Rock Art and Seascapes in Uppland
Johan Ling
Oxbow Books, £20.00
ISBN 978-1842175132
Sweden boasts a stunning array of Early Bronze Age artwork, with rocky outcrops crammed with images of boats, people, and animals (CWA 54). In this slender new volume, Johan Ling provides a detailed study of the imagery on around 80 rock panels surrounding Lake Mäleren in Uppland. This was once a branch of the Baltic Sea, before a drop in sea levels of 20-25m (65-80ft) since the Bronze Age, and it is in this maritime context that Ling considers the symbolism of motifs used. His discussion of why the figurative art associated with Uppland’s Bronze Age graves is so much less vivid than that found at these open-air sites is particularly thought-provoking.
This article is an extract from the full article published in World Archaeology Issue 59. Click here to subscribe