During the years, we have participated in various national and international projects. At present we are involved in a few projects, dealing with the documentation and registration of the rock carvings as well as with tourism.

The devil is in the details

Frottage can be considered an objective documentation technique, reproducing the carved figures and the surrounding surface, complete with all its details, very precisely, in original size. The digitization (scanning) of this colossal material was a unique opportunity to study details - revealing the secrets of the carvings. This experience made it possible to survey a large body of material for the first time, forming the basis for detailed studies - the devil is found in the details.

While scanning the rubbings, a new phenomenon was discovered - “updating”: where additions have been made to the figures over time (Milstreu 2017). It can be demonstrated that there is up to a time span of approximately 1,000 years between the original depiction of the ship and the later addition. In the example shown to the right, horse heads have been added to the prow of an earlier ship. Studies show other figure types have also been updated (Bertilsson 2015).

Since the introduction of 3D methods in 2013 – photogrammetry and optical laser scanning – for documentation in rock carving research, the usefulness of traditional versus analog techniques has been discussed. Digital methods were initially considered a replacement for the analogue methods, as they would be more objective and therefore better suited for research. However, it is becoming increasingly clear that both methods do not replace, but rather complement each other. Analog documentation often reveals at least the same information as 3D (Meijer & Dodd 2020). However, the visibility of the figures - and their details - on frottage and 3D has not been systematically compared on a large scale (refer Bertilsson et al, 2014 for earlier work).

As it will take many years before the same number of carvings will be documented using digital methods, frottage will remain a major research resource. Therefore, it is important to understand the value of the analogue material.
How many of the figures are visible in the paper rubbing (frottage) versus a 3D model - and products derived thereof - of the same surface? In addition, what is the visibility of certain details? Especially updates, which are not only crucial for understanding the chronology, but also understanding the role of the carvings over time. The entire archive (or a very large sample) and existing 3D documentations will be used to conduct two registrations: one using frottage, one based on the 3D model.
The aim is not to suggest which is better than the other, but to examine the potential of the archive as source material in its own right moving forward in the digital age. Publication of our findings has obvious benefits from research and heritage management perspectives.

How might we exploit this rich body of 2,5D data using tools developed for the visualisation, recording and analysis of the 3D material? We are particularly interested in how frottage data might be used to expand the training dataset for machine learning applications already developed (Horn et al. 2021; 2024; Green et al. 2024), as well as borrow techniques for image processing to assist researchers in the field and in the archive during the process of recognizing the figures on the rock surface: assisting the workflow and highlighting potentially overlooked anomalies for further investigation.

The project is financed by Hägglunds Stiftelsen.

SHFA

SHFA is an international archive for the documentation and research of rock carvings from the university of Göteborg. The archive was set up with the help from Riksbanken Jubileumsfund, Riksantikvarieämbetets FoU-anslag and Vetenskapsrådet.

In 2007 a research team was formed and an archive and digitization centre was set up at Tanums Hällristningsmuseum in Underslös and a nationwide inventory of all primary field documentation of rock carvings was started. By making both the historic depictions from the inventory and the new documentation material accessible in the database of SHFA establishes an unique opportunity for research of rock art documentation.

Sweden and Scandinavia has a close to 400 year old tradition of rock art documentation and research. The documentation through the years has resulted in a richness of archive material with a great research potentional, consisting of images on paper and transparent plast, castings, photo’s, maps and descriptions. All this material will be digitalized and added to the database. At present thousands of files from Scandinavia, Spain and Italy are available on the website SHFA.dh.gu.se.

Gypaf

Sømarke-dyssen South Sjaelland and Møn are rich with prehistoric remains, but they are not so well described or visible. Gypaf – Give your past a Future – is a project that started in 2006 in cooperation with Museum Sydøstdanmark in Vordingborg, Smykkemuseum Møn in Damme, Tanums Hällristningsmuseum in Sweden and, at a later stage, Vordingborg Kommune.

The prehistoric remains are among others the gravehills and the rock carvings. Even though they seem to have been made for eternity, the present conditions have deteriorated, making them sensitive to weathering. It is therefore important to see to good documentation of these prehistoric remains, which often lead to new discoveries. A similar project was done at Bornholm, where the prehistoric remains increased from 150 known carvings at the start to 450 places at the end.

At Møn most carvings consist of cup marks – small round impressions between 20 – 60 mm in diameter and 2 – 20 mm deep. The target of the project is to find all known and if possible some new carvings and see to a good documentation.

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