The petroglyph at Brennholtet

The rock carvings at Brennholtet are located in a nature park area by Einerveien, about 1 km from the center of Narvik. Here you can see an approximately 5000-year-old moose figure carved into the rock, a clear trace of the hunting culture in Ofoten.

Description

On a sloping and smooth-cut rock in Brennholtet you will find a clear petroglyph of a moose. The figure is about two meters long, made in life-size and carved into the rock with deep furrows. The north-facing mountainside is located in a nature park area in a residential area just above Narvik marina.

The petroglyphs belong to a type of rock art called road carvings. The motifs in the art of hunting are often animals such as moose, reindeer and deer, and are associated with people who lived by hunting and trapping. The moose at Brennholtet is probably around 5000 years old and provides a close encounter with the traces of people who used the landscape long before today's Narvik took shape.

The Narvik region is an important area for rock art, here you will find both polished and carved petroglyphs. Many rock art fields in the region require longer walks in rough terrain, but Brennholtet is only 1 km from the center of Narvik, about a 12-minute walk, and is therefore one of the more accessible places to experience rock art in the Narvik region.

No one knows for sure why humans carved animal images into the rock. The petroglyphs have been interpreted as hunting magic, territorial markers and symbols used in rituals and communication. At Brennholtet you get close to a protected cultural monument that tells about early humans' relationship with animals, landscapes and the fjord