Rock carvings at Alta: Encyclopedia II - Rock carvings at Alta - Discovery and restoration

Rock carvings at Alta - Discovery and restoration

The first carvings were discovered in autumn 1972 in the area of Jiepmaluokta (a Sami name meaning "bay of seals"), about 4 kilometers from the town center of Alta. During the 1970s, many more carvings were discovered all around Alta, with a noticeably higher density around Jiepmaluokta (of around 5000 known carvings in the area, more than 3000 are located there). A system of wooden gangways totalling about 3 kilometers was constructed in the Jiepmaluokta area during the second half of the 1980s, and Alta's museum was moved from its previous location in the town center to the site of the rock carvings in 1991. Although several other sites around Alta are known and new carvings are constantly discovered, Jiepmaluokta remains the only publicly accessible site.

Most rocks around Alta are overgrown with a thick growth of moss and lichen; once carvings have been discovered, these plants are carefully removed and the rock is cleaned to expose the full extent of the carvings. The carvings are then photographed and entered into a filing system; on most sites, no special precautions are taken to keep carvings visible once they have been properly documented (other than protecting the area from construction work, special care for preserving carvings is not necessary since they are generally rather deeply carved into a hard rock surface). Only in areas accessible to the public are the carvings filled with a special red-ochre paint that helps recognize the carvings and is thought to be similar to the original appearance of the carvings.

Alta's museum today features a display of objects found in the area thought to be related to the culture that created the carvings, a photographic documentation of the carvings, and several other displays on Sami culture, the phenomenon of Aurora Borealis and the area's history during World War II. The museum received the European Museum of the year award in 1993.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Discovery and restoration", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki