Retracing Storsteinen: A deviant rock art site in Alta, northern Norway

Abstract

Storsteinen is one of the four major rock art localities in Alta, northern Norway, and also the least known part of this World Heritage site. The complex nature of the engraved panel combined with the rock’s elevation above sea level may explain why it has been assigned a rather obscure position in Alta rock art research. Based on new recordings of the panel, and a reassessment of the rock’s positioning in relation to the shoreline displacement, an analysis where Storsteinen is compared with assumed contemporaneous sites in Alta, in particular Hjemmeluft and Kåfjord, is presented. Based on this analysis a new suggestion for Storsteinen’s chronological affiliation is provided and the author also discusses the congruity of the well-established chronological phasing of the Alta rock art corpus.