Rock paintings of Finland

Stone Age pictures on a lakeside cliff

Finland's rock paintings are images made in red ochre on the vertical lakeside cliffs of lakes. About 130 are known, almost all in the Lakeland region, along the shores of the Saimaa, Päijänne and Kymijoki waterways. The images are small, most the size of a palm, and the colour has faded. Even so, you can make out elk, human figures, boats, hands, and figures interpreted as shamans.

The paintings were made from a boat or, in winter, from the ice. That is why they are now often several metres above the current water level: the land has risen since the ice age, and the lakes have dropped.

Who painted them, and why

Dating relies on exactly this land uplift. Once you know the water level at different periods, the height of a painting tells you when it was made. The oldest date to around 5000 BC, the youngest to the Bronze Age, around 1500 BC. The painters were hunter-gatherers of the Comb Ceramic culture.

The purpose is not known for certain. The sites are often prominent landmarks along waterways, and the shape of the rock sometimes resembles a face – at Astuvansalmi this is unmistakable. Excavations at Valkeisaari in Taipalsaari showed that offerings were left in front of the painting for thousands of years. The most common interpretation is that the rock was a sacred place and the painting part of a ritual linking elk, boat and human.

The pigment is iron oxide, red ochre, with fat or blood as a probable binder. The paintings have survived because water seeping from the rock has left a thin, transparent layer of silica over them. Without it, rain and lichen would have wiped the images away thousands of years ago.

The largest and best known

Astuvansalmi in Mikkeli is the largest in the Nordic countries: dozens of elk, human figures and hands. Saraakallio in Laukaa is the second largest and was made in several phases. Värikallio in Hossa, Suomussalmi, is the best known in the north, and a viewing platform has been built there. Juusjärvi in Kirkkonummi is the clearest in southern Finland, and its pike is visible to the naked eye. Finland's northernmost is on the ravine lake of Julma-Ölkky in Kuusamo.

The map holds over a hundred painting sites. Many can only be reached by boat or, in winter, over the ice; each site page explains how to get there.

Before you go

• All rock paintings are protected under the Antiquities Act. Do not touch, wet or shine a strong light on them. A fire lit beneath one has destroyed images at Halsvuori.
• Bring binoculars. The paintings are small and often high up. Low afternoon light brings out the colour best, as does damp air after rain.
• The best time is spring and autumn, when leaves don't cover the cliff. Seen from the ice in winter, a painting sits at the same height it did for its maker.
• Photograph freely, but don't digitally "bring out" figures that aren't there; many a claimed shape is just lichen.