This bas-relief of the temple contains a record of the military success and historical events of Rameses III. Among the different episodes the sea-fight shown on p. [123] is recorded. I think we can recognize the horned men of the rock-tracings. There is also a perfect similarity between the boats of the Egyptians and that of Hazeby, in Sweden. The boats of the Egyptians are symmetrical at both ends, and are ornamented with carved heads. They have a single mast, and their sails are furled. At the top of the mast there is a castellated structure which will be seen in the chapter on the ships of the Northmen; but this is not found on the rock-tracings. If these early inhabitants of the North went to the Mediterranean and Egypt we can account for the camel, turtle, octopus-like animal, leopards, and ostriches engraved on the rocks of the North.
Fig. 899.—Horsemen represented on a rock cutting at Tegneby, in Tanum parish, Bohuslän. 1
24 its real size.
A remarkable rock-tracing, which I reproduce from ‘The Land of the Midnight Sun,’ shows horsemen with quadrangular shields; these shields are seen on some Egyptian bas-reliefs, and two somewhat similar ones have been found in England. Either the people represent themselves on this engraving, or some foreign men which the carver of this memento had seen.
The question naturally arises, did the people of the large Scandinavian peninsula learn the art of rock-tracing from the Egyptians, if we take for granted that they went there? There is a roughness of design which I think seems to preclude that these engravings on stones could have been made by Egyptians coming North. The very great number seems to imply that they were made by the inhabitants, that the art flourished for quite a long time, and that on the return of their warlike expeditions, either from the north or south, they and some of the people illustrated the deeds of their heroes.
One of the finest tracings, which is about 66 feet in length and 20 feet in height, is near a small stream by the bridge at Hvitlycke. Among the prominent figures, of which there are over one hundred, is a large man, probably a champion, with a shield and spear, attacking another; in another part, two men fighting with axes; in another a large snake attacks a man much smaller in size than the snake. There are also 22 ships, varying in size from 2 to 3 feet in length, but one is about 10 feet long. The earth which covered the lower part of the tracings had just been removed some days before my arrival at the spot, and they were as distinct and fresh as if they had been just cut.
Fig. 900.—Rock-tracing at Såtorp, Tanum parish, Bohuslän. A champion defending his ship against two smaller ones. Height, 4¼ feet; width, 6½ feet.
The large size of some of the tracings shows that a long time must have been required to complete them, and indicates that the people must have been settlers in the country. With whatever instruments some of them were cut, the work, on account of the great number of figures, must have been in many cases slow. The question naturally arises: Did the early tribes, who, according to the story, came to the North with Odin, find a different people, who themselves or whose ancestors had made these illustrations of their history, or a people belonging to the same race and tribes of which we have spoken before, who gradually advanced in civilisation? These are queries which it is to be feared no one will ever be able to answer with satisfaction.
