The Rock Art of Alta (Helleristningene i Alta) is found in and around Alta Municipality in Finnmark county, northern Norway. Since carvings were first discovered in 1973, more than 6,000 carvings have been found at several sites near Alta. The largest site, Jiepmaluokta, is about five kilometers (3.1 miles) from Alta and has thousands of carvings. This area has been made into an open-air museum. Along with other sites like Storsteines, Kåfjord, Amtmannsnes, and Transfarelv, the Rock Art of Alta was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites on December 3, 1985. It is Norway’s only World Heritage Site from ancient times.

The carvings were grouped into five categories by Professor Knut Helskog from the Department of Cultural Sciences at the University of Tromsø. Using shoreline dating, the oldest carvings were found to be from around 4200 BC, and the youngest were from around 500 BC. In 2010, researcher Jan Magne Gjerde found that the oldest carvings are about 1,000 years older than previously thought. The many different images show a culture of hunter-gatherers who could control reindeer herds, build boats, fish, and perform shamanistic rituals that included worshiping bears and other respected animals.

In April 2014, the World Heritage Rock Art Centre – Alta museum started a website called altarockart.no. This site is a digital archive with thousands of pictures and tracings of the rock art. In the future, it may also include other materials, such as 3D scans and articles.

Cultural and historical background

When the carvings were created, Norway was home to people who hunted and gathered food. Over nearly 5,000 years, during the late Stone Age and early Metal Age, the people of this region experienced many changes in their culture. These changes included the use of metal tools and improvements in boat building and fishing methods. The carvings show many different images and religious symbols. However, certain common designs, such as drawings of reindeer, appear throughout all the time periods. Rock carvings from the earliest period are very similar to those found in northwestern Russia, suggesting that people in these areas may have had contact or developed similar traditions at the same time.

The carvings in Alta were likely made with tools called quartzite chisels, which were struck with hammers made from harder rocks. Examples of these chisels have been discovered in the area and are displayed at Alta Museum. People continued to use rock chisels even after metal tools became available.

After the last ice age ended, Scandinavia began to rise from the ocean due to a process called post-glacial rebound. This movement is still visible today, but it was much faster in the past. It is believed that this rising land was noticeable during a person’s lifetime while the carvings in Alta were being made. Evidence strongly suggests that the carvings were originally created near the shoreline but were gradually moved inland by the rising land, where they are now located several dozen meters away from the coast.

Discovery and restoration

The first carvings were found in autumn 1973 near Jiepmaluokta, a Northern Sami name meaning "bay of seals," which is about 4 kilometers from the town center of Alta. During the 1970s, more carvings were discovered throughout Alta, with the highest number found near Jiepmaluokta (about 6,000 total carvings in the area, with over 3,000 located there). In the late 1980s, a 3-kilometer system of wooden walkways was built in the Jiepmaluokta area. In 1991, Alta's museum was moved from its previous location in the town center to the site of the rock carvings. While other areas near Alta also have carvings and new ones are still being found, only the Hjemmeluft area is included in the museum's official tour.

Most rocks in Alta are covered with thick layers of moss and lichen. When carvings are discovered, these plants are carefully removed to reveal the full details of the carvings. The carvings are then recorded using various methods, most commonly by painting quartz powder into the carvings, taking photographs, and using computers to enhance the images.

World Heritage Rock Art Centre – Alta Museum

The World Heritage Rock Art Centre – Alta Museum shows objects found in the area that are believed to be connected to the culture that made the carvings. It also has photos of the carvings, sections about Sami culture, information on the Aurora Borealis, and details about the history of slate mining in the area. The museum won the European Museum of the Year Award in 1993.

Imagery and interpretations

Possible reasons for the carvings include their use in spiritual ceremonies, symbols that showed group unity or marked a tribe’s land, a way to record important events, or simply for artistic expression. Because each carving shows many different images and was made over a very long time, it is likely that each carving may have had one of these purposes. Some common types of images include:

Many carvings show animals. Reindeer are most common and are often shown in large groups, either being cared for or hunted. Images of reindeer behind fences suggest that people worked together to hunt them. Other animals that appear often include elk, various birds, and different types of fish. Images of pregnant animals frequently show a young one inside the mother.

Bears seem to have been important in the culture of the carvers. They appear often in carvings and are shown not only as animals to be hunted but also in positions that suggest they were worshipped in a religious group. This is supported by the fact that bear worship was known in many ancient cultures in northwestern Russia and among the Sami people. Some carvings show tracks coming from bear dens. These tracks are often drawn vertically through the image, crossing the horizontal tracks of other animals. This has led some researchers to think that bears might have been connected to beliefs about the afterlife, as the vertical tracks suggest bears could move between different parts of the world. Carvings of bears stopped around 1700 BC, which might mean that religious beliefs changed around that time.

Many scenes with humans show hunters following their prey. These scenes were once thought to be about hunting rituals, but now researchers believe they may represent symbols for different tribes and show how tribes interacted. The use of throwing spears and bows and arrows is shown from the earliest carvings, meaning these tools were known to the carvers’ culture very early on. Fishermen are almost always shown using fishing lines, which suggests they knew how to make hooks and use bait.

Boats are an interesting part of the carvings. Small fishing boats appear in the oldest images, but later carvings show larger boats, some with up to 30 people and decorated with animal-shaped designs on the front and back, similar to those on Viking longboats. This, along with the discovery of similar carvings in southern Norway, suggests that people may have traveled long distances along the coast.

It is hard to understand the meaning of scenes showing people interacting. Scenes that seem to show a dance, food preparation, or sexual activity might also show religious rituals. Even if these carvings show everyday life, it is unclear why these scenes were carved. Images of sexuality might be linked to rituals about having children, and scenes of cooking might have been meant to bring more food. Some carvings show people with special headwear or positions that suggest they held important roles, such as priests, shamans, or tribal leaders. If these people were leaders, the scenes might show events like the beginning of a ruler’s reign, marriages between leaders, or alliances between tribes.

Among the most mysterious carvings are images of geometric shapes, which are mostly found in the oldest carvings. Some are round objects with edges, while others have patterns of horizontal and vertical lines. Some of these shapes have been thought to be tools, such as fishing nets, but most of these symbols still have no clear meaning.

Other sources

• Helskog, Knut (1988). Helleristningene i Alta: spor etter ritualer og dagligliv i Finnmarks forhistorie (in Norwegian). Alta: Alta museum. ISBN 82-991709-0-7.
• Sveen, Arvid (1996). Helleristninger. Jiepmaluokta, Hjemmeluft, Alta. Vadsø: Arvid Sveen. ISBN 9788299393201.
• Stenersen, Øivind; Libæk, Ivar (2003). The History of Norway. Lysaker: Dinamo Forlag. ISBN 8280710418.