Archeology - AND ON THEY WENT...PROCESSIONS IN SCANDINAVIAN BRONZE AGE CARVINGS

Copyright C 2003

Acta Archaeologica vol. 74, 2003, pp. 211–250 Printed in Denmark ¡ All rights reserved

ACTA ARCHAEOLOGICA ISSN 0065-001X

AND ON THEY WENT ... PROCESSIONS IN SCANDINAVIAN BRONZE AGE ROCK CARVINGS by J C

‘... the rock carvings on slabs 7 and 8 (at Kivik) are almost certainly depictions of processions and ceremonies, or a prelude to them’ (Randsborg 1993, 132). These words have prompted my effort here to explore the evidence for processions within the rock carvings of southern Scandinavia. The enormous cairn and great burial cist at Kivik in Skåne have had a long series of investigations and interpretations, which will not be explored here. Rather, two of its cist slabs provide a focus and a beginning to the present study. The two slabs (Fig. 1) bear carvings of some obscure ceremonial involving humans both identifiably human and masked by robes. These figures are mostly laid out in fours or multiple of fours, as are the carvings of other images on the cist walls, four horses, four discs, and, indeed, four slabs on either side of the cist. A second reason for my curiosity about numbers and lines of humans arose from a project to record the large rock carving site of Häljesta in Västmanland (Coles 2001). Among the several hundred images on the site is a staggered row of humans totalling 16, all facing in the same direction. Other sites with lines of many humans are known, from Östergötland (Ekenberg) and Trøndelag (Leirfall), and here and there elsewhere are smaller rows. So there exists a body of evidence and it seemed interesting enough to assemble the records and to try to see if any pattern or logic could be identified; several of the wellknown lines of human images have prompted remarks about Near Eastern and Western Asian sources, and this too seemed worthy of examination. First, we should consider the idea of a procession –

‘the action of a body of persons going or marching along in orderly succession, especially as a religious ceremony or on a festive occasion’ (Oxford 1983). From the standpoint of identity within the body of rock carvings, we should thus look for a gathering of people, set out in an orderly fashion and in some recognisable line or row. Clusters or scatters of people are excluded. Such a row of participants may well have a leader, to guide the followers, to indicate when to start, to set the pace and structure of the line, to decide when to stop. There should be some uniformity of design, or orderly progression, particularly if the event is to be recorded by some artistic representation. The idea of involvement, in a positive direction, might be expected to be indicated, and the route should in all probability be a traditional one, marking the place of assembly and direction of travel, or perhaps the termination of the event. The procession is not likely to have been conducted in silence, and we could envisage some degrees of noise – clapping, shouting, music to an orderly beat; this would aid the smooth progression of the group and help maintain discipline. The purpose of such processions will remain mostly shrouded in mystery for us today, although some suggestions will be advanced, and of course we may be dealing with a joyful celebratory procession, or a solemn commemoration, or a combination, and the event may be driven by earthly needs or presumed divine powers, or both. Finally, the completion of the walk (as no vehicles are indicated) may be at some specified time, or place; the idea of place

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Fig. 1. The Kivik cist slabs (8 and 7). Upper (Nilsson 1863–64); centre (Burenhult 1973); lower as painted now (photo 1995 JMC).

is currently popular for a variety of archaeological evidences, and for us, in the south Scandinavian landscapes of the Bronze Age, we may be dealing with places of sacrifice, offering, burial or existing monumental or natural feature that had particular resonance for the people.

The literature on the south Scandinavian rock carvings is extensive yet many of the thousands of sites remain unpublished other than for a simple listing of the basic images. It is likely, however, that any site with 10 or more human images in any sort of a pattern would be singled out for special notice and illustration. The literature search included most if not all of the monographs of pioneers such as Baltzer, Norde´n, Almgren, Fredsjö, Althin, Marstrander, Fett and Fett, and more recent authorities such as Burenhult, Malmer, Högberg, Bengtsson, Milstreu, Sognnes, Mandt, Glob, Østmo, Sør-Reime, Bertilsson and (even) Coles; these works appear in the list of references. The work of Burenhult (1973) for southernmost Sweden is still fundamental as a corpus of illustrations, and the most recent catalogues edited by Milstreu and Bengtsson for Bohuslän have initiated the modern documentation of rock carvings that continue to deteriorate through a number of polluting factors. Concurrent with this trawl of literature has been site visits over the past years, to the Trøndelag, Hordaland, Rogaland, Telemark and Østfold in Norway, and Bohuslän, Dalsland, Västergötland, Östergötland, Västmanland, Uppland, Småland, Blekinge and Skåne in Sweden. These visits, often aided by colleagues (see the Acknowledgements), have mostly been concerned with other projects in mind, but all have helped to build up a photographic record, supplemented by rubbings made of particular images and groups of images, and relatively extensive notes on site location, outlook and proximity to landscape features. Ideally, what is needed for all sites are comprehensive surveys, site catchments in effect, but also the exploration of lines of sight, as well as site lines, and areas of contact and influence in rock carving images and character. Some of this has been done over the years but of course any general approach and attitude needs to be tailored to the particular. So gaps exist here and there in areas explored; nonetheless the results of the current work have thrown up some unexpected evidence and allow me to offer some thoughts about the rock carvings that depict processions. The questions asked of the evidence for processions of humans included the fundamentals of numbers of participants, the representation of humans, direction

And on They went ... Processions in Scandinavian Bronze Age rock carvings of travel, location of the carvings within sites and site proximity to other monuments or landscape features. Patterns and coherence were searched for, and some fundamentals could be identified. From the work done, about 30 sites were identified as having what could, rather loosely, be termed processions of humans. This small number is surprising, when we consider the thousands of sites now known to exist; many of these are small in terms of numbers of images, but certain areas of south Scandinavia have many sites, hundreds if not thousands, and within these the known number of processions on the many large sites is slight. For areas where the number of known sites is relatively small, processions are rarely seen (Fig. 2). The figures are: Bohuslän, Østfold and Dalsland 19 sites, Uppland and Västmanland 3, Östergötland 3, Skåne 1 (Kivik), Hordaland and Trøndelag 3; these figures can surely be supplemented by sites unpublished or not recognised by me. However, I think that the sample to be described will give a flavour and some of the substance of the evidence, and allow some measure of conjecture about the significance of the procession as a rarely-presented concept and as an ideal, in a wider appreciation of Bronze Age imagery. Before turning to these themes, it may be worth setting out the exclusions. Many sites carry numbers of human images, scattered about or clustered, and all without doubt placed with a purpose. Here and there are groups of human images, a sort of corporate corpora, but most do not form orderly lines such as we can see on particular sites such as Häljesta. So I eliminate from this study a number of clustered human images such as can be seen at Finntorp and Askum 2 in Bohuslän (Baltzer 1881, pl. 55–56; Bengtsson 1997), Fiskeby in Östergötland (Norde´n 1925; Hertz 1999) and Boglösa 94 in Uppland (Coles 2001). Occasionally, carvings of human images are presented in an oblique line, nearing the vertical e.g. Askum 433 and Boglösa 123.2 (Bengtsson 1998; Coles 2001). And various groups of celebrants, including dancers?, also cannot really be addressed as processional, e.g. on the Sledasteinen in Hordaland (Mandt 1972, pl. 63) and Store Dal in Østfold (Marstrander 1963, pl. 4). Furthermore, I do not include boat crews, the lines of strokes or identifiably human images above the gunwales of numerous boat car-

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Fig. 2. The location of rock carvings with processional images in Sweden and Norway. The numbers refer to the illustrations.

vings, e.g. Kalleby in Bohuslän (Baltzer 1881, pl. 57– 58); the task of assembling the data for these travellers is too daunting, as well as numbing. The number of carvings of boats in which identifiable human beings, as opposed to mere strokes, are being carried is in the hundreds; it has not been the intention to include these here, but their relevance to the direction of travel and the precise number of humans on board are, I think, now worth some research amidst the thousands of sites that await the dogged student.

A CATALOGUE OF PROCESSIONS In presenting the Catalogue of processions, descriptions have been kept short and paired illustrations will provide most of the detail. One figure, taken or adapted from published reports, or a site photograph, will present some impression of the site itself, or a major part of the site (often called a panel) with the procession thus put into a context. The other figure is either a photo or drawing, or a tracing taken directly from a rubbing made in 2002. From this work

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it has become apparent that there is a very substantial difference between the expectations of a rubbing on the granites of Bohuslän (and quartzites of Skåne), and a rubbing on the gneiss or other rough-grained or softer rocks of Uppland, Dalsland, Östergötland and other regions. Variations exist, of course, and some surfaces in Östergötland present excellent opportunities for clearly-delineated rubbings. The results of rubbings of images are wholly different in these areas; the Bohuslän rubbings are often clear and precise, and occasionally reveal hitherto unknown images (or amend known carving shapes), whereas rubbings made elsewhere have rarely failed to reveal new, unknown, carvings. The differences between the published or archive plans and the processions (as determined by rubbings made in 2002) can be quite substantial. In several cases the detail revealed by rubbing can transform the whole panel, in other cases the detail only helps to refine the processions themselves, but this can also be significant. In all this work, it is evident that many rock carving sites carry a variety of images, created over time, augmented, altered, defaced even, and it is often difficult to distinguish particular faded or shallow carvings, and to clarify the associations as well as the intimate details of individual images. If nothing else is made of this paper, the words ‘newly-discovered’ in the site descriptions will have added a little to the documentation of sites that are gradually diminishing in clarity. It has been revelatory, to me at least, to see hitherto-unknown carvings emerge on the paper, and yet the rock surfaces themselves remain as inscrutable as ever when viewed, photographed or even gently explored with the fingers. Doubtless ever-more scientific examinations will continue to reveal new features (e.g. Bertilsson and Magnusson 2000). Finally, a glance at the processions illustrated here will show the variety that exists, and doubtless some of the smaller examples, of only 4–5 humans, could be disputed as depicting an event as organised as a procession. Readers can make up their own minds; I include some to show the range of possibilities. Tanum 1.4 (Vitlycke) (Fig. 3). 7 humans in a row, facing to our right, and set just behind a large phallic human with sword scabbard. They have upraised arms and are small carvings on a very broad and large site. The bodies and legs are slender and 4 or 5 are

phallic. There is one human just above the row, and very large and complex carvings well above, below and to the sides of the row. The panel faces ENE and the rock slopes at 20æ. (Baltzer 1881, pl. 18–21). On the right side of the Vitlycke rock are 3 human figures in a row, 2 and perhaps 3 with sword scabbards, facing right. To the left as we view the carving is a very faint image of a human also facing right; it is possible that this is a chair and not a human. It has not been recorded before, and is not clear enough to be identified as a procession. Tanum 25 (Aspeberget) (Fig. 4). 11 humans in a curving row, facing to our right. Stubby arms extend from a few of the images, and illplaced penis stubs on 3 or 4. Wide angular shoulders, thickened legs, especially calves and distinct feet are carefully carved. One human may have long hair. The heads are rather large and several are irregular; the quality of carving degenerates on the righthand figures, an apprentice’s work perhaps. All images are separated from one another except for a pair that touch at shoulders. The row is amidst a small concentration of carvings on a large area with many images; immediately above the humans are boats, animals and a human, and below are boats and animals, with cupmarks above and below. A single human with supplicant arms is off to the left. The panel faces ESE, and the rock slopes at c25æ. (Högberg 1988; Milstreu and Prøhl 1996, pl. 70–72). Tanum 244 (Kalleby) (Fig. 5). 7 humans in an irregular row, 3 going to our right, one small figure going left and 3 indeterminate. Heads are quite large, bodies long and legs slender; 3 figures have scabbards and one of these has a penis. Below the row are several footsoles, a large human and a boat; off to the right are a number of large boats. The rock faces SSE and the slope is 5–10æ; the site is now buried. Scattered over and around the heads are cupmarks. It is debatable if this is a formal procession. (Baltzer 1891 and Vitlycke Museum archive). Tanum 311 (Gerum) (Fig. 6). The large site is dominated by a complex pole with seemingly swinging arms, and surmounted by a horn-headed adorant human. Beside this are 5 human figures, seemingly headless, and also adorant, with slender bodies and short legs, facing to our right (row A). Beside the base of the pole are 4 human figures, adorant or wearing horns, with slender bodies and curved legs, facing right, towards the pole (row B). Below the pole base are 4 warriors, not in a row, facing left, and there are 2 more humans beside these. All of the human groups are surrounded by many carvings, of boats, single humans and other images. The panel faces SSE and the rock slopes at 17æ at the pole carving. (Bengtsson and Olsson 2000; Baltzer 1881, pl. 39–40; Holmberg 1848, tab. 25–26). Tanum 351 (Tegneby) (Fig. 7). 7 humans in an irregular curved row, facing to our right. All but one are phallic and one may have an arm extended, and as this figure has bent back and is perhaps holding a stick, he looks elderly. The heads on several figures may well have facial features shown. Two figures are larger than the others. Well above the row is an animal, and just below are 2 large-

And on They went ... Processions in Scandinavian Bronze Age rock carvings bodied horned cattle, with boats, animal and cupmarks beyond. The panel faces ENE and the rock slopes at 8æ. (Högberg 1995, 95–96; Holmberg 1848, Fig. 32). Tanum 360.1 (Fig. 8). 6 humans in a row, facing to our left. The rounded bodies have a front projection, elongated necks and small heads. All 6 have or had sword scabbards; the rock has been damaged. The thickened legs are curved or straight and the feet curved out. A cupmark is below one of the humans. Two similar images are well below the row with several boats beside. The procession is carved in isolation on a huge expanse of rock. The panel faces NW and the rock slopes at 25æ. (Bengtsson and Olsson 2000, p. 58; Holmberg 1848, tab. 20, Fig. 59). Tanum 454 (Tova) (Fig. 9). 5 humans in a row, 1 facing right, 2 facing left and 2 indeterminate. Bodies are thin, and legs slender. One figure has a scabbard and the leading figure may be brandishing an axe; the carvings are not very clearly outlined now. The row is at the extreme base of the rock surface; above and to the right and left are many boats. The rock faces ESE and slopes 12æ. A debatable procession. (Baltzer 1891, pl. 3–4 and Vitlycke Museum archive). Askum 6.1 (Fig. 10). 6 humans in an irregular line, all facing to our left, and all armed with sword scabbard, 5 holding axes in their right hands and with left hand resting behind on scabbards, all with thickened calves. The attitude of all shows conformity in design, and the figure second from left appears unfinished, the arms incomplete. Below the row are boats, another warrior with the same features, and off to left are 4 discs and boats; various cupmarks above and below. The panel faces SSE and the rock slopes at 12æ. (Bengtsson 1997). Askum 67.2 (Rished) (Fig. 11). 4 humans in a row, facing to our left. Legs are rather thick, heads quite large, and all are adorant with fingers indicated, mostly 3 fingers. The figures are positioned above a boat, but are not a crew. They do not form a true procession, more a stationary group. The rock faces SSW and slopes at 8æ. (Bengtsson and Olsson 2002). Askum 70.1 (Rished) (Fig. 12). 8 humans in a row, facing to our left. The bodies are disc-like and open, and heads are also small on elongated necks; several of the heads appear as side-views, with forehead, nose and chin probably attempted. The legs are very long and thin, and feet stubby. All 8 have sword scabbards. Below are human images with adorant arms and large hands, one upright and one with legs outstretched and a cupmark below; other humans, a wagon and other images are below. The panel faces W and the rock slopes at 2–10æ. (Bengtsson and Olsson 2002). Tossene 73 (Åby) (Fig. 13). 5 humans in a row, facing to our right. At least 4 have sword scabbards, and all are phallic. The arms are raised and the heads are elongated, as if wearing conical hats. The

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righthand arms of 4 are elongated, perhaps therefore holding rods, torches or swords. The bodies are slender and legs mostly straight or slightly curved, and feet are distinct. Above and beside are a variety of images on the large site, boats, bear footprints, animals, humans and discs. Immediately above the row of humans is a long boat overcarved by human images. The panel faces SE and the rock slopes 25æ. (Vitlycke Museum archive). Tossene 77 (Fig. 14). 11 humans in a row, facing to our right. Legs are rather long and thin, bodies squared and head small. They are armless, and similar to the humans at an adjacent site (Tossene 82, 300m distant). A large boat lies above the row with a few other images higher up the rock. The rock faces S and slopes at 20æ. (Vitlycke Museum archive). Tossene 82 (Fig. 15). Perhaps 18 or 19 humans, or part-humans, in a row. There are 19 cupmarks with 16 upper bodies, and 9–10 complete bodies; the row may have been left incomplete. 5 humans may be facing to our right; and 6 to our left. Two of the completed humans are large, and the spacing of at least one of the cupmark heads excludes its completion as a human image. A large boat lies just above the humans, with 2 very large humans, armed and phallic, and other boats lie above. The panel faces NNW and the rock slopes at 6æ. (Vitlycke Museum archive). Hogdal 216 (Nybygget) (Fig. 16). There are two lines of humans, the upper row of 9 figures, the lower row of 7 figures. The upper row is irregular but all face to our right; some arms are raised, legs are wide apart, and heads are small. 2 of these figures are newly recognised by the rubbing. The lower row is entirely newly found and the details are unclear as the rock is very rough. These figures are small, arms are raised and the figures face to our right. The rows lie just below 2 large boats, with more carvings higher up the rock. The rock faces SSE and slopes at 15–20æ. (Vitlycke Museum Archive and as above). Hogdal 233 (S. Gåshult) (Fig. 17). There are 2 rows of figures. The upper row has 4 large figures moving to our left, and 3 small figures moving to our right. One of the larger figures has a double head and shoulders, as if carved too small and thus extended to match the others. The figures are adorant. The lower row has 11 figures, moving to our right; one at centre may be moving to our left, another is unclear, and on the right end of the row is a robed figure. The rock faces SSE and slopes at 25–30æ. (Vitlycke Museum archive). Lyse 69.1 (Klättene) (Fig. 18). There are 2 lines of humans, one more identifiably human than the other. Row A consists of 7 figures; 4 uniform figures have scabbards, long legs and rather large heads, and face left. Behind them is a small figure, with scabbard and facing left. To the left of this group is a single human, with large head and facing right; beside this is what seems to be an unfinished human, with one leg turned to the left. Between the 2 segments of this row is a chair-like design. Below the row are a number of long-

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legged birds, and a probable bowman. Row B, set well to the right of Row A, has 7 masked and robed figures, 6 in a line facing left and a smaller figure below, at the end of the line. The bodies are squat oblongs with lower left corner more pointed than the lower right. Each body appears to have a curved arm from shoulder down the back. The necks are elongated and may incorporate small heads at top, which have curving extensions like a headdress or horned cap. Several boats are carved to the left of the row. The Lyse rock faces SSE and slopes at 10æ. (Baltzer 1891, pl. 13–14 no. 3 and Vitlycke Museum archive). Lyse 610 (Fig. 19). There are 2 rows of humans on this site. An upper Row A has 4 figures with scabbards and facing to our right; bodies are rounded, heads small and legs thin. Below is Row B with 6 humans with scabbards, facing to our left. Bodies are chunky, necks long and heads small. Legs are straight. A human figure is below this row, and a boat is on the right, turned to the vertical. A few human figures are at the top, above Row A, with cupmarks between the rows. The rock faces NE although its ridge faces E, and the slope is about 15æ. The site is now covered. (Vitlycke Museum archive). Kville 143 (Stora Jore) (Fig. 20). 8 humans in a row, 7 facing to our left. One is phallic and arms are indicated on 2 or 3. The carvings are now rather irregular and unshapely. The bodies are rounded and legs mostly curved. Just above the row is a boatline, and below are large human images with disc bodies, and other humans and boats. The panel faces SSE and the rock slopes at 9æ. (Fredsjö 1981, p. 159). Ekenberg, Östergötland (Fig. 21). 18 humans in a row (A), facing to our left. One figure is twice as large as any other in the row. An additional, smaller, figure is off-line to the left of the row, and probably not an original part of the row. Almost all of the figures have sword scabbards, rather bulky bodies and thickened legs; heads are irregular, some small and others lumpy. The 12 figures to the left of the large human are thicker at left, thinner at right as the large human is neared; behind this are 5 figures, one in the middle very small and previously not identified. Above the row is a large boat and disc, and below are 2 upside-down boats, a disc and human, and below these is the famous ‘emblem bearer’. The human figure at the left end of the row is carved over a boat line. Below this is a row (B) of 4 slender humans with upraised arms, possibly a pair of lurs, facing left. The panel faces SW and the surface slopes at about 5æ. (Norde´n 1925, pl. LXXXVIII; Burenhult 1973, p. 137; Hertz 1999, p. 17). Norde´n reverses this line of figures in his text, Fig. 101 and p. 199; his pl. LXXXVIII is correct. Herrebro, Östergötland (Fig. 22). 7 humans in a row, possibly facing to our right. All of the figures have arms outstretched and some are bent upwards, and 3 have curving horns coming out from shoulders; legs are straight and bodies short and rather chunky. The rock is rather rough and details of the smaller figures are difficult to decipher; the adorant arms of these have not previously been fully detected. Below the line of humans are several boats and discs. The panel faces ENE and the rock slopes at 30æ.

(Lindeblad and Nielsen 1994, p. 26–27; Burenhult 1973, p. 160; Hertz 1999 p. 28). Leonardsberg, Östergötland (Fig. 23). 3 rows of humans. The upper row (B) has 7 figures, 2 of them very small, all with arms hanging down and short straight legs. 3 appear to have neckrings or scarves, and 5 have scabbards. The group face right. A lower row (A) has 11 figures, 5 large and 6 small; 4 of the latter are newly-discovered. There is also a pair of legs without a body. 3 have scabbards and 2 are phallic. All of these figures are rather like those of the upper row although 2 are probably adorant (arms upraised). The figures face right (2), left (2), uncertain (the rest). Away to the right of this line is a third row (C), of 4 humans with upraised arms for 3; 2 face left, 2 face right. These 3 rows are set alongside carvings of animals and boats, with large boats and more complex carvings higher up the site. The panel faces SW and the rock slopes at 22æ. (Norde´n 1925, pl. LV; Burenhult 1973, p. 147; Hertz 1999, p.23). Kivik, Skåne (Fig. 1). Two of the cist slabs in the burial cairn have carvings of humans in small rows. One slab has 4 humans, moving to our left, at the top, and a row of 8 robed figures moving to our left towards a single unrobed figure, at base. All these figures may be moving south according to the layout of the slab with the cist. A cart and several animals complete the carvings on this complex panel. The other slab has a number of grouped figures; at centre are 2 sets of robed figures facing one another across a coffin or vat. It is not certain if here we have 2 sets of 4 figures, or one set with 4 and one set with 5 figures, or indeed one set of 3 and one set of 5; it depends on which of the many illustrations we use (1756– 1973), but most recently it seems that it was 4π5; the slab has been mostly destroyed. At base are 2 sets of 4 unrobed figures moving to our right (although 2 of the figure are uncertainly orientated) and confronting small enclosures; these sets may be moving north. The slab also has, at the top, some musicians including, perhaps, gong-sounders, or a more prosaic yoke with 2 pails. (Randsborg 1993; Althin 1945, tab. 77; Burenhult, 1973, p. 61). Evenstorp, Dalsland (Fig. 24). There are 2 rows of humans. The upper row (A) is dominated by a large stick-bodied figure with adorant arms, ending in fingered hands, and a disc head with two small cupmarks for eyes and a cupmark mouth; these may have been added later. Indeed, the stick-plus-head may be a later addition to the whole panel. To the left of this figure is a pair of thick curved legs and a thin body, and an arm. To the right are 5 more such figures, each a pair of curved legs, a slender body, small head and outstretched arm. Much of this detail is newly-discovered as a glance at the site plan of 1982 will show; the rock is very rough here and detail is difficult to discern although a spoked line is clearly present. This row of 6 faces left. The lower row (B) has 14 human figures, with an additional larger figure at the righthand end and one figure just above. The whole group thus totals 16, and face left. Much of the detail, heads and arms in particular, are new discoveries. The row is uneven in alignment, and the 3 lefthand figures are larger than most of the others of the row. Many of these figures have upraised arms, and small heads; there are several gaps in the row. Near the righthand

And on They went ... Processions in Scandinavian Bronze Age rock carvings

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end of the row, more detail is shown. The larger figure at the end of the row has thickened legs; above is an adorant figure, also with curved legs. Above and to the left of the human figures are images of boats and other carvings, and a large disc lies between the upper and lower rows. The panel faces SE and the rock slopes at 8–10æ. (Rex Svensson 1982, p. 82–85).

images scattered amongst other figures. 5 humans are close together, facing to our left; a large human, rather faint, is at one end and there may be 1 or 2 other human figures in the same irregular row. The rock faces ENE. (Coles 2000).

Häljesta, Västmanland (Fig. 25). 18 humans in a tiered arrangement, with 10 in an orderly row, 2 sloping up from the row at the lefthand end, and 6 set in a row slightly lower down from the main row. These main rows of figures face to our left as we view the carvings; the 2 figures at the end face right. Bodies are square, necks pronounced and heads quite large. Legs are rather thin, well-separated, and feet clearly shown. The figures are evenly-spaced apart. Damage has been done to several figures; in the lower row, a gap between the righthand figure and the others was probably once filled by a human figure but this has been hammered out of existence, leaving only the faintest of shape. A row of cupmarks is aligned along the legs and lower bodies of the lower row, which overlie the cupmarks. The 2 higher figures at the lefthand end are not certainly a part of the group and the upper one is damaged. The 3 central figures of the main row of humans are slightly smaller than the others and are set at a level slightly above that of the others; they stand just above a shallowly-carved boat, which probably preceded them in carving. The complex is badly damaged by erosion, and also by wilful damage by hammering. Above the row are a few large carvings, and a large number of images lie to the left. The panel faces W and the rock slopes at 10–15æ. (Coles 2001).

Leirfall III, Nord-Trøndelag (Fig. 28). 12 humans in 3 groups, but set tightly together in a very large site, and one large phallic human with sword scabbard at the left, facing left as we view the surface. The 3 groups consist of 3, 5 and 4 humans, all facing left. The upper 3 have elongated heads and, seemingly, long hair; their feet are well-defined. The central lower group of 5 have slender legs and small heads or long slim bodies. To the right is a group of 4, 2 with long hair, 2 with penis-stubs; the image farthest to the right might be facing right. The group of 5 is neatly set upon a natural crack in the rock. Above, below and to the right are footsoles, to the left are boats, and the bulk of the carvings lie higher up on the site. The panel faces SE and the surface slopes rather steeply. (Sognnes 2001, p. 70; Marstrander and Sognnes 1999, Fig. 107).

Biskopskula 71, Uppland (Fig. 26). 27 images in a row stretching along a rough surface. 26 of these consist of discs to which 2 legs have been attached; several are badly damaged. All of the figures appear to be facing to our right. The legs are mostly curved. The discs are uneven in size, several large and about 10 quite small; this sizing appears to be in small groups of 2 or 3 discs. At the rear of the row is a human figure, also facing to our right, with roughly carved head and arms in a natural crack A few cupmarks are scattered above and below the row. The panel faces NNW and the rock slopes at 5æ. (Kjelle´n 1976; Coles 2000, Fig. 21). Boglösa 138 (Rickeby), Uppland, (Fig. 27). 6 humans in an irregular row, one newly-found; all appear to face to our left, and are angled slightly backwards. They have long bodies and 3 have slender legs, 3 others have thicker legs and wide buttocks. Heads of all are small. The figure second from the right is carved over a faint footsole and beside a rough cupmark; these are newly-identified. A larger human image, not part of the row, lies lower down at the righthand end. One of the larger figures is cut at the feet by the deeplycarved Rickeby ‘mantle’ or ‘chair’. Large carvings of boats and, in particular, wheel-crosses and footsoles extend downslope from the human images which are on the upper edge of a large site. The panel with the humans faces SW, and the rock slopes here at 5æ. (Coles 2000, but now with an additional figure). To the N, at Boglösa 94, there are a number of small human

Bakke I, Jondal (Fig. 29). 9 humans in a row (A), with stick-like bodies, short legs and thin bodies. At least 2 appear to have upraised arms, and several have penis-like stubs or scabbards; the carvings are small and difficult to characterise. The direction of movement is unclear. 2 of the figures are closely attached. Heads are small and some are elongated. Above the row are boats and a disc. Another panel on the site has 6 humans in a row (B), as 3 pairs; one pair face one another, the others move to our right, one pair to a large boat and the other pair seem to underlie the boat. The panels face SW and the rock is steeply sloped for the main row, less so for the other. (Mandt 1972, pl. 30).

Bakke III, Jondal (fig. 29). 7 humans in a row, with stick-like bodies, small heads and thin lips. The figures face to our right. The sizes vary, and a pair at the centre are larger than the rest. A carved line under the central 4 humans might represent a boat line. A pair of boats lie below the row and a few other images are to the right. The panel faces S. (Mandt 1972, pl. 32; Mandt 1973).

There are several other groups of human figures on sites in Bohuslän and in Østfold that might be described as processional, but the figures are not uniform in size or alignment. At Evje in Østfold, 4 figures are carved in a damaged row and now difficult to identify. One of the panels at Begby may have as many as 6 tiny human figures set in a gentle curve over a cart, but the images are very unclear. The possible row at Vitlycke in Bohuslän has been noted already (Tanum 1.4).

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COMMENTARY ON THE PROCESSIONS Almost all of the sites with processions contain other images as well, as the published plans will show. Within these sites, and others too, are carvings of humans, often in abundance in Bohuslän, more sparse in other areas, but scattered about and not processional in our definition. Not so often are such scatters to be found on sites or panels near the orderly arrangement of processions. The lines or rows of humans, in numbers from 4 to 25, are spread across sites rather evenly, in that 8 rows are near or at the top of sites, 9 near or at base of sites, 11 near the centre of sites, and 4 are more or less the only carvings on a small rock (several sites have 2 or 3 rows, treated as individuals in the above). More distinct are the positions of the processions relative to particular dominant carvings. Boat images are very abundant on many sites and it is therefore to be expected that processions might well appear near to various and perhaps miscellaneous boat carvings; on 6 sites this is the case. However, on another 9 sites the nearby boat carving is particularly large, dominant on the panel in some cases (Tossene 77 and 82, Tossene Åby, Askum 67.2, Hogdal 216, Ekenberg, Herrebro, Leonardsberg (several), Bakke I). Carvings of isolated humans are not so often near the processions but on 3 sites a large human is perhaps a part of the line or perhaps a chronologically or symbolically distinct image (Tanum Vitlycke, Rished, Boglösa 138). Several large figures lie below at Kville 143, and the robed figures at Tossene Åby lie just above the procession. The large human at Leirfall seems more clearly a part of the procession, itself fragmented, and surrounded by footsoles. The other processions are more separate (e.g. Tanum 351, Askum 6.1, Evenstorp, Häljesta) and are thus more dominant in effect, and there are small rows of humans quite submerged by the scale of other images around (e.g. Tanum 311). Perhaps significant are the relatively rare scatters or lines of cupmarks near the processions; as cupmarks are sometimes deemed to represent the human presence, this avoidance may be deliberate. The procession at Tossene 82, consisting of 18 cupmark ‘heads’ with space for only a few bodies, provides a link between the two images, and a further comment is below.

The close examination of these particular carvings has thrown up a few observations about the carvers themselves. Many of the images are wellconceived and executed, and the design once marked out was carefully followed. A row such as seen at Tanum 351, with 7 humans, begins well on the left end and deteriorates near the right end; perhaps the latter is the work of an apprentice whose hand and eye were not so well balanced. It would be interesting to pursue the question of individual carvers (cf. Kitzler Åhfeldt 2000); at a different level I have tried to explore the aesthetics of this approach in a wider view of the south Scandinavian carvings (Coles in press). On one or two sites the carving sequence was probably conducted from left to right, as images are carved into a preceding one (Tanum 331, Leonardsberg), and from right to left on 3 sites (Tanum 351, both rows at Ekenberg). Presumably we are dealing with handedness here, but it should be clear from the illustrations that the overlaps are very slight, and the merest strengthening of a line previously carved would present us with the opposite view. The strange pole-based head at Evenstorp is a clear later carving than at least one of the human images in the upper procession. Almost all of the processions, then, consist of individual figures carved as individuals and separated from neighbours; only in a few cases do we see joined figures, touching as at Tanum 311 (upper group) and Ekenberg. Almost all of the others, however, are set very closely together, as if the emphasis has been on a togetherness rather than as a group of distinct individuals. This cohesion is very clear at Tanum 25 and 351, Rished, Tossene Åby, Ekenberg, Leonardsberg and Evenstorp. The assemblage at Tossene 82 is interesting because it creates a depth to the procession through the clever positioning of cupmark ‘heads’ between fully-formed humans; unfinished it may be, but the construction of a crowd, as if advancing towards the viewer, is unusual and effective. By strict definition, I suppose this group is not so much a procession as a gathering, and the direction of travel as expressed by the bodies or legs is mixed. The general similarity between the rows at Tossene 77 and 82, sites only 300 m apart, is quite striking. It is perhaps worth noting here that the assumption for these rows of humans is that they present us with a front view of

And on They went ... Processions in Scandinavian Bronze Age rock carvings the bodies, or in some cases a side view, and rarely if ever are we looking at the backsides; we are in fact shown a full body but legs are mostly turned to show the full feet and hence the direction of movement. Comment appears below. The identified processions consist of about 30 rows of human figures, the rows containing from 4 to 25 humans. The precise numbers are discussed below. Most processions should have some sort of leader, but within the list there are only 7 possibles, and not all are considered to be clearly a part of the original row. The Tanum Vitlycke large human at right is an uncertain component in the small line of humans. Tossene 82 has one large figure set within the row, and at Ekenberg there is a large figure also within the line of humans. Leonardsberg also has one somewhat larger figure although not as extreme as the others noted above. The Boglösa 138 row may be distinct from a larger figure set off the end, at the back of the row. And the strange pole-based head at Evenstorp is likely to be a later carving than the two rows of humans. None of these putative leaders is at the front of any procession other than the Leirfall figure and a robed figure at Hogdal 233. The ordinary figures making up the processions appear to fall into several groups, categorised as follows: The armless group (e.g. Fig 4). These figures are presented rather closely grouped, side by side, and although heads and bodies and feet are clearly depicted, the humans lack arms or have the merest of stubs. This is clearly deliberate and the figures are thereby disenfranchised, rendered harmless; it may be that within this group of processions we see captives, shown defenceless, or with hands bound behind their bodies. About 12 sites have some version of armless figures: Tanum 25, Tanum 244, Tanum 351, Tanum 454, Tossene 77 and 82, Kville 143, Lyse 69.1, Häljesta, Biskopskula 71, Boglösa 138, Leirfall and Bakke; 4 other sites, however, also have armless figures and yet have sword scabbard lines (Ekenberg A and Lyse 610), and 2 of these have particularly disclike bodies: Rished, Tanum 360.1. The Ekenberg procession is one of the largest yet the figures are very simply carved, mere sketches; it is just conceivable that the scabbard lines are in fact penises, but this is contradicted by the stance of the feet.

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With arms and armed (weapon) (e.g. Fig. 10). In addition to the sites noted above, 2 other sites have figures holding weapons in hands (Askum 6.1) or carrying scabbards (Askum 70.1, Leonardsberg A and B). These are clearly a different kind of procession from the first group. Adorants (e.g. Fig. 13). Nine sites have rows of humans with arms upraised and without weapons shown: Tanum Vitlycke, Tanum 311, Tossene Åby, Hogdal 216 and 233, Ekenberg B, Leonardsberg A and C, Herrebro, Evenstorp B. Two of these show other attributes: some of the Herrebro figures appear to be wearing, or possess, horn-like appendages on their heads, or in place of their heads, and the Tossene Åby figures are wearing pointed hats, or have conical heads, and are probably carrying torches, or poles, in front of them. The Bakke I procession of 9 figures has several adorants. The upper row of figures at Evenstorp (A) are not adorant (see below) but a later addition in this row is a strange disc head on a pole, with adorant arms and large fingered hand; such hands occur on a number of sites in Bohuslän (Coles 1994, 27) and elsewhere, and indeed appear below the adorant row at Rished. Such processions as we see here look the opposite of the armless rows; they are celebratory, victorious perhaps, or, as their common name implies, are engaged in some act of worship. They do not appear to be surrendering. With arms but not adorant (Fig. 24). Apart from the groups noted above, one site in particular needs mention here. Evenstorp in Dalsland has previously been considered to consist of a number of figures represented only by paired legs and short stick-like bodies, with several more complete human images only at the rear of the procession. A more intensive examination in 2002 has shown that all the figures in the upper row (A) are full-bodied humans, with heads, and each with an outstretched, supplicant arm; the lower row (B) consists entirely of complete figures, many with adorant arms, and a large scabbard-wearing human at rear. The Hogdal 233 site has a varied row of human figures, some with raised arms. Robed and hooded (Fig. 18). One of the small rows of figures at Lyse 69.1 consists entirely of masked or

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Fig. 3. Tanum 1.4, Vitlycke. Upper, part of the site (Baltzer 1881); lower, the procession (painted 1990).

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Fig. 4. Tanum 25, Aspeberget. Upper, part of the site (Vitlycke Museum archive); lower, the procession (drawn from rubbing 2002). Height of figure on left is 260 mm.

otherwise disguised humans. The rubbing made for this paper seems to show detail not previously recorded; the bodies appear robed in a sub-triangular shape, like flowing robes, with an arm curved at the back, or indeed like a bustle; the heads may be just indicated, and wearing a headdress or helmet that curves forward and downwards, like a horn. There is a rather ill-defined resemblance to the more slender and stylized figures at Kivik (Fig. 1). There is a robed

figure at Hogdal 233; at Tossene Åby there are several robed figures set above the small procession. We come now to a somewhat unexpected observation of the processions. It is already clear that we are dealing with several different concepts, weaponless, armless, adorant and so on, and in the recording of all the sites some note was made of the feet portrayed. Bodies are shown full face (or backside?), arms also,

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Fig. 5. Tanum 244, Kalleby. Part of the site plan (Vitlycke Museum archive).

and legs as well, but quite often the feet are turned one way or another, and thereby show direction of travel; these are not the only indication of movement, as often the legs are shown as if swinging forward. The direction of travel is recorded in the Catalogue from our (viewer) standpoint, either to our left or to our right, but if the figures are facing out, front view of bodies, then the direction of their travel is of course the reverse of our (viewers’) standpoint; if feet are turned to our left, the figure is moving to its right. An unexpected observation about direction of travel may be worth noting here.

THE NUMBERS GAME

Through the masterly work of several authorities, particularly Malmer (1992), we have been informed about the systems of equality and mensuration in the Scandinavian Bronze Age. Numbers and quantities of metal were clearly an integral part of social and economic life, and perhaps also of symbolic behaviour. The sample of processions in the rock carvings is a small one, and so the results of simple analysis are tentative and subject to more rigorous studies. Nonetheless, here they are. Randsborg’s analysis of the Kivik cist slabs has been the starting point. At

Kivik the carvings occur mostly in groups of 4, 4 alone and 4π4 and 2π2 (Fig. 1). What is it about 4 that was important, why not 3 or 5? I suppose that 4 fingers per hand (plus opposed thumb) might play a part, as well as the symmetry created by 4 stones for a chamber, or walls for a house, or fences for a field. The 4 horseman of the Apocalypse had probably not been invented as a concept, even if all its elements were present here and there. Be that as it may, the processions carved on the sites forming the subject of this paper are either of even numbers, or odd numbers of human figures – no surprise there – and of 12 processions moving right, all have even number of participants (from 4 to 18); of 12 processions moving left, 10 have odd numbers of participants (from 5 to 25). I exclude 4 or 5 sites where the direction is unclear as well as the far distant Norwegian sites from the brief and non-statistical analysis; Leirfall is just about the only procession with a clear leading figure, Hogdal 233 perhaps. There is some little uncertainty about the inclusion or exclusion of the larger human figures that occasionally occur near to the rows of smaller figures: if within the row, inclusion, if outside the row, exclusion. The exceptions to this are Evenstorp (a later carving I think) and Leirfall in Trøndelag

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Fig. 6. Tanum 311, Gerum. Upper, part of the site (Bengtsson and Olsson 2000); lower, processions (drawn from rubbings 2002). Height of figures: on right, 185 mm; on left, 200 mm.

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Fig. 7. Tanum 351, Tegneby. Upper, part of the site (Holmberg 1848); lower, procession (drawn from rubbing 2002). Height of figure on left is 170 mm.

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Fig. 8. Tanum 360.1. Upper, photo of rock surface with carvings (JMC 2002); lower, procession (drawn from rubbing 2002). Height of figure on left is 220 mm.

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Fig. 9. Tanum 454, Tova. Upper, part of site plan (Vitlycke Museum archive); lower, procession (drawn from rubbing 2002). Height of figure on left is 195 mm.

(clearly leading figure). Small rows of figures tend to be less conclusive as to direction. It is perhaps worth mentioning that at Lyse 69.1, the 2 processions consist of 7 figures each; the upper row has 6 moving

right, 1 to the left, and the lower row has 6 robed figures moving right, and a smaller figure set beneath the row (also the right). Thus the concept of evenness and rightness is maintained; the 6 are set

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Fig. 10. Askum 6.1. Upper, part of the site (Bengtsson 1997); lower, procession (drawn from rubbing 2002). Slight variation between plan and rubbing. Height of figure on left is 230 mm.

apart from the extra body. This may sound like special pleading. Nonetheless the overall impression of the more positive rows presents us with the idea of some numerical ordering. The whole idea of left and right, odds and evens, just as darkness and light, silence and noise, i.e., paired opposites, is often significant in pre-industrial societies as Orme summarised over 20 years ago (Orme 1981). On the basis of the numbers shown in the carved processions, it may appear that the concept of evenness, balance,

was expressed by a rightward signal, and unevenness (better word than oddness), imbalance, was signalled by a leftward movement. The evenness and oddness in number/direction of travel is present in all of the groups identified above – armless, armed, adorant. It would be interesting to see if this small suggestive concept was expressed in other spheres of activity, by numbers of objects in hoards and their positions, of pits and postholes in relation to entrances, and of carvings of boats and their crews on the rocks (a

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Fig. 11. Askum 67.2 (Rished). Upper, site plan (Bengtsson and Olsson 2002); lower, procession (drawn from rubbing 2002). Note variation on lefthand figure (direction of feet). Height of figure on left is 180 mm.

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Fig. 12. Askum 70.1, Rished. Upper, plan of the site (Bengtsson and Olsson 2002); lower, procession (drawn from rubbing 2002). Some variation in detail of bodies. Height of figure on left is 280 mm.

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Fig. 13. Tossene 73, Åby. Upper, part of site (photo 2002 JMC); lower, procession (drawn from rubbing 2002). Height of figure on left is 210 mm.

preliminary survey of the boat crews suggests conformity with the concept). As sites with rock carvings have published or easily recorded orientations, the rock surface sloping down in particular directions, a further listing could be made, to show the direction in which the processions were heading. The results are not particularly illumi-

nating; most of the sites with odd-numbered participants were moving between the compass points S – ENE. In contrast, the even-numbered participants moved all around the compass, N-E-S-W. At this point it seemed useful not to pursue such matters any further, as there is variety both in composition and in orientation. Final comments appear below.

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Fig. 14. Tossene 77. Upper, site photo (A. Toreld); lower, procession (drawn from rubbing 2002). Height of figure fourth from right is 290 mm.

THE IDEA OF A PROCESSION, SEEN FROM AFAR

The idea of a procession can originate in a multitude of ways, and some have already been indicated. In the literature of the south Scandinavian rock carvings there is a constant, indeed monotonous, reference to

inspirations from the east Mediterranean and west Asian lands, as if somehow many of the themes identified in the carvings are clear reflections of events and ideas that once existed far to the south, and were somehow transmitted to the north. Most writers,

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Fig. 15. Tossene 82. Upper, site photo (T. Andersson); lower, procession (drawn from rubbing 2002). Height of figure third from left is 195 mm.

while espousing such thoughts, emphasise that no direct or even semi-direct contact is envisaged; it is unlikely that any Scandinavian walked the streets of Mycenae or Bogazköy or Nineveh, unless as single adventurers, or slaves, nor were merchants from these places likely to have faced the journey, laden with goods, to northern lands. If what we see on the rocks,

and in other parts of the archaeological record, bears some vague similarity to or recollection of events and materials from far away, there must have been some length of time and transmission through many hands, before the objects or concepts were accepted by the societies of the north, and adapted to local needs. The annual/seasonal model of marketing across North

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Fig. 16. Hogdal 216 (Nybygget). Upper, part of site plan (Vitlycke Museum archive); lower, 2 processions (drawn from rubbing 2002). Much new detail has been added. Height of figure on left, upper row, is 350mm, height of central figure, lower row, is 180 mm.

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Fig. 17. Hogdal 233 (S. Gåshult). Upper, part of site plan (Vitlycke Museum archive); lower, 2 processions (drawn from rubbing 2002). Some new detail has been added to the record. Height of largest figure, upper row, is 610mm; height of figure on left, lower row, is 350 mm.

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Fig. 18. Lyse 69.1, Stångenäs. Upper, two parts of the site (Vitlycke Museum archive); lower, processions (drawn from rubbings 2002). Some extra detail. Height of figures: upper row, on left, is 185 mm; lower row, second left, is 192 mm.

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Fig. 19. Lyse 610. Site plan (Vitlycke Museum archive).

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Fig. 20. Kville 143, Stora Jore. Upper, plan of the site (Fredsjö 1981); lower, procession (drawn from rubbing 2002). Height of figure on left is 200 mm.

America suggests a rapidity of transference of goods, and, perhaps, ideas, but a multiplicity of essentially unconnected persons engaged in the trading and exchange processes (Orme 1981, p. 188–189).

Trade routes via middlemen from central Europe to the north, and the south, were in existence in the second millennium BC as the few surviving artifacts demonstrate, but the mechanisms remain vague and

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Fig. 21. Ekenberg Norrköping. Upper, part of the site (photo 1976 JMC); lower, processions A and B (drawn from rubbings 2002). Height of figures on left: A 205 mm, B 110 mm.

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Fig. 22. Herrebro Norrköping. Upper, part of site (photo 2002 JMC); lower, procession (drawn from rubbing 2002). Height of figure on left is 195 mm.

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Fig. 23. Leonardsberg Norrköping. Upper, part of site (photo 1976 JMC); lower, processions A, B and C (drawn from rubbings 2002). Height of figures on left: A 200 mm, B 230 mm, C 164 mm.

ill-understood (Gimbutas 1965), although we have been presented with a range of thoughtful models by Bouzek (1966) and especially Harding (1984).

Nonetheless, there is a body of evidence that has been advanced by a number of authorities and that may just indicate the existence of distorted percep-

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Fig. 24. Evenstorp Älvsborgs Län. Upper, part of site (Rex Svensson 1982); lower, processions A and B (drawn from rubbing 2002). Considerable variation between plan and rubbings. Height of figures on left: A 370 mm, B 290 mm.

tions of matters from the more developed world (Randsborg 1993, 1999; Larsson 1997, 1999a and b; Kristiansen 1998). The illustrative evidence is interesting, if selective, and ranges from the Aegean world (e.g. Marinotas 1960; Christopoulos 1970, 1975) and east Mediterranean (e.g. Rohl 2000) through Anatolia (e.g. Bittel 1950) and into lands beyond where the relationships become more obscure (Oppenheim 1964; Oates and Oates 2001). The monumental work of Müller-Karpe (1980) is often used as source-book for particular resemblances such as conical hats, but the huge variety of reliefs, carvings, painting and other representational materials from such a vast world over such a time-frame really means that we might be able to find whatever we seek; granted the distances and the chronologies, ‘anything goes’. This may well read as a criticism of the often careful exploration of potential linkages, and is meant as a cautionary comment only (and see Malmer 1989 for similar concerns).

So we turn to the processions and here the southern foreign literature does not fail. Lines of humans, robed and unrobed, with cauldrons and altars, musicians, carts, horns, boats even, can be seen in Minoan tombs, and on Hittite vases and stone reliefs, neatly presented for us by Müller-Karpe (1980, taf. 174; Randsborg 1993, 126–130), and a painted frieze at Thera presents a suitably impressive line of humans (incidentally moving to its right and numbering 16) (Christopoulos 1974, pl. ii). Randsborg points to a splendid Hittite vase from Inaniktepe in Anatolia which carried a set of processional events, robed and unrobed humans, with gifts or merely in attendance, and sufficient detail to comprehend the purpose of the ceremony – sacrifices, feasting and perhaps a wedding (Randsborg 1993, 129). Such clarity of representation is matched by the later extraordinary series of ivory panels from the ‘throne room’ of Ezida at Nimrud which depict a reception by a king of a procession of bearers of tributes

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Fig. 25. Häljesta Västmanland. Upper, part of site (Coles 2001); lower, procession (drawn from rubbing 2002). Height of figure on left of main row is 240 mm.

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Fig. 26. Biskopskulla 71, Uppland. Left, site view (photo JMC and Coles 2000); right, procession (drawn from rubbing 2002). Height of figure on right is 410 mm.

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Fig. 27. Boglösa 138 Rickeby. Upper, part of the site (Coles 2000); lower, procession (drawn from rubbing 2002). New detail from rubbing. Height of figure on left is 253 mm.

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Fig. 28. Leirfall III, Nord-Trøndelag. Upper, part of the site (photo 1991 JMC); lower, procession (Sognnes 2001). Height of figure on left is 465 mm.

(Oates and Oates 2001, Fig. 74), and the list of processional events from the whole of Western Asia, and Egypt too, could be expanded. But what these tell us about the Scandinavian rock

carvings of small processions is very uncertain. Could our rows of human images suggest a processional event tightly structured in order to express a solidarity of population, as in, for example, Renaissance Venice

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Fig. 29. Bakke I and III, Jondal. Lower, part of Bakke I (Mandt 1972); upper right, part of Bakke III (Mandt 1973); upper left, procession at Bakke I (photo 1992 JMC).

And on They went ... Processions in Scandinavian Bronze Age rock carvings (Muir 1981), or perhaps a firm acknowledgement of a leader’s importance, as in Hittite imagery (Gurney 1990) or Athenian society (Connor 1987)? As an alternative, we hear that processions in Shintoˆ Japan could degenerate into riotous gatherings (Schnell 1997; Johnston 1999). The idea of initiates, a passingout from youth or apprenticeship to full community participation, might also apply to the armless processions, or indeed the adorants. Perhaps the carvings record simply the moments when land tenure was to be re-affirmed, by processing around the edges, as in the Scottish Borders ‘Riding the marches’, or English ‘Beating the Bounds’, or as the Marching Season in Northern Ireland, to maintain a presence on traditional parade routes, purports to establish. In total contrast to this view of active processions, the ordination of priests into the Catholic Church requires the inductees to advance in processional formation and prostrate themselves in rows of ten before the Pope. No application of this particular model is implied here, but it may just emphasize that the range of possibilities for close interpretation is vast, and we cannot hope to come to a precision of thought based on the kind of evidence we now possess. Larsson has cautiously summarised the position, seeing the south Scandinavian symbolism and cosmology ‘shaped by ideas originating in the Near East and Asia Minor’ (1999a). Recent assessments of the one-for-one comparisons (e.g. Winter 2002 with extensive references) move us a little forward towards a closer examination of the mechanisms by which these shapes and ideas came to be embedded, and to sprout, in the north, and then to flower into a variety of representations that bear only the most general of resemblances to the original stock. This stock, the ideology of the far south and east, was complex, and its memories on the rocks of the north are simplistic, reduced to essentials perhaps, and lacking much of the explanatory detail of the originals; perhaps the explanations were long forgotten. It was probably the importance of the journeys, gaining access to the imaginary exotic, or heroic travels, rites of passage, that were a part of indigenous lore, memorialised through even the briefest and simplest of representation on the rocks; the lines of humans (our processions) set below large boat carvings might well be more audience, wit-

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nesses of arrival, than a deliberate procession. No explanation alone can account for the variety seen even on the rocks of the north. For us in the present context, there are only a limited number of distinct processional images on the rocks of the north, and close-knitted sets of figures must surely signify local northern concerns and concepts that had only a dim recollection, if that, of original ideologies from other lands and cultures. Their stronger base must lie in indigenous traditions and rituals that came in time to be immortalised on the rocks. In advocating this line, I only follow Bertilsson’s summary of conflicting opinions (1995, 212) and glance back at Malmer (1981, 1989) and Nordbladh (1978). What has yet to be elucidated, or indeed set out in some detail, are the putative origins of such concepts as we see on the rocks, origins that may well have had a lengthy prehistory before memorialisation upon the rocks. The perception of these rows of humans, surely Scandinavian bodies and nothing more exotic, suggests a strong base of long-term traditions, and a powerful expression of behavioural traits that we have yet to comprehend. Deacon’s title ‘... what comes first, the art or the place?’ seems apposite (2001).

SETTING THE PROCESSIONS ON COURSE

One of the features of the processions on the rocks is the proximity that could be firmly expressed between the rows of human figures and other images deemed to be significant to them. By setting such powerful images close to the human rows, or in otherwise dominant positions, a relationship and relevance could be emphasised. Of the sites that carry processions, 7 have carvings of very large boats immediately adjacent to the human figures, and other sites have boats, smaller in size, not far distant. The idea of size as dominant is also seen on several other sites where, for example, large cattle at Tanum 351 or the so-called ‘maypole’ at Tanum 311 wholly overwhelm the armless or the adorant humans. The other processions are more varied in their neighbouring images, although boats, logically enough, are almost always present. The surrounding footsoles at Leirfall in Trøndelag are a striking exception. The presence of boat images is also relevant to the

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landscape settings of the processions. Direction of travel is one feature that might well point to intimate local relationships, such as adjacent monuments, natural features or places where events were to take place or had already occurred. One pointer, often seen from the vantage and direction of the processional images, is the presence nearby of additional, smaller rock carving sites, at Tanum 25, 351 and 360.1, and at Ekenberg, Herrebro and Leonardsberg, and at Häljesta, and at Boglösa 138. We might well conclude that the processional sites marked assembly places for activities involving symbolic visits to the adjacent complexes of sites where doubtless other images reflected the local concerns. And any analysis of the particular terrains of the sites with human figures in rows can readily argue these places as points of entry or departure, at the heads or sides of narrow inlets (Tanum Vitlycke, Tossene Åby, Leonardsberg for example) or as viewpoints onto widening wetlands and watery flatlands, some of them open water (Tanum 25, 360.1, Ekenberg, Herrebro, Häljesta, Biskopskula 71 and Boglösa 138 for example). The variation seen within the identified processions in this paper suggests that they probably had a variety of meanings to the societies that encouraged their creation and maintained their presence in an emergent landscape undergoing quite substantial change. The concept of procession, a gathering together and orderly progression, may well have been directed towards real, or imagined, monuments, vantage points, places of opportunity and fulfilment, with a wetland or expanse of water often near at hand. The lines of humans may have been assembled and memorialised in order to establish the right to the land, the place marking its focal point or the route from which the

assertion of occupancy could emanate. By the exhibition of artistry and perhaps by the exaggeration of attributes, the base was strengthened. And by the elaboration of ceremonial events, seasonal, generation or otherwise episodic, the foundation of society, its assumed power and its belief in its pre-determined longevity could be enhanced and re-invigorated by periodic enhancement of its strengths, which lay in its people certainly, in its processions too, in its land tenure and established economic practices, and in its firm and indestructible record of presence and achievement on the rocks. The processions did not follow a vague or ill-defined route, an empty path; their way was marked by the rewards of a stable society, and a place in a wider world of which most of the participants knew nothing.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The fieldwork for this study has been supported by the British Academy through its Small Grants Scheme, with funds from the Gertrude Caton-Thompson Fund. In 2002 my field visits and consultations were also supported by the Royal Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities International Exchange Scheme between the Royal Academy and the British Academy. I am grateful for this continuing support. I have also benefited from assistance in the field and through correspondence with Bo Gräslund, Lasse Bengtsson, Peter Jankavs, Tommy Andersson, Andreas Toreld, Ann-Charlotte Hertz, Gro Mandt, Kalle Sognnes, Geir Sør-Reime, Helge Braathen and Einar Østmo. I might add as emphasis that my association, over many years, with both Bo Gräslund and Lasse Bengtsson has always been to my profit in practical assistance and in academic dialogue. I also thank Bryony Coles for good advice and Jo Coles for typing a series of drafts of this paper. In Bohuslän the archive of the Vitlycke Museum has been made available to me through the good offices of Lasse Bengtsson.

And on They went ... Processions in Scandinavian Bronze Age rock carvings

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