"Out of sheer habit, I glanced around here and there. Suddenly I came across a place with several unbelievably beautiful rock carvings."
A ship from perhaps 3,000 years ago, filled with people. Notice how clearly the heads are shown. Or could they be warriors wearing helmets?(Photo: Private)
When the experienced rock carving hunter Tormod Fjeld was driving his daughter Ada to a nearby location, the two of them decided to take a closer look beneath Kolsåstoppen, a hill in Bærum, Eastern Norway.
That was when they found something remarkable: magnificent ships carved into the rock.
Perhaps these carvings show people in Norway 3,000 years ago – sitting in their ship, maybe even wearing helmets.
They also spotted a large footprint of the sole of a foot, as well as a hand with five thick fingers.
And then more ships appeared – some carved upright, others upside down.
Annonse
Who left a large footprint here in Bærum perhaps 3,000 years ago?(Photo: Private)
Reading the landscape
Fjeld tells Science Norway that hunting for rock carvings is largely about understanding the landscape.
"That's what I spend most time on. Interpreting the terrain and trying to figure out the different codes for the placement of the rock carvings," he says.
Ada shows off one of the ships.(Photo: Private)
Fjeld adds that this approach also makes him feel closer to the people who created the carvings.
"We archaeologists know that there are many cultural heritage sites that still haven't been registered," she says.
"We only document sites when roads, housing, or other infrastructure is planned in an area. We don't have the resources to search the way Fjeld does, so we really appreciate his contributions," she says.
Fjeld believes there are even more undiscovered rock carvings in the municipalities Asker and Bærum.
From 10 to over 70 sites
On the other side of the Oslofjord, around Drøbak in Frogn municipality, archaeologists had previously recorded 10 rock carving sites.
Fjeld has searched the area quite a bit since 2023.
So far, he has unvocered 70 new rock carving sites.
What kind of animal lived in Bærum 3,000 years ago?(Photo: Private)
Carved into sandstone
Annonse
"Something I find especially interesting about the new find in Bærum is that the carvings are made in sandstone," says Fjeld.
Tormod Fjeld has gained a lot of experience hunting for rock carvings.(Photo: Private)
This is unusual for him and his fellow rock carving hunters in Østfold, who typically find carvings in hard granite.
Sandstone has a completely different surface, he explains, and that means that the technique used is different.
"You can almost see each strike as a small indentation in the surface. It's also not as densely carved as in hard granite," he says.
