The 7000 year old rock carvings of Alta fjord

Reindeer and elk swimming – all you can see is their heads sticking up above the water. People in boats with fishing lines and large halibut swimming in the depths. Bear hunting in the spring, with the bear being flushed out of its hibernation in a cartoon-like sequence. Tools, animal life, geometric patterns, people. The motifs of the Alta rock carvings provide unique insight into thoughts and everyday life thousands of years ago.

It’s a mystery as to why they were made

It is often easy to see what the carvings represent, but difficult to know why the people actually made them. Perhaps they were looking to illustrate myths and stories, or perhaps the carvings played a role in the practice of their religion. It is unlikely that we will ever know the definitive answer – as there is no-one to ask!

Hjemmeluft has half the rock carvings

The largest concentration of carvings is to be found at Hjemmeluft, due west of the centre of Alta. It is also here that you will find Alta Museum. However, there are carvings to be found in many places. There are a great many at Kåfjordfeltet, for example. It may be that this was a particularly good place to hunt bear and reindeer.

The rock carvings are found around the whole fjord

At Transfarelv, there are red rock paintings, and at Isnestoften, human figures have been carved into boulders. Some of the strangest carvings are to be seen at Amtmannsneste, where human figures are represented in almost life size. It is tempting to believe that these are portraits of people who lived here more than 3,000 years ago.

How were the rock carvings dated?

The rock carvings were made over a period of thousands of years. It could be that it was a tradition for the ancient people to gather here on their annual wanderings. When dating ancient relics in Northern Norway, old shorelines are used as the starting point. During the Ice Age 15–20,000 years ago, the land was pressed down by the mass of ice. When the ice began to melt around 17,000 years ago, the land gradually started to rise again. A Stone Age find high up on the hillside is thus older than one discovered closer to the water, because the people of Northern Norway have always settled as close to the sea as they could. Researchers date the oldest carvings to 5200–4200 BC, and the youngest to 200 BC–200 AD.

Go for a guided tour in summer

Alta Museum is located in Hjemmeluft, next to the biggest concentration of rock carvings. At this site, more than 3,000 figures are to be found on 85 panels. A 2.9 km network of paths and ramps leads to a representative selection of the carvings, and guided tours of the rock carvings are organised in the summer months.

In Winter, they are covered by snow

In the winter, the area is covered in snow so it is only possible to see the exhibitions inside the museum. The other carvings around Altafjord have not been marked or highlighted. In 1985, the rock carvings were inscribed on the UNESCO world heritage list. Alta Museum also has exhibitions about research into the Northern Lights, Sami culture and Bjørk Wirkola, a notable resident of Alta.