The rock carvings in Hjemmeluft

Provided by:

Alta museum

Welcome to Hjemmeluft – the heart of the Alta World Heritage Site. You are now standing in one of the world’s largest and most spectacular areas of rock art. Around you lies a landscape that has been used, shaped and interpreted by people for over five thousand years. Along the paths you will follow, you will encounter traces of life, belief, hunting, travel and stories – carved into the rock by people who lived here long before our era. Hjemmeluft was probably an important meeting place. The long Altafjord connected the coast and the inland, and the people who lived here moved between sea, mountains and plains. When you walk here today, you are walking in a landscape that is similar to what they themselves experienced – only the sea has retreated. The rocks you see around you once lay on the shore, and it was here that the rock carvings were made, layer by layer, over thousands of years. Along this route you will visit 25 selected sites. Together they tell the story of the people who lived here between approximately 7,000 and 2,000 years ago. You will see images of reindeer, moose, bears and whales, of boats and hunters, of fish, tracks, symbols and people. Some motifs seem recognizable, others enigmatic – but all provide a glimpse into a world where nature, life and spirituality were closely intertwined. Take your time. Look around. Feel the landscape, the light and the silence. The rock carvings are not just old images – they are voices from the past, preserved in stone. When you are ready, you can move on to the first stop and begin your journey through Homeland and five thousand years of human history.

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