elusive moose » Oldtidsveien

Rock carvings in Skjeberg

admin — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 17:59:05 +0000

The Bjørnstad Ship

admin — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 17:50:03 +0000

At 4.5m long and almost 1m high, the Bjørnstad Ship (Bjørnstadskipet) is an impressive sight, gracing a big vertical rock face a short walk from Haugeveien in Skjeberg, just outside Sarpsborg. This is one of the largest single Bronze Age rock carvings to have been found in Europe. It is flanked by two smaller ships on each side. The small vertical marks on the ship represent the crew, while the big figures at each end carry weapons (and might represent gods). People in the Bronze Age were used to travel, and the rock carvings show how important ships were to them as a means of transportation – as well as for fishing.

How to get there: The Bjørnstad Ship can be found by Haugeveien. Follow Fv583 through Skjeberg, about 3.5km from Hafslund Chapel. The exit towards the car park is signed from the road. From there it’s a 500m walk along a signed path.

Modern design in ancient landscape

admin — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 12:37:21 +0000

The Solberg Tower (Solbergtårnet)

admin — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 12:33:41 +0000

The brand new Solberg Tower (Solbergtårnet) by the E6 motorway in Skjeberg was officially opened today. The tower, which is almost 30m high, and cost 50 million kroner to build, was designed by Todd Saunders, the Canadian architect behind the popular Stegastein viewpoint in Aurland, western Norway. It’s a joint project between the Norwegian Public Road Administration (Statens vegvesen), the county of Østfold and the municipalities of Sarpsborg and Fredrikstad. The view from the top floor is enticing enough, but the main reason for building the tower here was to highlight the many sites dating back to the Bronze Age along the nearby Oldtidsveien. Facilities at the Solberg Tower include a lift, toilets, rest area and information panels (in Norwegian and English) on the various attractions in the area, as well as maps of the different sites.

More on Oldtidsveien at http://www.elusivemoose.eu/2009/10/26/

More on the Stegastein viewpoint at http://www.elusivemoose.eu/2010/04/stegastein-viewing-platform/

Photos of the Solberg Tower under construction at http://www.sa.no/lokale_nyheter/article5185109.ece

Østfold in Pictures: Stone rings along Oldtidsveien

admin — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:25:10 +0000

Østfold in Pictures: Solberg rock carvings

admin — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 09:10:00 +0000

Oldtidsveien

admin — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 09:05:31 +0000

Østfold is among Norway’s oldest inhabited regions, and rock carving sites, burial mounds and stone rings dating back to the Bronze Age can all be found along Oldtidsveien, the stretch of road between Fredrikstad and Skjeberg along road 110. ‘20km on and 3,000 years back in time’ as the locals say. My personal favourites are the rock carvings (petroglyphs or helleristninger in Norwegian) featuring human figures, animals, ships, wagons, weapons and tools. The well hung Begby Man in Borge is the most famous (go figure why), but the carvings at Solberg and Hornnes are just as impressive. Check out the stone circles at Hunn on the way too (behing Gråtass Barnehage in Skjærviken), only a couple of hundred metres from the road.