Next stop on my Rock art lollapalooza in the UNESCO world Herritage site Tanum is Fossum. The rock art in Tanum is dated to the Bronze Age, ca 1500-1000 BC.

Among the pictures are hunting scenes, people holding axes, people playing horns and of course lots of ships, animals, foot soles and cup marks etc.

I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves!

 There’s still more to come

Magnus Reuterdahl

The excavations concern at least one settlement and several different activity areas; production sites, graves etc, that are dated to ca 6000-4000 BC. There are also remains of a medieval farmstead, dated to ca 1200-1300 AD.

There are several things that are special about this site among them the exceptional preservation environment, UV has made this film, with English subtitles, that allows you to find out more about this exiting place and the finds that has been made.

The film is produced by Martin Wanngård at BringitoLife during 2010 and 2011 and is 18 minutes long and is part of RAÄ UV Öst’s intermediary of the results.

Magnus Reuterdahl

 My fiancée, who also is an archaeologist, is currently participating in an archaeological dig at the Swedish west coast, at Tanum. Tanum is internationally known for its rock art sites, the Tanum UNESCO World Heritage site includes a multitude of rock carvings dated to the Bronze Age ca 1700-500 BC. In the area there are more than 1500 known sites with rock art. Last weekend I visited and we went on a rock art Safari visiting a few of the sites, the first Vitlycke, which is one of the biggest sites including the famous carving that is called the the wedding couple .

The most common motives are cup marks, ships, people, animals, footprints, wheels etc. Not being an expert on these they still captures my imagination, this is as close as we come to a written testimony of the Bronze Age world giving us glimpses into the world then. The rock carving as seen today is made on outcrops and rocks that are visible in the modern farming landscape, but during the Bronze Age they were situated near the waterline. What is ongoing in Scandinavia, since the last Ice Age, is the land uplift in progress, due to this the coastline has moved quite a bit since the Bronze Age and so landscape surrounding the rock carvings has changed as well.

Big outcrop with rock art at Vitlycke

On top of this hill, ca 100 meter higher in the terrain are two great burial cairns from the Bronze Age.

This is the first of several posts consisting mainly of photos from these sites.

The wedding couple

As you see the carvings have been filled with paint, when they’re found they’re not – can you see the carvings on the next picture?

In the middle is a foot sole and down to the left is part of a ship.

At Vitlycke is also a rock art museum, which includes a replica of a Bronze Age farm.

Magnus Reuterdahl

Nu är röstningen på kongressombuden igång till DIKs kongress, så är du medlem i DIK är det dags att göra din röst hög, personligen propagerar jag för att försöka få in så många arkeologer som möjligt. Läs mer här!

Själv är jag nominerad i valkrets Stockholm (långt ned på listan), du är varmt välkommen att rösta på mig – men det viktigaste är du röstar på någon du tror kan företräda dina intressen och göra DIK bättre!

Magnus Reuterdahl

Now is it a toy or a tool – well I think it’s a bit both – one example of this is Blekinge County museum – they have uploaded this picture from their archive

The picture is licenced under Creative Commons - BY-NC-SA 2.5 belonging to Blekinge County museum

 On the picture is an unknown family visiting a church, Amiralitetskyrkan in Karlskrona. The photo is dated to the turn on the century, ca 1900 and is but one out of 100s of pictures of this particular family – Now Bleking County museum is asking for help with identifying them via Plastr. See the Platsr page here.

So if you happen to know who they are – send Bleking County museum a mail

Magnus Reuterdahl

Långban is perhaps most famous for its smelting and mining areas where Iron has been mined since the 16th century. Around the mines the yeomenminers formed a small community, Långban.

During the 17th century the mines were closed but they reopened in 1711 and mining for Iron continued until 1956 and for dolomite until 1972. Långban has a geological claim to fame as more than 300 minerals has been found here, equal to ca 1/10 of all known minerals in the world, according to information signs this is the greatest number of minerals found in one place.

As mining has continued for such a long time the area is also interesting from a cultural historical point of view and the museum and area is well worth a visit. As I was going trough some old pictures I found these from a few years back of the mining area. So tag along we’re going to the mine

Happy Easter/Holidays etc

Magnus Reuterdahl

]]> http://inventerare.wordpress.com/2012/04/07/langban-smelting-and-mining-areas/feed/ 0 Reuterdahl Långbans hytta och gruvfält Långban 1 Långban 6 Långban 2 Långban 4 Långban 3 Långban 5 Långban old mine shaft http://inventerare.wordpress.com/2012/04/07/langban-smelting-and-mining-areas/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TestimonyOfTheSpade/~3/37lYDEJhip8/ http://inventerare.wordpress.com/2012/03/21/3727/#comments Wed, 21 Mar 2012 14:42:46 +0000 Magnus Reuterdahl http://inventerare.wordpress.com/?p=3727 ]]> Since a few months back I work at the Östergötland County Administrative Board as an archaeologist. A project that has been ongoing for some while, that I haven’t worked on, is a video-project displaying some of the ancient monuments in Östergötland County. Information on the films are presented here.

The first of at least four films was uploaded a few days ago via Youtube, it’s available in Swedish, English and Arabic and is about the Svaneholm castle ruin outside Mjölby built during the 14^th century.

The Swedish and Arabic version can be found here

Check it out!

Magnus Reuterdahl

Today I’ll attend a seminar on current research and projects concerning the Middle ages in Sweden åt Östergötland County museum, Linköping, Sweden. The seminars are being held by contract-archaeologist as well as resrearchers.

Among the seminars are:

Krokeks Cloister – the franciscan forest convent by Marie Ohlsen, Östergötland museum.

Devestation or restructring – the Linköping are during the Iron Age and Middle Ages by Karin Lindeblad & Maria Petersson, the National heritage board UV öst (east)

Ecological & social connections associated with the black death by Per Lagerås, the National heritage board UV syd (south)

Slaves, tradesfolk and common people – strangers during the middle ages and how we find them by Mats Roslund, archaeologist, Lund University.

To work with a gender perspective on historic landscapes by Elisabeth Gräslund berg, geographer, Stockholm University.

Hemvidakulla – a deserted farmstead in Ydre by Hans Andersson, professor emeritus historical archaeology, Lund University

Musical meetings – music during the Middle Ages by Lars Jonsson, music producer and artistic director, NoMeMus.

Etc etc.

This post will be updated during the day.

Magnus Reuterdahl

During the later part of he 19^th century Elof Tegner found a handwritten report in Italian archives regarding Svecana. It was this one and one written by Alessandro Bichi regarding his relations withSweden during 1696.

Lorenzo Magalotti (1637-1712) was a count who travelled the north of Europe and came toSwedenin 1674. There are also several sketches from his journeys. He enteredSwedenin June in Scania coming fromCopenhagenand travelled north and left in September.

A picture of Skeppsholmen ans Skeppsbron (Ships-bridge) in Stockholm as seen fromk the southsouthwest.

I’ve just started to read this fascinating description which could best be described as kind of spy report combined with personal notes. Here are notes on the political system, both officially and comments on how it works in reality, here are notes on architecture, daily life, the army & navy, on forts, on military strength, on framing, economics etc etc. I’ll get back to this in a later post or posts.

As he travelled he saw small as well as bigger villages, communities and cities. I also guess he made a far amount of stops – there is no mention where this inn was situated but this is how the “McDonalds” of the 17^th century in might have been.

Magnus Reuterdahl

This 2012 schedule:

Saturday 25/2

• From the Neolithic to a farming crisis – A farming historical research project on the north-eastern Smaland coast land and in land by Michael Dahlin & Mårten Aronsson
• A few reflections on the archaeological excavations and the reporting of the E22 project in Blekinge by – Elisabeth Rudebeck
• Mass production of green stone axes in western Blekinge by Kenneth Alexandersson
• The Vikings – a long history by Roger Wikell
• The Bronze Age in Blekinge – results from the E22 excavations by Helena Victor
• Actions at an urn grave field. A presentation of the results from Flyestock and ideas concerning ducumentations of grave fields by Fredrik Strandmark.
• About the excavation of the urns from the Flyestock grave field – methods and results by Torbjörn Brorsson.

Sunday 26/2

• Reuse of picture stones on Gotland during the Iron Age by Martin Rundkvist
• Props & Rit – traces of ritual actors with examples from the East Coast by Fredrik Gunnarsson
• The Risinge mound; the excavation of a large mound on Öland by Ludvig Papmehl-Dufay
• Brick making and maker stamps in Kalmar County by Örjan Molander
• Mesolithic bones in Iron Age huts, Övra Vannborga, Öland by Magnus Reuterdahl

Magnus Reuterdahl