Monday, April 22, 2013

NORWAY ~Alta rockcarvings- UNESCO ~

..Impressive well-preserved ancient art...Thanks a lot Jo for another wonderful UNESCO site of your country!!


With great stamp: Wild animals of Norway
The Golden Eagle (Issued 29-03-2006)
 The Rock Art of Alta consists of more than 5000 carvings and paintings on several sites around Alta. They were discovered in 1972. The main site contains around 3000 individual carvings and has been turned into an open-air museum. The earliest carvings in the area date to around 4200 BC; the most recent carvings are generally dated to around 500 BC.

They are primordial evidence of the fauna, representing reindeer, elks, bears, dogs and/or wolves, foxes, hares, geese, ducks, swans, cormorants, halibut, salmon and whales, and of the environment. They also depict boating, hunting, trapping and fishing scenes, as well as people taking part in dances and ritual acts. In the final phase, some agricultural activities, rendered precarious by the climate, appear to have supplemented certain staples traditionally provided by hunting and fishing.


The Rock Art of Alta was entered on the UNESCO World Heritage List 3rd December, 1885. The reason the rock art was entered on the list was that it is the most meaningful evidence of pre-historic human activity that exists in the north European region.

3 comments:

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    1. "Graag Gedaan"^__^ ... toch wel een beetje teleurstellend als je beseft dat je de meeste van deze prachtige en interessante plekken alleen maar op postkaarten te zien zult krijgen!

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