Rock carvings at Åsli
Encyclopedia
The rock carvings at Åsli in Malangen
in Balsfjord
municipality in Norway
comprise at least 15 figures in poor condition. The figures are from a hunting culture.
. There are also figures of porpoise
, a boat, and possibly a moose
. Most of the figures are small, but the largest figure is about 1 meter.
Åsli farm that is in Nordfjorden about 1 km from Storsteinnes
in Balsfjord
. Due to the poor condition of the figures they can be difficult to spot.
Malangen
Malangen is a fjord and a former municipality in Troms county in Norway. The fjord is located between the islands of Kvaløya and Senja and the area today is divided between the municipalities of Balsfjord, Lenvik, Tromsø, and Målselv...
in Balsfjord
Balsfjord
Balsfjord is a municipality in Troms county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Storsteinnes, while Nordkjosbotn at the head of the fjord is another village....
municipality in Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
comprise at least 15 figures in poor condition. The figures are from a hunting culture.
The rock carvings
There are at least 15 figures on a 20 m² (24 yd²) field that is about 20 meters above the sea level. At least 8 of the figures are of reindeerReindeer
The reindeer , also known as the caribou in North America, is a deer from the Arctic and Subarctic, including both resident and migratory populations. While overall widespread and numerous, some of its subspecies are rare and one has already gone extinct.Reindeer vary considerably in color and size...
. There are also figures of porpoise
Porpoise
Porpoises are small cetaceans of the family Phocoenidae; they are related to whales and dolphins. They are distinct from dolphins, although the word "porpoise" has been used to refer to any small dolphin, especially by sailors and fishermen...
, a boat, and possibly a moose
Moose
The moose or Eurasian elk is the largest extant species in the deer family. Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with a dendritic configuration...
. Most of the figures are small, but the largest figure is about 1 meter.
How to get there
The field is on a rock (svaberg) by a water fall on the river starting from Nordfjordvatnet, above theÅsli farm that is in Nordfjorden about 1 km from Storsteinnes
Storsteinnes
Storsteinnes is the administrative center of the municipality of Balsfjord in Troms county, Norway. Its population of 937 makes it the largest urban area in the municipality.-Location:...
in Balsfjord
Balsfjord
Balsfjord is a municipality in Troms county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Storsteinnes, while Nordkjosbotn at the head of the fjord is another village....
. Due to the poor condition of the figures they can be difficult to spot.
See also
- PetroglyphPetroglyphPetroglyphs are pictogram and logogram images created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, and abrading. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions of the technique to refer to such images...
- Pre-historic artPre-historic artIn the history of art, prehistoric art is all art produced in preliterate, prehistorical cultures beginning somewhere in very late geological history, and generally continuing until that culture either develops writing or other methods of record-keeping, or it makes significant contact with another...
- Rock carvings at TennesRock carvings at TennesRock carvings at Tennes in Balsfjord, Troms county, Norway comprise figures of prehistoric rock art . The oldest figures have been dated to 4600 before the Current Era and the earliest to about 2600 BCE...
- List of rock carvings in Norway