Ruud Streefkerk

This is a part of an old fishing boat on the grounds of the Alta Museum in the far north of Norway. The long Altafjord connected the coast with the inland and was an important traffic-artery with a history that stretches over 5000 years, as witnessed by the large amount of petroglyphs made here. This place, Hjemmeluft, is now a World Heritage site. On either side of the bay, besides remnants of prehistoric settlements, some 3000 petroglyphs with a wide variety of motifs and scenes can be viewed via a 3 km long foot-bridge system. Hunting and fishing are central themes, as this was the basis of life for the inhabitants at the time. For example (as a top 5) the hunting of wild reindeer, bears and elk, whaling and halibut fishing are depicted. In addition, we find images of seabirds, dogs, wolves, foxes, hares and of course humans, but also various objects, tools and boats of all shapes and sizes. Today the petroglyphs are found 8m to 25m above sea level, but when they were made, they were located down below in the beach zone, where vegetation-free rocks were near to the sea. Due to the upward movement of the earth after the Ice Age, new rock surfaces still rise from the water.