On the west coast of Sweden, north of Gothenburg and set amid rolling hills, is a small reconstructed Bronze Age village, the museum village of Tanum.

Beginning in the third millennium B.C., the North European Bronze Age reached Scandinavia and transformed the structure of society. The people built settlements and lived together in huts as extended families. There was livestock and agriculture and village communities began to trade with those who were able to produce bronze tools and weaponry.

Prehistoric images have been discovered in Tanum, impressive archaeological finds that date back to the Bronze Age. The images are to be found across a large area and are carved in shallow rock mounds, worked by stone tools. Today most of the carvings have been highlighted with red paint in order to make them more visible. Vitlycke is the most visited location and one of the largest with three hundred images.

From a hill, several of the images that date back to the Last Ice Age can be seen. There are around forty thousand, the most common being of boats.

The rock carvings of Tanum are vibrant, beautiful and varied and among the world’s most beautiful cultural treasures.