chapter Two: Past and present. History of research ................................................................ 23 2.1. The Bronze Age in West Norway ................................................................................. 23 2.2. Bronze Age rock art studies .......................................................................................... 26 2.2.1. The location of rock art .......................................................................................... 30 2.2.2. Cosmology ............................................................................................................. 35 2.3. Summary ....................................................................................................................... 36 Chapter Three: Landscape, place, memory. Theoretical perspectives and method ................. 37 3.1. Landscape and Place ..................................................................................................... 37 3.2. Being-In-the-World and the habitus: making sense of the world ................................. 40 3.3. Memory, identity and place........................................................................................... 45 3. 4. Methods........................................................................................................................ 50 3.5. Summary ....................................................................................................................... 56 Chapter Four: The archaeological material.............................................................................. 57 4.1. Landscape as archaeological category .......................................................................... 57 4.2. Stone and bronze in the study area................................................................................ 62 4. 3. Introduction to West Norwegian rock art..................................................................... 64 4.3.1. Cup-marks .............................................................................................................. 71 4.3.2. Ships....................................................................................................................... 72 4.3.3. Anthropomorphic images....................................................................................... 73 4.3.4. Zoomorphic images................................................................................................ 74 4.3.5. Plant motifs ............................................................................................................ 75 4.3.6. Geometric motifs.................................................................................................... 75 4.3.7. Unidentifiable motifs.............................................................................................. 77 4. 4. Graves........................................................................................................................... 78 4.4.1. Graves dated to the Bronze Age............................................................................. 80 4.5. Votive deposits.............................................................................................................. 95 4.6. Settlement evidence....................................................................................................... 97 Chapter Five: The chronology of rock art.............................................................................. 102 5.1. Dating rock art............................................................................................................. 102 5.2. Ship typology and chronology .................................................................................... 104 5.2.1. Ship chronology in Hardanger and Sunnhordland ............................................... 110 5.3. Cup marks ................................................................................................................... 123 5.4. Anthropomorphic images............................................................................................ 125 5.5. Zoomorphic images..................................................................................................... 126 5.6. Plant motifs ................................................................................................................. 126 5.7. Geometric motifs......................................................................................................... 126 5.8. Summary ..................................................................................................................... 129 Chapter Six: Spatial and temporal patterns ............................................................................ 131 5 6.1. Topography ................................................................................................................. 131 6.2. Zone 1: Bømlo, Fitjar, Stord, Sveio ............................................................................ 136 6.2.1. Rock art ................................................................................................................ 136 6.2.2. Graves................................................................................................................... 138 6.2.3. Settlement sites..................................................................................................... 141 6.3. Zone 2: Etne, Jondal, Kvinnherad, Kvam, Tysnes, Vindafjord (Ølen)....................... 142 6.3.1. Rock art ................................................................................................................ 142 6.3.2. Graves................................................................................................................... 163 6.3.3. Settlement sites....................................................................................................