Bølareinen rock carvings of Steinkjer

Bølareinen (English: the Bøla reindeer) is the name of the primary motif in a large petroglyph site near Stod in Steinkjer Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is sometimes referred to as Bølafeltet (English: the Bøla site). The Bølarein has been mentioned as "probably the most well known of all the Norwegian petroglyphs", and as "the finest rock carving we have in our country." The Bølarein was discovered in 1842. Since 1969, several other petroglyphs have been found on the same rock face. It is now considered to consist of around 30 figures which can be divided into four groups. The largest and most visible figures depict a reindeer, a bear, an elk, a seabird and a skier. In the Nordic context, distinctions are drawn between carvings depicting hunting (“veideristninger”) and carvings depicting agriculture (“jordbruksristninger”), and the Bøla field shows hunting carvings. These may have been used as part of hunting magic, or to mark hunting territory. The south Sámi museum Saemien Sijte took over the operation of the Bøla cafe in 2017, and the petroglyphs are now interpreted in light of Sami history in the area.

The Bøla petroglyphs are located east of Steinkjer, where the small Bøla river flows into Snåsavatnet (English: Lake Snåsa). The carvings are dated to 3400–3200 years BCE. At that time, Snåsa Lake was still part of the Trondheim Fjord. The water level was 35–40 metres higher than it is today, stopping just below the carvings. Due to the rise of land masses following the last glacial period, Snåsa Lake is no longer part of the Trondheim Fjord. At the time that the carvings were made, the rock face was a headland jutting into the fjord's waters. The reindeer was discovered in 1842 by Benjamin Vikran, a local farmer from Vikran Farm. The first drawing of the figure was made c. 1870 by journalist David Habel. The first survey was carried out by the Swedish archaeologist Gustaf Hallström in 1907. Agnes Schulz carried out further research in 1934, and her work was incorporated into an overview produced by Gutorm Gjessing in 1936. Professor Kalle Sognnes carried out research on the site from 1979 to the 2000s. When the Nordland Line was constructed i

Archaeological site data from Wikidata (CC0). Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).