According to multiple reports, the rediscovery was made possible by a 200-year-old sketch drawn by Carl Georg Brunius, who documented rock carvings in his home parish of Tanum during his student days in the early 1800s. The carving, which consists of at least ten ships, six animals, three footprints, and a number of cup marks, had been lost to collective memory despite its size. Tanum is home to over 600 known rock carvings, making it a significant World Heritage site in northern Bohuslän.
Hans Lundenmark, an antiquarian at Vitlycke Museum, told Aftonbladet that the carving had been depicted before but was lost, with the drawings archived in Stockholm as unpublished manuscripts. The carving lies in the middle of a forest road, a location that Lundenmark described as unfortunate. According to Aftonbladet, Lundenmark said the carving will be protected and buried again, a decision he noted may sound sad but reflects the abundance of fine rock carvings in the area, allowing this one to be preserved for future generations. The exact measures for protection before reburial have not been specified, and it remains unclear whether the carving will be scanned or documented beforehand.
Unfortunately, it lies right in the middle of a forest road.
Another carving depicted by Brunius, featuring at least 200 individual carvings, remains lost despite several search attempts. According to Aftonbladet, Lundenmark noted that there are descriptions from the early 1900s of people searching for it, and recent attempts in the past few weeks have also failed. He expressed surprise that such a large carving could disappear from collective memory. The location of this other lost carving remains unknown, as does the precise location of the forest road where the newly rediscovered carving was found. It is also unclear why the carving was not discovered earlier despite being on a forest road.
This rock carving has been depicted before, but it had been lost, so to speak. The drawings are in an archive in Stockholm, as unpublished manuscripts only.
It will be protected and buried, which may sound a bit sad. At the same time, we are a bit spoiled with fine rock carvings, so we are passing this one on to future generations.
There are descriptions from the early 1900s that people have searched. And now we have made a few attempts in recent weeks.
It is very strange because it is so large. But it has somehow disappeared from collective memory.