Släbro Rock Carvings, Nyköping, Sweden

Släbro is without question one of Sweden’s greatest and most remarkable rock carvings site. Situated near the River of Nyköping the carvings were discovered 1984 and can be dated back to the Bronze Age. They are unique because they are carved in a most unusual way. There are etchings on some ten different surfaces with a total of some 700 figures, mainly frame and circle figures. Many are unique in design, in particular the large stylised human figures in a position of adoration. The characteristics commonly found throughout carvings in the South of Sweden are missing. What is more, the Släbro carvings seem to bear no similarity to any other ancient carvings that have been discovered throughout Europe. The carvings date from 1800 – 400 BC and thus far the meaning behind them remains something of a mystery as it has proven to be extremely difficult to interpret the motif as it appears in literally hundreds of different ways.

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Lomography

User Reviews

Lina Lagnesten Cederin (2 years ago)
Stillsam plats

Simon Bergmark (2 years ago)
Ganska medioker plats. Kom hit med förväntningar om en forntida kvarlämning utan motstycke. Visade sig vara berg med klotter på. Hunden hade dock rätt kul. Stora ytor. Skulle nog inte rekommendera att ta sig tiden att besöka denna plats, men råkar du vandra förbi kan det vara kul att slå sig en titt. I några sekunder.

Thommy Andersson (2 years ago)
Klipper gräsmattan där kan tänka hur de var på den tiden dom rista in på berget

Claire Panman - van der Meer (2 years ago)
Beautiful ancient artwork, but in two of the three places we found it very hard to see the drawings. Still absolutely worth the visit.

Confiteor Mea Culpa (2 years ago)
Norr om Nyköping finns det gott om runstenar och hällristningar. Släbro var en mötesplats för redan 2000 år sedan. Hällristningarna i Släbro upptäcktes så sent som 1984, och de är unika eftersom att man ingen annan stans i världen har funnit samma tecken och bilder som de här. De lärda lär tvista om innebörden. Det lär finnas minst 400 hällristningar inknackade i berget alldeles intill Nyköpings å. Det sägs att det unika med Släbroristningen är den enhetliga och ovanliga stil rustningarna knackats in i. Släbro Hällristningar är väl värt ett besök och en kaffekorg rekommenderas att ta med sig

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Photo from Flickr, copyright Makser

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Derbent Fortress

Derbent is the southernmost city in Russia, occupying the narrow gateway between the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus Mountains connecting the Eurasian steppes to the north and the Iranian Plateau to the south. Derbent claims to be the oldest city in Russia with historical documentation dating to the 8th century BCE. Due to its strategic location, over the course of history, the city changed ownership many times, particularly among the Persian, Arab, Mongol, Timurid, Shirvan and Iranian kingdoms.

Derbent has archaeological structures over 5,000 years old. As a result of this geographic peculiarity, the city developed between two walls, stretching from the mountains to the sea. These fortifications were continuously employed for a millennium and a half, longer than any other extant fortress in the world.

A traditionally and historically Iranian city, the first intensive settlement in the Derbent area dates from the 8th century BC. The site was intermittently controlled by the Persian monarchs, starting from the 6th century BC. Until the 4th century AD, it was part of Caucasian Albania which was a satrap of the Achaemenid Persian Empire. In the 5th century Derbent functioned as a border fortress and the seat of Sassanid Persians. Because of its strategic position on the northern branch of the Silk Route, the fortress was contested by the Khazars in the course of the Khazar-Arab Wars. In 654, Derbent was captured by the Arabs.

The Sassanid fortress does not exist any more, as the famous Derbent fortress as it stands today was built from the 12th century onward. Derbent became a strong military outpost and harbour of the Sassanid empire. During the 5th and 6th centuries, Derbent also became an important center for spreading the Christian faith in the Caucasus.

The site continued to be of great strategic importance until the 19th century. Today the fortifications consist of two parallel defence walls and Naryn-Kala Citadel. The walls are 3.6km long, stretching from the sea up to the mountains. They were built from stone and had 73 defence towers. 9 out of the 14 original gates remain.

In Naryn-Kala Citadel most of the old buildings, including a palace and a church, are now in ruins. It also holds baths and one of the oldest mosques in the former USSR.

In 2003, UNESCO included the old part of Derbent with traditional buildings in the World Heritage List.

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