Project information
Project manager
Peter Skoglund
Other project members
Richard Bradley, Courtney Nimura, Lena König
Participating organizations
Linnaeus University, University of Oxford, University of Reading, Lena König poddcasten Arkeologi & Historia
Financier
Lorne Thyssen Research Fund for Ancient World Topics, Wolfson College, University of Oxford
Timetable
1 January 2025 – 31 December 2026
Subject
Archaeology (Department of Cultural Sciences, Faculty of Arts and Humanities)
More about the project
Blekinge, southeast Sweden, is a well-defined Bronze Age region boasting numerous cairns, rock art sites, and metalwork depositions. The rock art sites are visually diverse from elaborated ship motifs to cupmarks. Interestingly, the region’s sites were almost all created during a relatively short time span in the latest period of the Bronze Age (c. 700–500 BCE), which is unlike most other rock art-rich regions in Sweden. This unique characteristic enables us to discern time-specific patterns that are not blurred by older images or later additions. Therefore, Blekinge is an excellent case study for understanding how rock art functioned in contemporary society.
In this project we study the rock art in Blekinge, southeast Sweden, through archival work, computer-based analysis, and fieldwork. The fieldwork will situate the rock art in its landscape contexts, which is vital to understanding its broader purpose in contemporary society.
