Representations of oxhide ingots in Scandinavian rock art: the sketchbook of a Bronze Age traveller?

Abstract

Abstract

Landscape in the Longue Durée

“…The shape of these copper and tin ingots bears a general resemblance to an ox hide because of the four projecting handles at both ends of the rectangular body of the ingot. Ling and Stos-Gale have reported recent discoveries of images of ox-hide ingots in Scandinavian rock art from Bohuslän along the west coast of Sweden and eastern central Sweden (Ling and Stos-Gale 2015). The numbers of such rock carvings are small, but their shapes are indeed suggestive of this interpretation.…”

Late Bronze Age Oxhide and oxhide‐like ingots from areas other than the Mediterranean: problems and challenges

“…; Hadjisavvas ). Third, ingots are known from various types of figurative representations: a) paintings and reliefs from Egypt (Bass ; Wachsmann ); b) bronze stands, cultic statuettes and cylinder seals from Cyprus (Knapp ; Papasavvas 2009; 2011); c) Mycenaean ceramics from Cyprus and Linear B tablets from Knossos, Crete (Knapp ; Papasavvas ); d) rock art panels from Scandinavia (Ling and Stos‐Gale ). It is this diverse evidence which suggests that complex narratives can be associated with this class of material (cf.…”

“…Their earliest occurrence appeared until recently to be limited to Crete and the eastern Mediterranean. However, newly discovered oxhide ingot images from Swedish rock art might also date to the sixteenth century BC (Ling and Stos‐Gale ; Sabatini in press). This could indicate that oxhide ingots had a wide distribution from the very beginning.…”

“…a) has been detected on the rock panel Kville 156:1, at Torsbo in northern Bohuslän, western Sweden. Dating rock art is not uncomplicated , but the representation of the ingot may be contemporary with the carved boats dating to the sixteenth century BC, in the vicinity of which it was identified (Ling and Rowlands ; Ling and Stos‐Gale ). Another conceivable representation appears ‘on board’ a peculiar ship (Fig.…”

“…Another conceivable representation appears ‘on board’ a peculiar ship (Fig. b) carved on a panel from Östra Eneby 1:1 (Ling and Stos‐Gale ). This representation is particularly interesting because the ship on which the probable oxhide ingot is depicted does not appear to be of Scandinavian type.…”