Astuvansalmi rock paintings

The rock art of Astuvansalmi are an ensemble of prehistoric rock art on the shores of Lake Yövesi in Ristiina at Mikkeli in eastern Finland. With 65 different representations summarized in 15 frames it is among the largest in Fennoscandia. They were officially discovered in the summer of 1968 by the archaeologist Pekka Sarvas. Locals have been known for some time the images. The site is registered in the tentative list of UNESCO.

The paintings are on a rock, which, when viewed from a certain direction, such as a human head anmutet. The rock was probably used as a place of worship. The pictures are from 7.7 to 11.8 meters above the lake, which is significantly higher than their date of origin. The oldest petroglyphs date from 3000-2500 BC; recent representations go back to the period around 750 BC. The reddish- ocher stylized representations contain about 18 to 20 elk, about the same number of people, more abstract representations of hands and animals, 8-9 ships and difficult to identify geometric figures. However, compared with other rock art in Scandinavia, Karelia, Siberia and the paintings of Astuvansalmi distinguished by a special complexity.

Other archaeological finds such as figurines, jewelry and arrowheads were made on the lake floor. Near the petroglyphs a Stone Age settlement of about 3300 to 2800 was found BC.