Encultured Rocks Encounter with a Ritual World of the Bronze Age

There is an intriguing rock-carving place at Flyhov in the province of Västergötland, southern Sweden. The carved images appear on a series of flat rocks in connection to a number of pointed oval hollows, that are linked to each other in rows suggestive of boats joined together stem by stem. It is argued that the hollowed-out boats in the rock made this a significant place for rock-carvings. Certain phenomena of nature were ritually important during the Bronze Age, and some elements like rock and water may have had a transformati ve character. Metaphoric understanding of images is used to inspire interpretations of the meaning of the Bronze Age rock-carvings.

If you stand in front of Saint Sigfrid's spring you are facing the southern slope of the mountain Kinnekulle.If you continue on the road to the north-east, the landscape opens up as you walk, and after about one and a half kilometres you see pastureland on the right hand side.At this time you may have a presentiment of the special place you are about to meet, although you still can not see what is hidden in the vegetation.Walk down on the slabs of sandstone rock and let yourself expe- rience the encounter with a ritual world of the Bronze Age.
I have visited the rock-carvings at Flyhov only twice, the first time on a hot summer day a few years ago, and the second time with the Stockholm University archaeological seminar on a sunny afternoon in September I 996.Both times the place insisted upon interpretation, both times the hollows in the rocks were filled with water despite the lovely weather.
The carved images resemble ones we know from other areas that are richer in carvings.
There are ships, circle-crosses, cupmarks, animals and humans.They mix well with the conspicuous rock hollows, and at first sight the different elements seem to make up an inseparable whole.It becomes impossible to rethink the images without repeatedly sliding in thought to the distinct hollows and their boatlike shape.
The form of the boat has inspired the Swedish artist Bertil Vallien.Through some of his glass sculptures he mediates hi s own inter- pretation of the concept of the boat.Perhaps Current Sweclish Archaeologv, Vol. 6, 1998 Fig. I.Is thisan encultured rock?A rich worldofcarvedimagesis almost concealedin the landscape and inedi ates the sense ofa secret hi ding place.The numher ofwater filled hollows supports thi s feeling as you ivalk over the rocks.How inany slabs are there?You search for additimial carvi»gs, but caii not discover them unril you are so close thai you ahi&ost trample on them.The images as well as the phice are bi tiden in tlze rocks.Photo: Pehr Hasselrot.
the feeling expressed in these works of art can bring something new to our comprehension of what the boat-shape as idea can contain and symbolise.Bertil Vallien from his different stance, can contribute meaningful associations to archaeological interpretations as well, since he is inspired by the prehistoric world of form.His works have often been interpreted and described in terms of embracing past meanings.Among others, Dr. Helmuth Ricke, Deputy Director of the Dusseldorf Museum of Art, has written expressively about Vallien's boats.He ends the analytical journey through time and symbolic significance with the sim- ple statement: "I am interested in the tracks that human beings leave behind when they cease to exist.Berti I Vallien 's boat seems to be connected to this thenze" (Lindqvist 1994: 127).
A key question is whether someone with the intention of creating art can capture essences of a phenomenon that mediate understanding in a different way from that of archaeologists.

FROM TEXT TO THING
The view that material culture can be inter- preted through textual metaphors has been frequently emphasised (e.g. in Reading the Past, Hodder 1986;Reading Material Culture, Ed.Tilley 1990; Material Culture and Text, Tilley 1991; and a number of articles).The same idea has also been called into question and discussed through different angles.Of course, the advocates of the view use linguistics as a theoretical tool and are aware that material culture is in fact not text.But never- theless, sometimes the metaphor tends to take over and absorb the prospects of the studied phenomenon.This is why it is important to note that, while we are aware of the possibilities offered by the textual framework, we should also discuss the distinctive character of things created by people.In fact one can say that some of the linguistic analysis in rock art research, during the 1960s and '70s as well as during the revival in the '90s, have had con- straining consequences.The risk is that too much attention is gi ven to the presumed syn- tax at the expense of the relation to the rock face (Lewis-Williams 1995:74f), and that a significant context is lost.
Material culture is different from words or text on a crucial point: it can express what is not comprehensible in spoken or written lan- guage.This applies also to other humanities and art forms.Some of its meaning may depend on the non-verbal manifestation that must be experienced rather than described (Molander   1995:8Q.As text is the main tool for scholarly explanation in our society, we are likely to lose or distort some significance in the interpreta- tion of past times.In archaeological texts the explanation is given in words; pictures are often used only as illustrations to what has already been expressed textually.In line with J. Hillis Miller (1992) it is important to stress the relation between words and pictures and the additional meanings that may be produced through the active use of images (also Shanks  & Hodder 1995:26fl.Images do not only serve as illustrations, but also convey arguments that have impact on the textual account and the rendered repre- sentation of the past.The use of illustrations, for example reconstructions and models, is crucial to the apprehension of the past and therefore influences new ideas and furthers the production of knowledge (Moser & Gamble 1997:185fJ.The prejudice that is mediated through pictures is often less questioned than arguments in a text, and is more difficult to escape.When illustrations are used uncon- sciously they may continue to reproduce old biases about problems of which there is little archaeological knowledge (Moser & Gamble  1997:188f;Stoczkowski 1997:249ff)  In the essay "Photography and archaeology" (1997),Michael Shanks discusses the potential ofphotowork beyond the recording, document- ing and illustrative functions.Earlier he made some attempts to actively use the explanatory possibilities of pictures in Experiencing the Past (1992), where the photographs and photo-collages are designed to add meaning beyond the text.The photowork is not, in the first hand, considered to be realistic, but to convey illustrative discourse and create connections that help to achieve new insights (1997:84).
Can images that give a metaphoric under- standing ofa problem be considered as valuable in the archaeological discourse?Although not everyone may agree, some of the striving for scientificness of the past can in fact have transported us further and further from the expression of the rock-carvings.Form is good to think with and is often underestimated in archaeological texts."When Bertil Valli en says 'Glass eats li ght ' he means that the light is bound within his glass sculpturesand i t is true that they bear aiz inizer, mystical light that has a hidden source.The li ght seldom emi tsfrom the interior but is ever-presezzt aizd indefiizable.At times one is reminded of the glass-nzountain of the old trollking (in Scazzdizzaviatz fairy-tale) and we sense glittering treasure, fazztastic colour, delicate capti ve princesseswi thi n the rough- cast surfaces of the sculptures...He often speaks ofcommuni cati on -whi ch i s essen ti ally a mode of interior communication and the soul's enigma" (Lindqvist 1994:1 1 lff).Bertil Vallien's view of his own work seems familiar.When he describes the process at the moment of casting the glass, he uses a linguistic metaphor: "I choose the words, but do not consciously choose thei rarrangement; the sentences which materialite have certainly no counterpart in my mind; they occur quite by chance" (Lindqvist 1994:129).What is interesting is that Bertil Val lien forms in fact a significant context from these isolated words and creates a whole.The act of creating art involves the formation and construction of meaning from separate, perhaps surprising, components.The result is dependent on the Current Swedish Arohaeotogy, Vol. 6, l998 original idea, but also on the creative process, whereby it can be difficult to control the final expression.This perspective takes into account that those who made the prehistoric monuments might not have been primarily interested in the completed result once and for all.The monuments were parts of life and changed together with other events in society.
The rock-carving sites, as we see them today, often include images that have accumulated over hundreds or even thousands of years.
When the carving tradition started and was l i vely, the rocks looked different from the way they do today; perhaps the people during the Bronze Age did not see the unstructured jum- ble of images that we are trying to interpret.
They joined a creative process, but they could not be in control of what we experience as a whole.We need to allow some scope for the discrepancy between intention and consequence and the grain of arbitrariness this in- volves, or in other words, the effect that the process of creation has on the original pur- pose.
To sum up, there are relations that are more suited to be expressed in pictures or other material forms than in analytical texts or meas- ured drawings.Therefore it should also be possible to use other kinds of media to add to our understanding of past meanings.Photos, For example, art that is made in a completely different context and for other reasons can inspire and link thoughts on new lines also for the archaeologist, and if the mind is open to such stimulation it may enrich the interpretive process.Of course, this applies also to verbal expressions such as theatre, film and poetry, or whatever may provoke the imagination and give food for unexpected thought.

HOLLOWED-OUT BOATS
The place chosen for these rock-carvings is special and differs from other known carving sites.The images are mainly located near a number of pointed oval hollows that are attached to each other in rows running north by north-eastwest by south-west.In my view the hollows are shaped as boats joined together stem by stem.
There are only a few scholarly studies of the rock-carvings at Flyhov.The archaeologists that have devoted some attention to the site have di sagreed as to whether the hollows were fonned by nature during the glacial period or if they were created by man.Emil Ekhoff and Peter Jankavs argue that they are natural for- mations (Ekhoff 1892:8;Jankavs 1996:225), while S. A. Hallbäck, Birgitta Hjolman and Gerhard Flink seem to believe that they are Fi g. 4. Bertil Vallien s "Breaker", a glass boat enclosedi» stone from 1987.The boat conveys the idea of htttnanity ancl offers links to the ancient post.Photot Anders Qvrarnström.
Current Swedish A rchaeology, Vol. 6, 1998 Ifyou believe that the hollows were ground by man, it is important to consider whether they are connected with the rock-carvings or chronologically separated from the Bronze Age.Strangely enough there has not been much discussion on this, except for brief men- tion that the hollows must be older than the rock-carvings because there are examples of carvings superimposed on them (Hallbäck &  Hjolman 1976:26ff; Hallbäck 1970; Flink  1989:140).It is also rather striking that some of the scholars have described the rock- carvings without regard for the hollows.Until recently that was true even for the attempts to document the site (Ekhoff 1892; Burenhult   1973:88ff;Janson, B. & Janson, S. 1983).
In the latest contribution to the discussion about Flyhov, Peter Jankavs argues that the hol lows are naturally shaped by the inl and ice, water and sand, and states that the earlier interpretations as grinding grooves are incor- rect (Jankavs 1996:225).He bases his opinion on a recent geological survey of the rock, which shows that there are traces of glacial striations not only on the rock surface but also in the boat-shaped hollows (Norde111994:9fJ. Regardless whether the hollows were constructed by man or by nature, it is important to Fig. 6.Boats stem by stem.Ship-formed graves from Ranttarve, Klinte pari sh, on the island of Gotland, in birds-eye vievv (Grimlund-Manneke l979t47).
Current Stvedish Archaeotogy, Vol. 6, 199ö consider how they were interpreted and used by people, and whether the hollowed-out boats in the rock made this a special place suitable for the Bronze Age ritual li fe.After all, is it not more exciting that people interpret, attribute meaning to and develop traditions around what has been created through other powers?
Representations in nature merge with culture and are filled with meaning.The hollows in the natural rock at Flyhov can be transformed into cultural boats, and they parti cipate in the network of links that constitutes the meaning of the boat-concept.The state- ment that the boat or ship was of some ritual and social importance during the Bronze Age is probably not very controversial, but what is it that made this an important symbol?
The boat-symbolism is often put forward as being crucial to the Scandinavian Bronze Age society, although for different reasons.
The arguments cover a wide range of interpre- tations, from symbols of power and wealth to symbols with religious or archetypal mean- ing.That discussion is not the subject of this paper however, and I will rest by saying that the boat symbolism is expressed in different manners and perhaps for different purposes or in separate traditions.The interpretations of the ship symbol must be differentiated with respect to the appearance and material instead of drawing heavily on one perspective.The rendered message is dependent on the purpose and the needs in a specific context; it is not fundamental ly inherent in a material and form.What seems to be a point is that the religious and profane spheres can not be separated, that one does not precede the other, and that they constantly merge in different constellations to reproduce old contexts or create new ones.Now to another point: namely what is the consequence of carving images -boats or other designsin the rock?THE SIGNIFICANT ROCK lt is obvious that certain phenomena of nature were considered to be ritual ly important during the Bronze Age.Perhaps some elements had a transformative character and were used to Fig. 7. Circle-crosxin boat-xhapedrock hollow at Flyhov.Photot Svett Axel Hallback, ATA.
It is not a coincidence that pictures are carved on rocks and slabs, and usually not on, for example pots or other objects.Designs occur on bronze razors, brooches, weapons and small stones in southern Scandinavia, but those objects represent a different context from the images that were carved in the rock.Still, the object-designs may allude to the same symbolical meaning as the image-inrock, the meaning that is produced through the rock-carvings.
The landscape is constantly interpreted by those living in it, and is consequently encul- tured through the conceptions of people.The elements of the landscape are the base for other architectural representations and funda- mental for the identification and experience of the world (Richards 1996:313).Perhaps the places for rock-carvings were chosen because they already had significance.The rock and certain formations in the rock had prerequi- sites for the creation of a special place during the Bronze Age.A rock could have notable formations, natural hollows, glacial striations or polished surfaces that called for attention and interpretation.The frequency of polished cavities and surfaces adjacent to rock-carvings has recently been noted by Örj an Hermodsson (e.g.1995:378ff).Though it is not possible to know with certainty how old the polished surfaces are, the connection to rock-carvings is interesting.
One possibil ity is that the stone material or the rock during the Bronze Age was considered to be of special significance and have inherent powers.In that case the rock surface could be conceived of as a veil between the living world and the spirit world that is captured in the rock: "by placing the images on that 'veil '   the artists were relating them to what lay behind the rock, that is, to spiritual entities azzd realms that were invisible to ordinary people (and to us) but which they couldseein their shanzanistic visions" (Lewis-Williams 1995:75).The quotation refers to South African rock paintings, but it has figurative relevance to the Scandinavian rock-carvings as well.I will develop a related metaphor further along in the carvinginrock context.
Cairns built by a great number of stones to embrace the dead are another significant context.The cairns became monuments in the landscape, just as the anc i en t megalithic tombs already were.Christopher Tilley has inter- preted the megaliths in Västergötland as representations of the landscape in mini ature.
He stresses the relation between the monu- ments and the setting, and how the marking of the landscape makes the natural scenery more conspicuous (Tilley 1993:76ff).The cairns as well as the megaliths could be looked upon as artificial rocks, created by people to enclose the dead and make them part of the spirit world in the natural rock.When the ancestors merged with nature the surroundings became animate, a bearer of their souls, and the ancestors got access to the powers in the rock that were beyond the command of the living.
THE POWER OF WATER Water uses the rock to flow or accumulate on, it has the power to grind the rock surface.Slowly the water transforms the rock silhouette and gives it a more rounded shape.Water runs down the rock in formations and stays in natural hollows and grooves, or in created cupmarks, furrows, and in the contours of carved images.Water has the power of life, growth and reproduction.It is the basis of all existence.Perhaps the confrontation between the rock and the water created new trans- formative dimensions.It is notable that cupmarks are frequently located so that they can be filled with water or guide rills of water down the rock.Flowing water is also directed by glacial striations, and carvings are often concentrated to these water-flow areas (Malmer 1989:14f).The water -in -rock context seems to have been of considerable consequence for the creation of ritual places during the Bronze Age.
In folkloristic beliefs involving rockcarvings, it is mainly cupmarks that have mythical connotation.For some reason other Cnrrent Swedish Arehaeologs; Vol. 6, l998 Fig. 8.When passing through a stained glass church vinda~v, the lightis transfortned and becotnes holy.The French abbot Suger meant thati n this place (the church) one i s immersed in li ght and 'resurrected' from one's 'former submersion'(Crosby )987:238).Photo from the gothic cathedral ofRivolta d'Adda in Spain (Branner l96/).images seldom occur in oral tradition and records.Most numerous are the legends about the healing energy of the cupmarks, or "fairy- grinders" (Sw.älvkvarnar) as they were called in the area around the lake Mälaren in Sweden (Käck 1996).Some of the beliefs include the importance of the water that gathers in cup- marks, grooves, and natural hollows in the rock.For instance the water in cupmarks or natural cavities could have a healing power if a corpse was carried over the spot.Therefore cupmarks sometimes were carved on the steps to the church entrance, on the walls around the churchyard, or adj acent to the cemetery (Lidén   1938:92f;Ragnesten 1990:110ff).
There are other examples of myths con- nected with natural cavities.Magical rituals, sacrifices, and legends about their creation in an indeterminable past are connected with the natural hollows just as they are with the cupmarks (Lidén 1938:33,45, 153).The signification was intimately tied to a scene in which the phenomenon fitted well with some aspects of the world-view.The remarkable rocks and rock formations were used and incorporated in everyday as well as spiritual life.
The elements of rock and water in combi- nation create yet another dimension, and together they may have stronger powers than they do alone.

CARVING -IN -ROCK
It can be rewarding to discuss the rock as containing powers and the rock face as a veil between the living and the spirit world.In my view, the veil is sacred because it has a trans- formative function that permits the spirit to ooze out in the ritual space to spiritualise life.These thoughts may be illustrated meta- phorically by the symbolism of light which is refracted through stained glass windows and which fills the church room with a mystical atmosphere.Right from the beginning the stained glass windows were used with this intention.The idea was introduced by the French abbot Suger who is considered to have "created" the Gothic style in architecture by a grand rebuilding of the Royal Abbey of Saint- Denis, north of Paris, in the first half of the 12th century AD.The most important elements in the building were, according to Suger him- self, the geometric plan and the overflowing light.The large figural, stained glass windows in the choir created a "crown of light" when seen from the altar (Crosby 1987:237fl, and the light was transformed by the stained glass and became holy, carrying the spirit of God.Suger describes the symbolic significance of the windows in these words: "The 'mi raculous ' light tlzat filoods the clzoir through the 'tnost sacred' windows beconzes tlze Li ght Divine, a mystic revelatiotz of the spirit of God" (Jan- son, H. W. 1995:332l.
What was painted on the glass was of course significant, since the light was accorded divinity when passing through it.In a similar way it must have been of consequence which images were carved in the rock and in which context the carving was performed.In this sense, carving in the veil makes the spirit transpire in a controlled manner.The carver chooses an image and thereby the contours to carve.Newly carved outlines are white- coloured for some time after the action, and the stone powder is spread by the wind.One can almost see that the interior of the rock is separate from the veil.The sound of stone rapping on the rock helps to create a sugges- tive atmosphere and guides the experience during the ritual.Perhaps it is a kind of com- munication with the spirit in the rock.
Eventually the veil is healed; the image appears only as a delicate scar on the surface.
Ifit becomes necessary to revitalise a particular image, the contour must be recarved to liber- ate the spirit again.This may explain why the images, even on one and the same rock, often have different car ving depth.In some contexts it was more suitable to recarve than to create a new image.This might imply that people during the Bronze Age did not view the rock- carving surfaces the way we do today.They had the possibil ity to control which image was due to emerge at every single occasion, and thereby strove for supervision of the spirit in the rock.

INTERPRETING NATURE, CREATING CULTURE
The rocks at Flyhov with the hollowed-out boats had the prerequisites to become a major place for rock-carvings.The naturally shaped rocks were tran sformed by the images and the representations linked to carving in the rock veil.This can be interpreted as the interaction of the enculturing of the rock and the forces of nature that set the framework and had influ- ence over what people created.
Depending on the season and the amount of rain, the flat rocks are often overflowing wi th water.One can say that the water acti vates the entire rock-carving surface, every image becoming visible on the wet rock.At once the uncontrolled figural world reappears, without the possibility to choose which picture to highlight and what composition to show.This expresses the powers of the rock and the water, beyond the control of living people.
The hollowed-out boats at Flyhov have the same capacity.Most often they are water- fill ed, even when the surrounding landscape is dry and it has not rained for some time.The almost incessant water gives rise to a rust- coloured deposit in the hollows.This process can be interpreted as the spirit's influence on the rock veil.
Consider that these events are linked to a place hidden from unauthorised visitors.It is in no way a monumental site that was built to be seen from a distance and make an impres- sion.The flat rocks are concealed in the grass and there is no possibility of discerning the rock-carvings unless you have knowledge of the place or accidentally stumble upon them.
It gives the impression of a ritual place used by a group of people initiated in the collective secrets.Some of their identity and social roles could be created through bonds and relations to those who lived before.These earlier generations were inscribed in the rock and thereby continued to exist in spirit.Through the ceremonies the past influenced the future, legitimised the social and cultural life, or empowered pregnant changes.
Current Szvedish Archaeology, Vol. 6, 199tt SLOWLY WE WALK AWAY... With this, it is time to tum away from Flyhov and slowly walk towards new experiences, or perhaps rest a while at the spot, gather impres- sions and contemplate the next journey.
If you leave Husaby behind, continue to the south-west and enter the parish of Fåglum, you will find another intriguing place.At Godegård there is a rock-carv ing site consi sting exclusivelyoffootprintsonaflatrock(fig. 10.).
The footprints radiate the presence of the individuals who made this a notable place.They are not purposefully on their way towards fixed goals; apparently they are stand- ing in a pensive or searching manner, perhaps according to an inner outline that gives sub- stance to the experience.English revised by Laura Wrang.
A CIt NOWLEDGEMENTS I am very g rateful.to Peter Ja&zkavs ofFalbyg- de&z Museum, who kindly gave me access to the new, unpubli shed, documentation material on the rock-carvings at Flyhov.Thanks also to Pehr Hasselrot and Anders Qvarnström for letting me uge thei r excellent photographs.An early version of tlzis paper was pregented at the Nordic TAG Co&zference in Göteborg i&z May 1997.

Fig. 3 .
Fig. 3.The Fl»hov ancient moizument area.The map ineludes Husaby Chureh and Saint Sigfrid's spring, where aeeordi ng to legend the first Christian king, Olof Skötkonung, was baptised.Drawing by Mats Wahlgren, based on the Economic map.
paintings, sculptures or even music can open up other dimensions of understanding, and can open doors to what is linguistically elusive.