– It makes me furious. It’s absolutely terrible. Trond Klungseth Lødøen is associate professor of archeology at the University Museum in Bergen. At the over 6,000-year-old rock art field Ausevik in Kinn municipality, three cases of vandalism have been discovered. According to Vestland County Council, the demolition work was carried out once in the spring of this year. In company with the old rock carvings, someone has drawn in initials, the number 23 and various figures. Lødøen cannot understand other than that the actions are about thoughtlessness. – It is modern scribbling that destroys the experience of the prehistoric pictorial language, he says. He believes the authenticity of the rock art field is completely destroyed by the drawings that have now been drawn in. Trond Klungseth Lødøen is associate professor of archeology at the University Museum in Bergen. Photo: Leif Rune Løland / news Irreparable damage Per Morten Ekerhovd in Vestland county council is also dismayed by what has happened. He calls the 6,000-year-old rock art field “one of the finest rock art fields.” – What is most obvious is a male genital organ carved into the rock, says Ekerhovd. As the county council sees it now, the damage to the rock art field is irreparable precisely because the drawings are scratched in the stone. – It helps to reduce the experience of what you see when you visit Ausevika, says Ekerhovd. – The Øydelegg experience at Lødøen shows that there are few such fields in Western Norway. In Vestland county there are four fields, two in Hardanger, the Vingen field and Ausevik. In autumn, the petroglyph field in Vangdal in Kvam was covered with unwanted graffiti. A lot of public funds have agreed to facilitate the rock art field in Ausevik, the county council points out. The area has, among other things, received service buildings, pedestrian crossings and several signs. Lødøen believes that something drastic must be done to prevent similar injuries. – We either educate people even better or we have to close the field. And it’s a shame when we use so many resources to keep it open and accessible to people, he says. Figures, initials and numbers are drawn on the rock art field. Photo: Vestland county municipality Being reported to the police There are around 300 rock carvings in Ausevika. The county municipality believes that the damage is in violation of the Cultural Heritage Act § 3, first paragraph, on the prohibition of “damaging, destroying, excavating, moving, changing, covering, hiding or in any other way inappropriately defacing protected cultural heritage, or creating a risk that this may happen ». Ekerhovd says that the county council reports the matter to the police. Over the summer, the county council, the cultural environment administration and land owner Kinn municipality will consider what measures can be put in place to prevent more damage. Per Morten Ekerhovd is department director for culture and public health in Vestland county municipality. Photo: Leif Rune Løland / news
ttn-69
Has damaged 6,000-year-old rock carvings – news Vestland
