INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

In Scandinavia there is an increasing public interest in rock art and in the past in general. So how do we handle the challenge of presenting rock art to the public? What conflicts and problems have to be considered in the process?

In 1994 the Directorate for Cultural Heritage in Norway published a report which concluded that there was a serious problem related to weathering and damage on 95% of the Norwegian rock art sites. As a result, the Norwegian National Rock Art Project was established, focusing on management strategies, conservation, documentation and presentation. Scandinavian rock art is an established part of cultural heritage and has been the subject of systematic research for almost 200 years. Presentation of selected sites started in Norway and Sweden in the late 1940s, but systematic management and conservation did not evolve until the decade after 1970. This long tradition has led to the development of a wide range of different methods for conservation and preservation. During the last ten years, the National Rock Art Project has improved the interdisciplinary scientific expertise, combining natural sciences, conservation and archaeology.

Formerly, the main purpose of installations and information at northern European rock art sites was to safeguard the monuments and to inform the public of the national laws that protected them. Fences, to keep people and animals outside of the protected area, and signs, with national coats of arms and law texts, were the main instruments to achieve this. Today, making heritage visible and presenting it to the public is considered to be one of the main strategies for protection. Information signs that stimulate the imagination and enlighten the public are considered to be a better damage deterrent than those that stipulate the fines involved if someone should harm the ancient monuments. Visitor facilities have evolved and rock art has become a part of cultural heritage that is accessible to everyone.

As stated in ICOMOS International Cultural Tourism Charter (1999):