EXPERIMENTAL ARCHEOLOGY INSPIRED BY ROCK ART - BRONZE AGE SCANDINAVIAN BOATS:

Highlighted petroglyph, Bronze Age Scandinavian boat. Photograph bradshawfoundation.com.

For years I have been intrigued by the interesting designs of Bronze and Iron Age boats portrayed in rock art. The design looked to me as if they were built with a keel that protrudes from the water in a graceful curve. Above this an extension of the gunwales mirrors that curve, and the two curved elements are cross-connected by braces. Now, a reconstruction of one of the actual watercraft has shown us the true form of these boats, and proven its efficacy.

Highlighted petroglyphs, Bronze Age Scandinavian boats, animals and people. Photograph bradshawfoundation.com.

The images in pictographs and petroglyphs are tantalizing, but did not contain enough information to explain how these boats were constructed. This all changed in the second decate of the 20^th century with the discovery of the Hjortspring boat.

The reconstructed remains of the Hjortspring boat at the National Museum of Denmark in Copenhagen. Internet image, public domain.

“The Hjortspring boat (Danish: Hjortspringbåden) is a vessel designed as a large canoe, from the Scandinavian Pre-Roman Iron Age. It was built circa 400–300 BC. The hull and remains were rediscovered and excavated in 1921–1922 from the bog of Hjortspring Mose on the island of Als in Sonderjylland, , southern Denmark. The boat is the oldest find of a wooden plank ship in Scandinavia and it closely resembles the thousands of petroglyiph images of Nordic Bronze Age ships found throughout Scandinavia.” (Wikipedia) Between the knowledge gained from the remaining fragments of the actual boat, and the numerous rock art images, a modern reconstruction of the boat could be assembled, using original methods and materials, and tested. A fascinating experimental archeology project.

A modern replica of the Hjortspring Boat, named the Tilia Alsie. Photograph by the National Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen.

This reconstruction allowed Boel Bengtsson and team (2025) to perform tests in a study designed to find out if these boats could be considered practical seafaring (open ocean) transportation, or if they were confined to inland and coastal waterways following land.

Bengtsson described the area of their study. “The area of Thy is situated in northern Jutland, Denmark, on the northern shores of the sheltered inland waterways afforded by the Limfjord and with the exposed sandy seashores of the Skagerrak to the north. The strategic location on the Limfjord, which offered a relatively safe and sheltered east-westerly seafaring route, connecting the North Sea with the Baltic Sea up until its western entrance silted up in the Middle Ages, no doubt helped ensure its position as centre of wealth and power from the Late Neolithic period into the Bronze Age. Across the Skagerrak strait, the small peninsula of Lista at the very southern tip of Norway, is recognized by good agricultural land, sandy beaches, smaller inlets, waterways and fjords that could serve as portages in order to avoid the more exposed and dangerous stretches of sea around the peninsula.” (Bengtsson et al. 2025:4) So, the question is do these ancient mariners stick to a longer, safer route keeping the shore in view, or do they strike out over open water on a much shorter crossing?

This area is quite appropriate for the conduct of such a study as it encompasses Bohuslan, an amazingly endowed rock art site with huge numbers of boat images. “Bohuslän, placed roughly halfway along the coastal route between Lista and Thy, is the richest rock art area in Europe and in Scandinavia, featuring over 10,000 boat images, and is believed to have been an important boatbuilding and transit area in the Bronze Age.” (Bengtsson et al. 2025:6) There could hardly have been a more appropriate study area.

A modern image of the Tilia Alsie. From the National Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen.

“The simulations of potential routes suggested in this paper rely on available performance data of a Bronze Age type vessel. The only vessel that can be argued represent a Bronze Age type vessel and for which such performance data exists that could be used is the c.350 BC Hjortspring boat. This boat was found during peat excavations in the Hjortspring bog on the island of Als in southern Denmark in the 1880’s and was excavated in 1921–1922. About 40% of the boat has been recovered, enabling the reconstruction of a double ended plank-built boat that from stem to stem is c. 14 meters long, with a total of 10 internal thwarts, each with carved out seats for two paddlers. The overall length of the boat is extended by two sets of horn projections at either end. The lower of these are attached to the c. 15.4 m long bottom plank which protrudes from the bottom plank at each end, whereas the upper horn projections extend outward and upwards following the shape of the gunwale, making them ideal for long distance paddling, along with two steering oars, one located at each end of the vessel. Neither of the two steering oars were complete and estimates of their individual blade lengths vary between 53 cm  to 75 cm, but could have been longer still.” (Bengtsson 2025:17-18) The finding of the Hjortspring Boat provided construction details that were not revealed by the rock art, and the rock art showed the overall ideal shape for a reconstruction.

Artist conception of a Bronze Age boat and crew. By Hakon Lystad.

“Parallels to the unusual design features of the Hjortspring boat appear in depictions of boats in both rock art and bronzes dating from c. 1600 BC onwards in Scandinavia  and are also marked out on contemporary ship-settings in the region. This, along with the refined boatbuilding technology employed in its construction, strongly suggests that it was built within a well-established Scandinavian boatbuilding tradition with its roots at the very beginning of the Bronze Age. Hence it is justifiable to refer to it as a “Bronze Age Type Boat” despite it being of a slightly younger date.” (Bengtsson 2025:19) This is attested to by the fact that the remaining fragments, when reassembled, match so many of the petroglyphs of Bronze Age boats in that area.

Highlighted petroglyph of warriors battling on a Bronze Age boat at Tanum, Sweden. Internet image, public domain.

These also provided enough data for a complete reconstruction of such a Bronze Age vessel. “A reconstruction of this boat, called the Tilia Alsie, was launched ready for sea trials in 1999, and was, between 1999 and 2001, tested extensively by both members of the Hjortspringbådens Laug and professional Dragon boat racers under the supervision of Max Vinner from the Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde [83]. Both the process of reconstruction and the on-water trials and their results have been published in the Ships and Boats of the North series in a volume co-edited by Ole Crumlin-Pedersen and Athena Trakadas in 2003. Further testing of the vessel was made in 2006, this time under sail, the results of which were published in the Maritime Journal of Archaeology in 2011.” (Bengtsson 2025:19) If anyone would be able to put this reconstruction to the test it would be the professional dragon boat racers. The whole project is a great example of experimental archeology informed by both the archeological data and the rock art of Bronze Age boats so prevalent in the area.

NOTE: Some images in this posting were retrieved from the internet with a search for public domain photographs. If any of these images are not intended to be public domain, I apologize, and will happily provide the picture credits if the owner will contact me with them. For further information on these reports you should read the original reports at the sites listed below.

REFERENCES:

Bengtsson, Boel, et al., 2025, Seafaring and navigation in the Nordic Bronze Age: The application of an ocean voyage tool and boat performance data for comparing direct open water crossings with sheltered coastal routes, PLoS One 20(4). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0320791. Accessed online 7 April 2025.

Radley, Dario, 2025, Bronze Age Scandinavians braved open seas 3,000 years before the Vikings, new study reveals, 6 April 2025, Archaeology Magazine online, https://archaeologymag.com. Accessed online 7 April 2025.

Wikipedia, Hjortspring boat, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hjortsprint_boat.

 

GEOGLYPHS OF THE BLACK DESERT OF JORDAN - PART 2: VIRTUDES PONTES SANCHEZ' THEORY:

Geoglyphs, Black Rock Desert, Jordan. Note the varying number of subdivisions.

A series of very interesting geoglyphs stretch across a volcanic wasteland known as the Black Desert of Jordan. I was made aware of these when I received a communication from Tomás Tarjuelo Palomino, a collaborator introducing me to the theory of Spanish researcher Mrs. Virtudes Pontes Sánchez who has been studying the geoglyphs. In the following paragraphs I will present the geoglyphs and then go into the theory of Mrs. Sánchez and Mr. Palomino.

These geoglyphs have occasionally been lumped into the same category as the ‘desert kites (see Note below)’ that I have written about previously. This should not be accepted, however, as the ‘desert kites’ are obviously traps for hunting antelope and these particular geoglyphs purposes are unknown, but none of them seem to have a shape that would function as an effective animal trap. Were they residences, temples, tombs or fortifications, nobody seems to currently know.

The marvelous geoglyphs of the Black Rock Desert of Jordan and surrounding areas are mysterious for two basic reasons. The first would be lack of study, not enough research has been done to determine what they were intended for. The second is their tremendous variety which seems to belie a commonality of purpose. Their internal structures are so variable.

These differences, which puzzle a linear thinker like me, seem to be exactly what inspired the unique theory of Mrs. Sanchez as communicated to me by Mr. Palomino.

Egg cell (Oocyte) immediatly after fertilization.

In her own words Mrs. Virtudes Pontes Sánchez described her reactions to seeing the geoglyphs. “In the Jordanian Black Desert several circles can be clearly distinguished thanks to the technological development which makes effective the high-definition photographing from satellites. Said circles compound specific geoglyphs and are created with stones of basalt Furthermore, they are still a matter of speculation by archaeologists, who have speculated about different theories and scopes. However, no archaeologist has a clear idea of what they really represent and their finality. When I saw those images and after my experience of more than 28 years researching the ancient scripture and the megalithic archaeology I realized what the above mentioned circles of basalt are and the role they fulfill.” (Palomino and Sanchez 2025) The letter was accompanied by screen shots from Google Earth of a large number of the geoglyphs, as well as microscopic views of developing embryos.

First division of fertilized egg cell.

As I said, when seen from above, the geoglyphs reminded Mrs. Sanchez of developing embryos as seen through a microscope. “The concerned geoglyphs constitute maps of embryonic experiments, and if you pay close attention to the picture you will realize the result of two species: one is human, whereas the other is reptilian. The five embryos located on the left side of the picture are human, whereas the remaining embryos are reptilian. They show the embryonic development until they become blastocyst.” (Palomino and Sanchez 2025)

Further division into three cells.

“As you can see, the pictures representing the geoglyphs and the latter pictures are the same kind of pictures. Both display embryos in development, with the difference that the geoglyphs located on the desert are dated 8,500 years old pursuant to the archaeologists.” (Palomino and Sanchez 2025)

Eight cells.

More than just embryos, Sanchez also sees stem cells in some of the shapes. “These geoglyphs are not only situated in the Jordanian desert, but also in more countries, as well as around the area where the ancient scriptures speak of the Garden of Eden. There are geoglyphs representing stem cells as well, such as these appearing on the next pictures.” (Palomino and Sanchez 2025) So, in these images of the geoglyphs seen from above they see a biology text essentially about conception.

They also accept that there is still a great deal to learn about these constructions. “There is, in fact, much more in said vast area than you can imagine, ‘till a good explanation is issued about the reason of their composition of stones of basalt. There are plenty of images able to prove that we all were created here and that there is no theory of evolution. The ancient scriptures are right in saying there is creation.” The fact that these structures are composed of basalt would be basically the fact that the ‘Black Desert’ is named for vast fields of volcanic basalt that once flowed across the area.

Developing embryonic blastocyst.

So, in summation, Sanchez and Palomino see the shapes in the Black Desert in Jordan as diagrams of biological forms, embryos and stem cells, and from this they believe that they have proof of the Creation. One comment I would make to this is that one of the things I enjoy about rock art is a lack of dogma so there is room for a number of theories. My other comment would be to repeat that I do not personally have an explanation for their tremendous variety which seems to belie a commonality of purpose. Their internal structures are so variable. As a result of this I feel compelled to state that I do not know what they are either. As I stated in a previous column my best guess would be that they represent walled family or clan compounds that contained residences and pens for their flocks. In such a case the size might denote the number of people and animals being housed. But, until I know a better answer, I will let Mrs. Sanchez’ and Mr. Palomino’s statement stand without further comment.

NOTE: So-called ‘Desert Kites’ have been mentioned in two previous columns on RockArtBlog.

• 29 July 2023, 9,000 Year Old Petroglyphs Copy Designs of Mega-Scale Desert Animal Traps. https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/7760124847746733855/8126054377764858401.

• 17 June 2023, Editorial on the Use of Artificial Intelligence in Rock Art Analysis. https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/7760124847746733855/1059986807197980559.

NOTE 2: The microscopic pictures of developing cells were provided by Tomas Tarjuelo Palomino, and Virtudes Pontes Sanchez with no citation of their original source. Thank you.

REFERENCES:

Tomás Tarjuelo Palomino, 24 January 2025, Personal Communication.

Virtudes Pontes Sánchez, 2021, Groundbreaking Archaeological and Scientific Discovery in the Jordanian Black Desert, 1 October 2021, https://operationdisclosureofficial.com. Accessed online 9 February 2025.

GEOGLYPHS OF THE BLACK DESERT OF JORDAN:

Black Desert geoglyphs, Jordan. Image from News Jordan.

A series of very interesting geoglyphs stretch across a volcanic wasteland known as the Black Desert of Jordan. I was made aware of these when I received a communication from Tomás Tarjuelo Palomino, a collaborator introducing me to the theories of Spanish researcher Mrs. Virtudes Pontes Sánchez who has been studying the geoglyphs. In the following paragraphs I will present the geoglyphs and then go into the theory of Mrs. Sánchez and Mr. Palomino in a separate column.

These geoglyphs have occasionally been lumped into the same category as the ‘desert kites (see Note 1 below)’ that I have written about previously. This should not be accepted, however, as the ‘desert kites’ are obviously traps for hunting antelope and the purposes of these particular geoglyphs are unknown, but none of them seem to have a shape that would function as an effective animal trap. I purposely wrote the previous sentence as plural, purposes, because the patterns of internal walls, entrances and other construction details are far from standardized. Were they residences, temples, tombs or fortifications, or all of the above, nobody seems to know.

Black Desert geoglyphs, Jordan. Image from News Jordan.

There have been attempts to explain these constructions as archerastronomical sites. "Researchers have also shown that, in the past, one cluster of the wheels could have been linked with astronomical knowledge and that some of the geoglyphs were probably connected with burials." (Archaeology World Team) This is an example of the phenomenon known as confirmation bias, wherein an answer that was correct before for a different question is given outsized weight when applied to the current question. Just like everything looks like a nail to a hammer, everything likes like archeoastonomy to an archeoastronomer.

Black Desert geoglyphs, Jordan. Google Earth image from the Daily Mail, UK.

“It has been concluded by archaeologists that at least two of the giant Wadi Al Qattafi ‘Wheels’ from Wadi Al Qattafi and the Wisad Pools, in the Black Desert of Jordan are at least 8,500 years old – making them older than the famous Nazca Lines in Peru by about 6,000 years.” (Archaeology World Team) These must be among the oldest human constructions in the region. “BBC reports that by using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL), the archaeologists were able to show not only the date of creation of the two wheels but also that one of them was repaired about 5,500 years ago.” (Archaeology World Team) These dates would have been achieved by OSL dating of the soil just under a rock providing a date for the last time sunshine shone on that patch of ground.

Azraq Wheels geoglyph, Black Desert, Jordan. Reddit image.

“The research, soon to be published in the journal Antiquity, demonstrates that at the time of the creation of these two wheels the climate of the Black Desert would have been very different, making life in the area easier.” (Archaeology World Team) These do not provide us an answer for what any of the desert constructions actually were used for. They are, however, a very strong argument that at least two of them were not archeoastronomical.

Azraq Wheels geoglyph, Black Desert, Jordan. Reddit image.

As I wrote above, the fact that no two of these constructions seem to have been built to the same pattern suggests that they may have had varied purposes. One suggestion I would like to make is that seen from above many of them look like a small, fortified hamlet or farmstead, with an outer wall, either for defense or to fence in livestock, and inner subdivisions representing animal pens and, presumably, areas for the construction of residential structures. Perhaps the differences in size and complexity are because of differences in group size and economic status. The larger structures might represent a clan or extended family and its large herds, while the smaller ones may just be a multi-generational residence with smaller flocks.

In my next column, I am going to pass along the absolutely unique, and highly creative, theory the the aforementioned Tomás Tarjuelo Palomino, and Spanish researcher Mrs. Virtudes Pontes Sánchez

NOTE 1: So-called ‘Desert Kites’ have been mentioned in two previous columns on RockArtBlog.

29 July 2023, 9,000 Year Old Petroglyphs Copy Designs of Mega-Scale Desert Animal Traps. https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/7760124847746733855/8126054377764858401.

17 June 2023, Editorial on the Use of Artificial Intelligence in Rock Art Analysis. https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/7760124847746733855/1059986807197980559.

NOTE 2: Some images in this posting were retrieved from the internet with a search for public domain photographs. If any of these images are not intended to be public domain, I apologize, and will happily provide the picture credits if the owner will contact me with them. For further information on these reports you should read the original reports at the sites listed below.

REFERENCES:

Archaeology World Team, 2019, These Mysterious in Jordan Are 6,000 Years Older Than Peru’s Nazca Lines, 17 December 2019, https://archaeology-world.com. Accessed online 9 February 2025.

Tomás Tarjuelo Palomino, 24 January 2025, Personal Communication.

Virtudes Pontes Sánchez, 2021, Groundbreaking Archaeological and Scientific Discovery in the Jordanian Black Desert, 1 October 2021, https://operationdisclosureofficial.com. Accessed online 9 February 2025.

 

 

ROCK ART OF THE BLACK DESERT OF JORDAN:

Humans have lived in the Levant for a very long time, and have left a many traces of past existences. I am going to look at two types of evidence, the ancient rock art, and ancient geoglyphs, but first the rock art.

Ostriches and two canids. The inscription records the artist's name. Brusgaard and Ackermans, 2021, fig. 9d.

In the local dialect the Jordanian Black Desert in known as a ‘harrah’. “A harrah, or basalt desert stretches from southern Syria across northeastern Jordan into northern Saudi Arabia. It is one of manjy such areas of lava produced by volcanoes along the eastern side of the Dead Sea Transform. The harrah in southern Syria and northeastern Jordan is the result of successive eruptions of the volcanoes which today constitute Jabal Al-‘Arab (formerly Jabal al-Druze) and others.” (Macdonald and Al-Manaser, 2019: 205) As we know from so many other locations, basalt is a great material for petroglyphs. It develops a dark patina that helps them show up, and it’s hardness fights erosion giving them a longer life.

Small hunter (highlighted) confronting a wild ass, with inscription. Photograph by Nathalie Brusgaard.

In further describing the Black Desert, Michael MacDonald and Ali Al-Manaser (20190 wrote “The harrah stretches from the eastern slope of jabal al-’Arab east and southeast for roughly a hundred kilometers. After the lava runs out, the underlying limestone desert (hamad) reappears and stretches north and east into Syria and Iraq, and south until it meets the sand desert of the Great Nefud in northern Saudi Arabia. The hamad was known to the nomads in the last centuries BC and the first few centuries AD as the mdbr ‘the inner desert’ where many of them pastured their flocks and herds from just after the first rains of the year in October until the pasture dried up or had been consumed by the animals.” (Macdonald, and Al-Manaser 2019:205)

Archer confronting his prey. From Brusgaard and Akkermans, 2021, fig. 9.4b.

Nathalie Brusgaard has written a number of papers on the rock art of the Black Desert. In describing it she says “Carved into the desert’s dark basalt stones, the rock art depict an array of zoomorphic, anthropomorphic, and geometric motifs, ranging from wild and domestic animals, such as lions, oryxes, dogs, and camels, to anthropomorphic figures, such as women and archers. Often these motifs are combined in scenes that may depict hunting, raiding, travelling, and dancing. Frequently, the petroglyphs are accompanied by inscriptions, written in an Ancient North Arabian script called Safaitic, which provide a rare glimpse into the lives of the nomads who once inhabited the desert.” (Brusgaard 2015:761)

Camel petroglyph with inscription. Photograph by Nathalie Brusgaard.

Many of the petroglyphs are accompanied by text, as described here. “Pictorial and textual engravings can be found in vast numbers across the Black Desert of Northern Arabia, a basalt desert that stretches from southern Syria through northeastern Jordan into northern Saudi Arabia.The carvings were made by nomadic peoples inhabiting the desert in the late first millennium BC and early first millennium AD. The rock art is figurative in nature, depicting anthropomorphic figures such as archers and women, zoomorphic figures such as dromedaries, horses, lions, and ibex, as well as various geometric designs. The figures are depicted individually, accumulated on panels, and in scenes interacting with one another. The inscriptions, written in the Ancient North Arabian Safaitic script, are intrinsically linked to the pictorial engravings. A common composition is a rock art figure or scene associated with an inscription in which the author states his or her name and genealogy and “signs” the image. Some texts also contain a narrative component in which the author states, for example, that he pastured his camels, migrated to another area, spent the winter in a particular place, or mourned the loss of a loved one. Based on these unique insights into the authors’ lives, the image emerges that these peoples were nomads who moved through the desert, subsisting at least in part on owning dromedaries and possibly ovicaprids and horses, built cairns for their dead, and worshipped a range of deities.” (Brusgaard and Akkermans 2021:134) While we struggle to figure out who created the rock art in our part of the world, in the Black Rock Desert of Jordan, many of the creators signed their work.

"Hidden hunter" theme. The hunter is concealed from the herd of animals around the corner of the rock. From Brusgaard, 2024, Fig. 3, p. 261.

But, the artist identifying their own work is not the only unique thing found in this area. In her paper in 2024, Brusgaard (page 264) described a unique type of incorporation found in a number of hunting scenes in the Black Desert which she has called the ‘hidden hunter’ theme. “In one scene, both hunter and prey are immediately visible to the audience. In another, the rock art appears at first glance to just depict a herd of ibex, a common occurrence. However, when the viewer looks at the boulder from another angle, the archer becomes visible and the hunting scene unveils itself. The nature of the boulder with scene 149 almost obscures the hunter altogether, although the archer’s bow and arrow on the main panel gives away his or her presence. Indeed, perhaps the depiction of the weapon on the main panel is meant to draw attention to the fact that a hunter lies around the corner; if one looks at the main panel carefully, one cannot miss it even if the hunter is concealed. It is apparent that this extra element is significant to the narrative because five out of the seven scenes featuring a hidden archer depict the bow and arrow curving onto the main panel.” Considering the significance that is placed on incorporation, this is a very clever application. To have the animals showing and a hunter hiding around the corner of the rock, exactly as he might have done in real life strikes me as very inventive. Have we even thought to look for this manner of incorporation in our part of the world?

So, with signatures and unique incorporation, this is not only a fascinating type of rock art, but an impressive job of analysis. Good work all around.

REFERENCES:

Brusgaard, Nathalie O., 2024, Hidden Hunters: Hunting Scenes as Micro-Landscapes in Black Desert Rock Art, in In Düring, B.S. and J.-H. Plug (eds) 2024. The Archaeology of the ‘Margins’. Studies on Ancient West Asia in Honour of Peter M.M.G. Akkermans. Analecta Praehistorica Leidensia 53. Leiden: Sidestone Press, pp. 257-272. DOI: 10.59641/h66998kt. Accessed online 9 March 2025.

Brusgaard, Nathalie O., 2015, Pastoralist rock art in the Black Desert of Jordan, in IFRAO 2015, XIX International Rock Art Conference, in Caceres, Extremadura, Spain. Accessed online 9 March 2025.

Brusgaard, Nathalie O., and Keshia A.N. Akkermans, 2021, Hunting and Havoc, Narrative Scenes in the Black Desert Rock Art of Jebel Qurma, Jordan,   pp. 134-149, in Making Scenes, Global Perspectives on Scenes in Rock Art, ed. By Ian Davidson and April Nowell, Berghahn Books, New York. Accessed at Researchgate.net. https://www.researchgate.net/ publication/365911512 on 9 March 2025.

Macdonald, Michael C.A., and Ali Al-Manaser, 2019, Recording Graffiti in the Black Desert: Past, Present, and Future, Journal of Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology and Heritage Studies, Vol. 7 (2) pp. 205-222. Accessed online 9 March 2025.