Helleristninger

Allan Krill's new interpretations of Scandinavian petroglyphs

In June 2021, while visiting the Alta helleristninger with my geology students, I realized that they could not have been pecked with pointed stones. Stone points are brittle and shatter when struck. We can see that the pecking tool was very sharp and accurately positioned, and kept its shape, strike after strike. The pointed tool must have been wrought iron, and the petroglyphs must be from the Iron Age, not the Stone Age.

Some of the petroglyph images are Viking-style longships, with crews of more than 30 men. I reasoned that it would require iron nails to build and repair such large boats. The petroglyph artists could travel on longships, and use spare boat nails for engraving. The petroglyph artists probably visited Alta in the summers, like I did.

Nailpoint engraving technique.  Left: Longship with animal-head prow and a crew of 30 men.  Right: Cervid (reindeer, moose, or elk.)


From studying photographs and tracings of petroglyphs, I now think that only four artistsÑwhom I call Steinn Stikkmann, BŒrdr BŒtmann, Ingi Innrisser, and Oddr OmrisserÑmade nearly all the petroglyphs in Norway, Sweden, and NW Russia. They traveled great distances like the modern wall-artist Banksy. There are no pecked petroglyphs in Finland, or in much of central Sweden, or in Aust-Agder Norway, simply because no petroglyph artists went there. Ê

          Click here to see images of petroglyphs at the sites on this map.


                                                                         

I think that Steinn Stikkmann invented the nailpoint technique, and the other three artists got the idea from him. There are runes on three of his earliest rock panels (Stuberg, Tessem, KŒrstad), written with characters of the Elder Futhark alphabet. They were in use about 400 CE, so I think that gives us the age of the oldest petroglyphs. All four artists sometimes showed longships with animal-head prows, like Viking dragon-head prows. But Viking longships had sails. Since none of the hundreds of petroglyph boats show sails, the petroglyphs must have been made before 800 CE.
 
It's fun to consider the skills, styles, and motifs of the artists, and speculate about their artistic careers and travels.

Steinn Stikkmann discovered how to use a wrought iron nail as a 'stabbing tool' (stikkvŒpen) to engrave relatively soft rocks in Melhus and Foss in central Norway. He practiced engraving by making round cup marks, and sets of matching shoe prints that never show a pattern of walking. He also tried engraving with a knife point on a few soft rock panels (Melhus, Hagen). His art is highly stylized and easy to recognize. He drew lots of boats, with two stems fore and two stems aft, like the Iron Age boat that was buried at Hjortspring, Denmark in about 350 BCE. But most of Stikkmann's boats were bigger and probably later versions of that design. He drew extremely thin horses, men with exaggerated calf muscles, long necks, and often with phallusesÑsometimes an obvious phallus, but otherwise disguised as a possible knife, sword, stick, or misplaced line.
       Stikkmann's petroglyph sites show where he traveled. From Gauldalen (Melhus and Foss) in central Norway he went to Selbustranda, and then to Stj¿rdal, where he probably stayed for a year or so, producing petroglyphs at over 20 sites (Leirfall, Fordal, Hegre, and others.) Then he went to Steinkjer, where he worked at a few sites (Bardal, Hammer, Tessem) and took a trip to Nordland (Tro, Tj¿tta). He left central Norway and went by longship along the coast of western Norway, leaving petroglyphs at Gursk¿y (Roskar), Nordfjord (KŒrstad, Austrheim), Askvoll (Staveneset, LeirvŒg), Hardangerfjord (Jondal, Bakke, Etne), and Stavanger (¯lb¿r, Sola). From Hardangerfjord he traveled inland to Telemark, engraving panels at Sporaneset and Skien (Gjerpen). He did not go by boat around southern Norway. That is why there are no petroglyphs west of Skagerak.
       Stikkmann then spent many years working with the Bohus granite, east of Skagerak. He made petroglyphs on over 3000 rock panels there, which could be an average of 100 panels per year for 30 years. The Bohus granite was ideal for his petroglyphs. It is hard and fresh, with no layering and relatively few fractures. (Vigeland carved his monolith and statues out of Bohus granite.) Stikkmann took some long trips beyond the Bohus granite. He visited eastern Sweden near Stockholm, the southern tip of Sweden, and the islands Gotland and Bornholm. He must have been famous, because he was asked to make the artwork for the 'King's Grave' at Kivik. I suppose that he owned no house or property, and that people gave him room and board wherever he traveled.



BŒrdr BŒtmann lived in the Stavanger area. He traveled the least of the four artists. He probably met Stikkmann or saw his work at Sola (¯lb¿r), and was inspired to use Stikkmann's nailpoint technique to make petroglyphs himself. He also practiced by making cup marks and shoe prints. He engraved many boats similar to Stikkmann's, but very few other motifs, and nothing specially fanciful.



Ingi Innrisser had the widest variety of motifs and artistic styles, and traveled the farthest. He worked from Finnmark (Alta, Slettnes) in the north to Oslo (Ekeberg) in the south, and from Vingen and Ausevik in the west to Russia (Kanozero, Vyg, Onega) in the east. He never went to southwest Norway or southern Sweden. He often drew cervids Ñ deer, reindeer, moose, or elk Ñ and decorated their bodies with various patterns, including geometric designs. He showed the internal organs of cervids in Sweden (Glšsa), and also on a trip in eastern Norway (Ekeberg, skollen), and one or more trips to Finnmark. I think he got the idea of drawing internal organs from Oddr Omrisser, and they probably traveled together sometimes. Innrisser made elaborate story pictures: the migration of 100 cervids at Vingen and 30 at Gamnes, S‡mi people in Alta gathering domestic reindeer in corrals, men hunting cervids at NŠmforsen, men on skis hunting cervids and bears at Vyg and Kanozero, and fleets of boats harpooning beluga whales in the White Sea (Vyg).



Oddr Omrisser was the last of the four main petroglyph artists. He had the curious habit of cluttering rock panels by carving new and inappropriate images on top of others. He did that on most of his own panels, and on Stikkmann-panels at Bardal and Hammer, on BŒtmann-panels at m¿y, and on Innrisser-panels at Alta, NŠmforsen, and Bogge. He usually made outlines of his objects Ñ of animals, of boats, of people, and even of the antlers of reindeer and the penises of men. He made things large and life size when possible. His images are typically overlapping and incomplete. Early in his career he made petroglyph paintings in central Sweden (FŒngsjšn, HŠstskotjŠrn). He used red ocher pigment, probably mixed with oil or fat that penetrates the rock surface and is still visible after more than a thousand years.
       Omrisser was a naturalist, and his animal drawings were usually highly naturalistic. It is possible to identify the species of his cervids, birds, fish, and whales. He usually drew a line for the mouth, but no eye, and often ignored the feet. He sometimes showed internal organs.
       Omrisser used four different petroglyph techniques during his career. He used red ocher stain in Sweden. After that he mostly used the nailpoint technique, but on one panel of soft rocks at Hell he engraved using the point of a knife. Late in his career he discovered that he could quickly and easily make large petroglyphs by scraping away black lichen on the surfaces of white granites. He made life-sized and life-like animal petroglyphs using that technique at seven coastal sites in Nordland (Leiknes, Nes, Valle, Sagelva, Mj¿nes, m¿ya, and Fykanvatn). Although Omrisser was the last of the four main petroglyph artists, in later Viking times artists carved runestones using the same techniques.



Petroglyphs cannot be dated directly, and that has been a problem in archaeology. People expect archaeologists to tell how old petroglyphs are, and everyone appreciates artifacts more if they are very old. Archaeologists adopted the 'shoreline dating' method and misuse it to give Stone Age dates. Shoreline dating gives the times that land areas were lifted above the sea, but those are geological ages Ñ the oldest possible times of human activity along the coasts. Shoreline dating and Stone Age archaeology became firmly established by the claims of Anders Nummedal.
       Nummedal was a school teacher with an education in geology. I contend that he made artifacts himself, and then said he found them on uplifted beach terraces from 1909 to 1939. Many of those artifacts are beach cobbles of poor quality stone. There are no rust stains or lichens on the knapped surfaces, showing that the stones are freshly knapped (chipped). His goal was to create a belief in Stone Age inhabitants, and to create an archaeology career for himself. He fabricated finds on uplifted Stone Age beaches at over 200 sites in central Norway, and over 60 sites in Finnmark. He wrote that he easily found knapped stones, and that it was his fate to discover Norway's prehistoric settlements.
       Archaeologists were fooled by Nummedal's deceit for many years. Then they avoided noticing it, so as to not damage the reputation of archaeology and their own careers. I have explained Nummedal's hoaxes in detail at Hoaxyz.com, and translated his most influential book Le Finnmarkien. My goal is to encourage archaeology students to read Nummedal's work and be aware of his falsifications.

My alternative paradigm is shunned by Scandinavian archaeologists, whose paradigm maintains that petroglyphs were made by local inhabitants during rituals over thousands of years. New students can accept whatever paradigm is taught to them, but professionals whose expertise lies within a paradigm naturally try to avoid a paradigm shift. (I know this from research for my book about the geological paradigm shift to plate tectonics.) I am a meddling outsider, and archaeologists do not communicate with me or come to my lectures, and journal editors return my manuscripts. But as a professor, I want to document my work and advise students. The links below record my evidence and evolving hypotheses, including hypotheses that I have abandoned.
 
Allan Krill, Professor of Geology
allankrill@gmail.com

Documentation of evidence and the development of this new paradigm.
Messages at https://groups.io/g/VikingRockArt
 

236. Alphabetical list of petroglyph sites and artists

248/249/250. Stikkmann preferred Iddefjord (Bohus) granite panels for his petroglyphs (12-2024)

247. Petroglyphs in Skien, tracings by Marstrander (1969) (12-2024)

246. Examples (2) of petroglyphs from the book 'HŠllristningar och Kultbruk' by Almgren (1927)

245. Examples (1) of petroglyphs from the book 'HŠllristningar och Kultbruk' by Almgren (1927)

244. Stikkmann's petroglyphs date the Kivik King's Grave to about 400 CE (12-2024)

242. ItÕs time to admit that petroglyphs of supposed 'Bronze Age boats' are all from the Iron Age

241. Distinctive images: Another huge Stikkmann longship discovered this month (11-2024)

238. Ingi Innrisser could have made all the '¯stnorske veideristninger' in a single summer

237. Distinctive images: Outlines of bears, by Oddr Omrisser (11-2024)

235. The rock art painting motifs in Finland are very different than those in northern Sweden

234. Ramqvist map shows limited motifs of ocher petroglyphs in northern Sweden (11-2024)

233. Map from Jamtli.com of all known ocher-paint petroglyph sites in northern Sweden (11-2024)

232. Ocher-paint petroglyphs in Mid-Norway (11-2024)

231. Distinctive images: Porpoises, by Oddr Omrisser (11-2024)

230/239. Oddr Omrisser made ocher paintings in Sweden in winter, standing on ice-covered lakes

226/227/228/229. Did Innrisser carve the 'Surnadal man' before or after the 'Ausevik men'? (11-2024)

225. Stikkmann traveled to ¯stfold-BohuslŠn via Sporaneset, missing Aust-Agder (11-2024)

224. Maps of BŒrdr BŒtmann's sites in Stavanger and SW Norway, from Fett & Fett (1941) (11-2024)

223. Oddr OmrisserÕs sites and works in Mid Norway and Sweden (11-2024)

222. Stein Stikkmann, BŒrdr BŒtmann, Ingi Innrisser & Oddr Omrisser were 'pre-Viking Banksys'

221. Distinctive images: A big fish (by Omrisser) on top of other petroglyphs at Alta and Stavanger

220/252. Distinctive images: Elder Futhark runes (c. 400 AD) at Tessem and KŒrstad, by Steinn Stikkmann

219. How could one artist produce petroglyphs at 2700 sites in the ¯stfold-BohuslŠn area? (11-2024)

216. Distinctive images: Deer looking back, by Oddr Omrisser (11-2024)

214 & 217. Distinctive images: A few 'giants' on a longship, by Steinn Stikkmann (11-2024)

213 & 215. Distinctive images: Complex scenes, by Ingi Innrisser (10-2024)

212. Distinctive images: Large, naturalistic animals, by Oddr Omrisser (10-2024)

211. Distinctive images: Chariot pulled by 2 thin horses, by Steinn Stikkmann (10-2024)

209. Distinctive images: Isolated deer head, by Oddr Omrisser (10-2024)

208. Distinctive images: Man approaching tiny woman from behind, by Oddr Omrisser (10-2024)

207. Distinctive images: Rhombs with 3D effect, by Oddr Omrisser (10-2024)

206/243. Distinctive images: Processions, by Steinn Stikkmann (10-2024)

204. Map of sites where 4 petroglyph artists worked, and 3 areas where no petroglyphs are known

199. Petroglyphs tell about the 'Pre-Viking Age' in Scandinavia (10-2024)

198. Photos from Johs. B¿e (1932) show that a sharp point was used to peck Vingen petroglyphs

197. 'Omrisser' (Outliner) never visited Vingen (10-2024)

196. All the helleristninger at Vingen were made by one visiting artist: 'Innrisser' (Inliner) (10-2024)

195. 'Inliner' may have used boat nails from Slettnes III to make petroglyphs at Slettnes IV (5-2024)

194. Inliner's work now recognized on boulders at Slettnes  (5-2024)

193. Stickman (the first) and Outliner (the last) of the great Scandinavian petroglyph artists (12-2023)

(Video) Lecture on Stickman and Outliner (first 40 seconds in Norwegian, then 35 minutes in English)

191. Lecture on Stickman and Outliner (20 figures)  (11-2023)

190. Map of 90 petroglyph sites and typology used to identify 7 artists  (10-2023)

181. Red-ochre painting at Tingvoll and at FŒngsjšn: a fourth rock-art technique used by Outliner

178. Map of 90 sites where petroglyph artists worked, and 3 areas where none are known  (8-2023)

173. Stickman may have made all of the petroglyphs in the ¯stfold-BohuslŠn area  (8-2023)

172. Why are there no known petroglyph sites in Aust-Agder?  (8-2023)

171. Outliner's large humans at Alta, Bardal, B¿la, Evenhus, Forselv, and LŒnke  (8-2023)

170. Futhark runes and a swastika independently date the KŒrstad petroglyphs to about 400 AD

165. KŒrstad petroglyphs (200-500 AD) show runes and Hjortspring-style boats  (7-2023)

163. Outliner learned to draw longships at m¿y (Stavanger) and then drew them at Apana (Alta)

161. At Bogge, chasing after petroglyph artists (7-2023)

158. Longship and boat petroglyphs at Apana gŒrd Alta (7-2023)

155. Matching images at 9 and 23 meters above sea level at Alta (7-2023)

121/154. Lumpers and splitters: I am a lumper, whereas archaeologists have refused to lump (2)

152. Who made the longships of Iron-Age-style at Apana, Alta? (7-2023)

150. Outliner carved outsized petroglyphs on top of previous artworks at Bogge, Bardal, Alta (2)

148. Learn to recognize Outliner's boats (7-2023)

147. "...boat depictions comparable to the South Scandinavian Bronze Age and Iron Age boats"

146. Bergbukten 1 (Alta): two artworks for the price of one (7-2023)

141/145. Inliner's 'nailpoint' reindeer at Apana gŒrd (8-10 m. above present sea level) (7-2023)

144. The famous petroglyph 'Man on skis' was probably meant to be a man standing in a boat

143. Two 'owners' of reindeer at Bergbukten 4B Alta ('Inliner' and 'Outliner') (7-2023)

142. Animal-head sticks and animal-head boats in Alta petroglyphs (7-2023)

140 & 149 & 153. Map of six petroglyph artists and sites where they worked (3) (7-2023)

139. Amtmann Ñ another petroglyph artist that can be recognized at Alta (7-2023)

137 & 138. A few hours' work by Outliner at KŒfjord, Alta (2) (7-2023)

136. Outliner carved outsized petroglyphs on top of previous artworks at Bogge, Bardal, Alta

133. Outliner's petroglyphs are easy to recognize, and found only in the north (2) (7-2023)

132. Stykket is an example of 'distressed' art by Outliner (7-2023)

131. Petroglyphs at Leiknes: rock art from one year, or from five hundred years? (2) (7-2023)

130. Petroglyphs at Alta that I ascribe to Outliner and Inliner (tracings in the book by Helskog)

128. Some petroglyph moose at Alta that I ascribe to Outliner and Inliner (7-2023)

126. Some petroglyphs in central Scandianvia that I ascribe to Outliner and Inliner (7-2023)

125. Archaeologists struggle to keep thinking inside Nummedal's faked box (7-2023)

124. Outliner's petroglyphs are easy to recognize, and found only in the north  (7-2023)

123. Outliner drew 'bulging' eyes at Brennholtet and Leiknes, and unique mouth lines  (7-2023)

122. Iron longship nails were ideal for making 'nailpoint' petroglyphs  (7-2023)

120. Photos taken at Tennes (GrŒberget, Balsfjord) in northern Norway (6-2023)

118. Photos taken at Tennes (Kirkely, Balsfjord) in northern Norway (6-2023)

117. Photos taken at Tennes (Bukkhammaren, Balsfjord) in northern Norway (6-2023)

116. Petroglyphs at Leiknes: rock art from one year, or from five hundred years? (6-2023)

115. No petroglyphs or Viking artifacts have been found in Finland (6-2023)

114. Outliner's nailpoint art at the Ole Pedersen site, Hjemmeluft, Alta (6-2023)

113. Why my manuscripts were rejected by the journals ÔVikingÕ and ÔPrimitive TiderÕ

112. Stickman's early showpiece at Leirfall is currently closed to the public (6-2023)

109. Outliner's elegant pose: deer looking backward (6-2023)

108. Close-up photos of Inliner's 'nailpoint art' at the Ole Pedersen site, Hjemmeluft, Alta

106. Map of five petroglyph artists and sites where they worked (6-2023)

103. Outliner 'scraped' his petroglyphs in Nordland (he did not 'polish' them) (6-2023)

102. Ismo Luukkonen shows petroglyphs of 83 Scandinavian sites for you to study at home

101. Outliner's reindeer and moose at Fykanvatnet, near Glomfjord (6-2023)

100. Outliner's scraped moose petroglyph at Mj¿nes (VŒgan) (6-2023)

99. Outliner's reindeer and man at B¿la, near Steinkjer (6-2023)

98. Outliner's 'design-signature' at Hell (near Stj¿rdal) and Forselv (near Narvik) (6-2023)

97. Inliner's 'nailpoint art' at KŒfjord, Alta (6-2023)

96. Outliner's 'nailpoint art' in a one-man show at Apanes, Alta (6-2023)

95. No petroglyphs are found in suitable rocks near the shorelines (why not?) (6-2023)

93. Map of three main petroglyph artists (6-2023)

92. It was typical of Outliner to ignore the feet (5-2023)

91. Alta - KŒfjord petroglyphs seem to show early S‡mi culture and early Viking culture

89. Distinguishing between Inliner's work and Outliner's work at Alta (5-2023)

87 & 88. Outliner drew collars on some of his reindeer (2) (5-2023)

86. A boat with a square sail (5-2023)

85. S‡mi people lived with domesticated reindeer also before Viking times (5-2023)

84. Stickman trained in soft sedimentary rocks in the Stj¿rdal area (5-2023)

82. Outliner used three different techniques to outline bodies and body parts (5-2023)

81. Three artists made nearly all the petroglyphs around Trondheimsfjorden (5-2023)

80. Runes and petroglyphs at Ystines / Ydstines near Stj¿rdal (5-2023)

79. Petroglyph artists probably spoke a Scandinavian language (5-2023)

78. Inliner probably traveled to Ekeberg (Oslo) by boat, not by foot (5-2023)

77. Artist's names are not set in stone (5-2023)

76. Digital caliper: a new tool for describing petroglyphs (5-2023)

75. A paradigm for Scandinavian petroglyphs (manuscript to journal Primitive Tider) (3-2023)

66. Shoe prints. Artists often learn or copy from others (2-2023)

64. Names of places where petroglyph artists exhibited their work (2-2023)

62. Five petroglyph artists can be recognized by their motifs and artistic styles (manus. in prep)

61. An alternative interpretation of some petroglyphs in Finnmark (manuscript to journal Viking)

59. Boats with animal heads among petroglyphs at Peterborough Canada (1-2023)

56. Vikings visited many coasts and rivers in their longships (1-2023)

55. Petroglyphs in Peterborough Canada, probably made by a Viking artist (1-2023)

53. "Shoreline dates" are not really dates at all. Better to call them "Shore maximum ages" 

52. Hard rocks can't be engraved using sharp stone-age tools. Most Scandinavian rocks are hard.

51. A simple explanation for petroglyph cup marks  (12-2022)

45-49. 'Iron-age Banksys': how widely did they spread their wall-art? (5)  (11-2022)

44. Most petroglyphs were made within sight and shouting distance of the shoreline  (11-2022)

43. Petroglyph shoreline dates should be referred to as Çshore-limiting datesÈ  (11-2022)

42. Lichen grows on all exposed rocks in Norway  (11-2022)

39. Shoreline dating improperly used to date Vyg whale hunting  (11-2022)

38. Petroglyph evidence for cultural exchange between Vikings and S‡mi  (11-2022)

36. NŠmforsen petroglyphs supposedly show a 4000-year spread of carvings  (7-2023)

34. Petroglyph artists (300-800 AD) were Scandinavian and did not visit Finland  (11-2022)

33. What does this strange petroglyph really show?  (11-2022)

32. Spoiler alert: my musings kill good stories and eliminate fun puzzles  (11-2022)

31. Arctic summer hunting trips, destination Alta  (11-2022)

30. The Gamnes petroglyph and knapped-flint site can be no older than 1700 years 

29. See how flint arrowheads are knapped (Youtube)  (11-2022)

27. Newly discovered petroglyphs at 26 m show shoreline-dating gives us falsely old ages

26. Grahame Clark (1975): The Earlier Stone Age Settlement of Scandinavia  (11-2022)

24. How 'shoreline dating' has been used for Alta petroglyphs  (11-2022)

21. A petroglyph of a longship with an animal-head prow nails its age  (11-2022)

20. Biases maximize the age and archaeological value of Leirfall petroglyphs  (11-2022)

19. The Professor's Old Claims  (12-2022)

17. A Viking-age neck ring (torc) brought to Alta and abandoned there  (11-2022)

16. Why Alta petroglyphs do not include women and children  (11-2022)

15. "Here's our stuff. Ready to use again this summer!"  (11-2022)

14. 30 rowers (15 pairs) in a longship in Alta  (11-2022)

13. Ships with an animal-head prow, manned by long-distance rowers  (10-2022)

12. The Kvalsund ship from 780 AD resembles an Alta petroglyph  (10-2022)

11. The Hjortspring boat (350 BCE) had a crew of 20 rowers. It was built without nails  (10-2022)

10. Alta petroglyph boats. Myth vs. reality  (10-2022)

9. Could Alta boats really have been made before iron nails were available?  (10-2022)

8. The words "Viking" and "Iron" are taboo in archaeology publications on Nordic petroglyphs 

7. L¿d¿en (2015) on the experimental production of petroglyph images using a stone tool

6. The petroglyph artist at Storsteinen had no "sketchbook", only one "page" to draw on

5. Deep narrow engravings could not have been made before metal chisels were available

4. BŒrd Amundsen's article on the Viking-like culture that is said to be over 3000 years old

3. Jan Magne Gjerde (2010) Rock art and landscapes  (10-2022)

2. Alta rock art is probably Viking rock art  (10-2022)

1. Boat petroglyphs at Alta, Norway (photos at Donsmaps.com)  (10-2022)


Allan Krill