Tanumshede

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Tanumshede


image_caption =
pushpin_

subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = Sweden
subdivision_type1 = Municipality
subdivision_name1 = Tanum Municipality
subdivision_type2 = County
subdivision_name2 = Västra Götaland County
subdivision_type3 = Province
subdivision_name3 = Bohuslän
area_footnotes = cite web |title=Tätorternas landareal, folkmängd och invånare per km² 2000 och 2005 |publisher=Statistics Sweden |url=http://www.scb.se/statistik/MI/MI0810/2005A01B/T%E4torternami0810tab1.xls |format=xls |language=Swedish |accessdate=2008-05-15]
area_total_km2 = 1.86
population_as_of = 2005-12-31
population_footnotes =
population_total = 1,597
population_density_km2 = 859
timezone = CET
utc_offset = +1
timezone_DST = CEST
utc_offset_DST = +2
latd=58 |latm=43 |lats=25 |latNS=N
longd=11 |longm=19 |longs=25 |longEW=E
website =

Tanumshede is a town in Bohuslän, Västra Götaland County in western Sweden with a population of 1,600. It is the seat of Tanum Municipality. The area around Tanumshede has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO because of the high concentration of petroglyphs.

The largest flat rock of Nordic Bronze Age petroglyphs in Scandinavia, the "Vitlyckehäll", is located in Tanumshede. It was discovered in 1972 by Age Nilsen, who was originally intending to place an explosive charge for construction work.

In total there are about 3000 Tanum petroglyphs, occurring in about 100 panels. These are concentrated in five distinct areas along a 25 km stretch, which was the coastline of a fjord during the Bronze Age, and covers an area of about 51 hectares (126 acres or 0.5 km²).

Scandinavian Bronze Age and Iron Age people were sophisticated woodworkers and very competent travelers by water. (Dates for ages vary with the region; in Scandinavia, the Bronze Age is roughly 1800 to 600 BCE) Some of the glyphs depict long boats of the Hjortspring boat type carrying around a dozen passengers. Wagons or carts are also depicted.

One glyph depicts a hunter with a bow, and others depict hunting scenes. Some of the stone pictures show people performing agrarian tasks. There is a human at a plough drawn by two oxen, holding what might be a branch or an ox-goading crop made of a number of strips of hide.

The rock carvings are endangered by erosion due to pollution. To the dismay of some archaeologists, they have been painted red to make them more visible for tourists.

Gallery

Infobox World Heritage Site
WHS = Rock Carvings of Tanum


State Party = SWE
Type = Cultural
Criteria = i, iii, iv
ID = 557
Region = Europe and North America
Year = 1994
Session = 18th
Link = http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/557

References

*Coles, John, "And On They Went ... Processions in Scandinavian Bronze Age rock carvings", Acta Archaeologica 74 (2003), 211–250. [http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.0065-001X.2003.aar740105.x]

External links

* [http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/557 UNESCO World Heritage Site listing]
* [http://www.rockartscandinavia.se/uk/start.html Scandinavian Society for Prehistoric Art] , a society working to document the carvings and running the Tanum Museum of Rock Carvings