1.
NEOLITHIC SETTLEMENTS
- a treasure trove for hunters for 10,000 years
You're on the right track! "To come to Brønnøysund without seeing Torghatten would be like going to Copenhagen without seeing the Round Tower or to Rome without seeing the Pope."
Henrik Scharling (1836-1920), Danish theologian, 1865.
Torghatten, the land that rose from the sea and still does. The last 2.6 million years are called the "Quaternary period" - characterized by around 40 ice ages. The last ice age was from 115,000 years ago to 12,000 years ago, reaching its maximum 20,000 years ago. Ice caps up to 3000 meters thick covered large parts of Northwest Europe. Here at Torghatten, it is estimated that the ice layer was at least 1000 meters thick. Torghatten re-emerged from the ice 12,000 years ago.
The weight of the ice caps pressed down the Earth's crust. When the ice melted, the pressure decreased, and the land rose. Land uplift was rapid in the first millennium after the ice age. It slowed down over time, but the effects became evident after a few thousand years. The Earth is still relieved to be rid of the heavy ice masses, so the land continues to rise. Torghatten is a good area to study traces of previous sea levels. On the path up to Torghatten's hole, several old cobblestone beaches are passed, showing former shorelines. Where the sea level once stood and the waves wreaked havoc.
The first humans to arrive here were hunters, fishermen, and gatherers. In the old cobblestone ridges are settlements, visible as pits. Around Torghatten, there are at least 70 such house sites, in the form of pit structures. The oldest ones are higher in the terrain, while the youngest ones are closer to the sea. The settlements range from 100 to 25 meters above sea level. This means that people have been at Torghatten for almost the entire period we call the Stone Age, 10,000 > 1500 years before our era. On the northwest side of the mountain is one of the places in the world where traces of the Stone Age people still dominate. Settlement traces have also been recorded in some of the many caves and rock shelters in and around Torghatten.
Stone Age people lived in a landscape with several settlements. These could have different functions - depending on the season or time of year. At this settlement, there are four house sites. The pit structures are round or oval. The most marked one is 3 x 2 meters, depth 0.6 meters. The location, both the location and the number of house sites, may indicate that this was a hunting station or a "haven of necessity." We assume that the Stone Age people were practical and established their settlements near the sea and a sheltered harbor at all times. Settlements are "dated" based on historical sea levels. Today, this is 25-30 meters above sea level, and we assume they were in use 6-4,000 years ago. Otherwise, this was the seabed when the first humans arrived here 10-11,000 years ago.
The Stone Age settlements in the cobblestone area are PROTECTED under the Cultural Heritage Act:
DO NOT TURN THE STONES! DO NOT BUILD CAIRNS!
Sources:
• Anna Bergengren / Tom Heldal / Magnar Solbakk: "Torghatten - The Land That Rose from the Sea," Trollfjell Geopark, 2016.
• Birgitta Berglund: "People at Torghatten in ancient times", in Brønnøy bygdebok, volume 2, 2011.
• Hein B. Bjerck: "Vega Experience the Neolithic Island", 1989.
• Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage: "Cultural Heritage Search," web portal, 2024.
• Wikipedia and other websites, including topics such as cobblestones - land uplift - ice ages, 2024.
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2. THE POLISHED BOULDER
A Rock on the Move
It’s not only stones that move around!
There are also many long-distance travelers at Torghatten who meet the locals:
“Near this mountain we received a visitor...
He was well dressed in a green wool suit and a fine white shirt.
Unlike his countrymen, he had well-groomed hair
and looked like an elegant tourist.
This ‘dandy’ was a knife maker who came to sell his goods to the passengers. ...
After putting him in a good mood by purchasing a considerable number of knives from him,
I struck up a conversation with him...”
Léonie d’Aunet (1820–1879), French author, 1838.
A Stone to Climb On!
Or perhaps you would rather simply stand here and ponder. Is this a glacial erratic, transported and polished by an ice sheet from far away? Or is it merely a local rockfall boulder from Torghatten, rounded by waves and neighboring stones? Could it be a large moraine boulder that has been washed clean by the sea? Or were trolls somehow involved?
Whatever the answer, powerful natural forces have certainly been at work here!
“Glacial Erratic”
The landscape has been shaped by repeated ice ages. When enough snow and ice accumulated, the glacier began to flow. The immense force of moving ice scoured the landscape. As it advanced westward, it tore large boulders from the bedrock and carried them along. Loaded with stones, the glacier became like an enormous sheet of coarse sandpaper.
This stone is rounded and may therefore once have been located at the bottom of a glacier. When a transported boulder comes to rest, it often leaves a smaller stone pushed up in front of it and a hollow behind it. Some observers note that the homogeneous granite of this boulder differs from the fractured granite found in Torghatten.
“Moraine Boulder”
The climate fluctuated greatly during the last Ice Age, and glacier fronts advanced and retreated many times. The boulder field along the mountain’s base is described as a coarse-grained ground moraine, consisting of loose material pushed ahead of the ice.
The sea later washed away the finer sediments, leaving only the larger stones behind. The waves rounded these remaining stones, giving them their smooth appearance. The same process may have shaped this sculptural boulder.
“Rockfall Boulder”
Rockfalls frequently occur in our steep coastal mountains. At times, the sea reached this area, and waves pounded the shore. Large and small stones rocked, rubbed, and ground against each other for centuries, creating a natural pebble factory.
The question is: Is the granite in this boulder the same as that found in Torghatten? If so, it is probably a local rockfall boulder. If not, it may be a glacial erratic that has traveled a long distance.
Perhaps the answer lies in the QR code!
Folklore
Large stones like this were often attributed to battles between giants or trolls. They were said to have hurled boulders at whatever or whoever displeased them. Later, such stones were believed to have been carried here during the Biblical Flood.
Only in the nineteenth century did people begin to understand that Ice Age glaciers provided a natural explanation for these remarkable rocks.
Sources
• Jakob J. Møller / Per T. Fredriksen: Torghatten Knowledge-Based Hiking Trail, booklet, 2007.
• Informants: Tom Heldal, Sigmund Johansen, Bjørn Nilsen, 2024/2023.
• Wikipedia and other websites, especially on glacial erratics, pebbles, and ice ages, 2023.
• Information board: Sundsvoll (Vega).
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3. THE GIANT’S KETTLE
In the Trolls’ Cooking Pot
For several decades concerts have been held at Torghatten, as part of brass-band and choir festivals. They continue a long tradition, described as early as 1848:
“Every Midsummer Night, the Torghatten Hole is visited by many people, particularly young people, who often bring violins and other musical instruments. When music is played inside the tunnel, a most pleasant echo can be heard from all directions.”
(John A. Nordhuus, Description of the Main Parish of Brønnøe, 1848)
The Melting of the Ice
The retreat of the glaciers is one of the most important events in Norwegian natural history. During warmer periods, both during and at the end of the Ice Age, from about 115,000 to 12,000 years ago, glaciers shaped the landscape.
Glaciers polish mountains like sandpaper. Rivers cut through rock like saws or drill into it. At one time, raging torrents of swirling water carved out this giant’s kettle: a smooth, cylindrical hole in solid bedrock.
To create a giant’s kettle, nature requires a large amount of flowing, rotating water, some stones and gravel, and plenty of time.
Formed Beneath the Ice
Many giant’s kettles, including this one, are found in places where no water flows today. This kettle was probably formed by a river running beneath a glacier.
The climate fluctuated greatly during the Ice Ages, and at times enormous volumes of meltwater were available. First appearing as streams on the glacier’s surface, the water eventually flowed down crevasses and became rivers beneath the ice. These rivers carried water and sediments under high pressure and at great speed, acting like nature’s own pressure washer.
Under such conditions, erosion may have proceeded surprisingly quickly. Some researchers suggest that certain giant’s kettles could have formed within only a few months.
Giant’s kettles can also be created by waves or ordinary rivers.
A Medium-Sized Giant’s Kettle
Giant’s kettles vary considerably in size. This one is of medium dimensions. A glacial river has eroded part of its wall, giving it an oval shape with a diameter of approximately 2.5 to 3.5 meters.
The height from the water surface to the rim is about 2.5 meters, while the remaining depth is around 50 centimeters. Mud has been removed from the kettle and its outlet restored, though it has not been excavated to bedrock. Many stones were found inside and have now been placed in the water basin.
Several additional giant’s kettles and meltwater channels can be found in this small valley.
For the Especially Curious
The stone with a ring-shaped structure beside the kettle displays concentric cracking. In other words, the rock has contracted upon itself. It may represent a very ancient form of weathering.
“Once Upon a Time...”
Eventually humans arrived, and with them came myths and legends.
The Norwegian word jette refers to a giant or troll. According to folklore, this kettle was therefore the troll’s cooking pot. Others associated such formations with Saint Olaf.
By the eighteenth century, some people were willing to accept that giant’s kettles were geological features. However, many still believed they had been carved by human hands, since they were often found in places where there was no water.
Sources
• A. Bergengren, T. Heldal, M. Solbakk: Torghatten – The Land that Rose from the Sea, Trollfjell Geopark, 2016.
• Jan Mangerud: Fantastic Giant’s Kettles (Facebook), Department of Earth Science, 2021.
• Informant: Tom Heldal, plus Wikipedia and other websites on giant’s kettles, 2023.
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4. THE STONEWORKERS
Past and Present
Torghatten, the troll’s eye that never sleeps, watching over the land and its people:
“A quarter league from Brønøe stands the great Torghat,
gazing with its sleepless eye...
A hat from that mighty battle; beneath it rests its eye,
which sleep can never overcome, nor ever close...” (1)
Petter Dass (1647–1707), the poet-priest of Nordlands Trompet.
What do we choose to watch over today?
Learning the Value of Stone
People learned early on to understand the useful properties of different types of rock. The stoneworkers of old in Brønnøy were those who crafted flint tools during the Stone Age. They shaped soapstone pots during the Viking Age. For 300 years, they quarried millstones from garnet mica schist. They prepared stone foundations for at least 1,000 telegraph poles in 1867–68. They built house foundations and stone quays.
The Old Stoneworkers
The old stoneworkers also built the original staircase here, one of the most enduring improvements ever made at Torghatten. The staircase was probably constructed more than 150 years ago in connection with King Oscar II’s journey through Norway.
On 14 July 1873, around 1,000 people gathered at Torghatten to welcome the king. In the old stone steps you can see Torghatten granite, which was formed around 470 million years ago. Look for grey to reddish granite with a banded structure.
Sherpas Take Stair-Building to New Heights
In 2023, Sherpas from the Himalayas took staircase construction to a whole new level!
This is craftsmanship of international calibre. Fourteen men worked for sixteen weeks, transforming a “pile of rocks” into a work of art and a cultural landmark. The staircase consists of 1,001 steps, and then some.
Local stone was used inside the tunnel and at its entrances, while most of the remaining material was brought in from elsewhere. The work of the Nepalese experts combines strength with remarkable precision. Enthusiastic and proud of their profession, they carefully manoeuvred large stones into place metre by metre.
Using crowbars, sledgehammers, hammers and chisels, they shaped and fitted thousands of stones, one by one. The result is impressive. The term Sherpa staircase has become well known in Norway, and several hundred such stairways have been built by the company Stibyggjaren.
The Sherpas of Torghatten
The Sherpas who built the Torghatten staircase come from the village of Khunde, nearly 4,000 metres above sea level.
Sherpas are an ethnic group living in the Himalayan regions of Nepal, India and Tibet. The word Sherpa means “eastern people,” although it is often loosely used as a synonym for “mountain guide.” This association comes from their reputation for strength and endurance on Himalayan climbing expeditions.
Today, they are also renowned as exceptional stoneworkers at Torghatten.
Making the Attraction Better
Infrastructure enhances the attraction. It increases safety and improves the visitor experience.
The trail is now clearer, more even and more durable. The hike has become easier for more people. The path guides visitors along what is considered the safest route. The staircase on the southwest side also encourages hikers to complete the circular route.
Enjoy your walk!
Sources
• Svein Nord: On Sherpa Trails. In Forests and Mountains with the People from the East, Nord 4, 2020.
• A. Bergengren, T. Heldal, M. Solbakk: Torghatten – The Land that Rose from the Sea, Trollfjell Geopark, 2016.
• Informants: Geir Vetti; Wikipedia and other websites, including material on Sherpa stairways, 2023.
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5. TORGHATTEN
A Geological Attraction of Mega-Class
“Dear sturdy ‘hat’, from all the countless angles from which I have drawn you.
And you never disappoint, dear hat. I know you have forgotten caves, passages and clefts in your remarkable and wondrous head. I have been everywhere, on top of you and inside you.
The best you have kept hidden for yourself.
Your great and famous tourist hole is the least remarkable thing about you.”
Kaare Espolin Johnson (1907–1994), artist, who lived here for a period in the early 1950s.
We Humans Become Small at Torghatten
- Length: 167 metres
- Ceiling height: 29–59 m
- Width: 10–28 m
- Tunnel floor: 112–140 m above sea level
- Tunnel volume: 107,000 m³
- Mountain summit: 258 m above sea level
How Was Torghatten Formed?
There are at least two explanations for how this masterpiece of nature came into being: a scientific one and a more imaginative one. Both are perhaps as extraordinary as the mountain itself.
The hole through Torghatten becomes easier to understand when we consider Ice Ages, sea-level changes, and post-glacial land uplift. For more information about the geological history of the tunnel, visit the Trollfjell UNESCO Global Geopark exhibition in the visitor centre.
Climate Change + Torghatten = True
Torghatten is one of our most remarkable examples of the effects of climate change over geological time.
Many processes contributed to the formation of the hole. The bedrock consists of granite and granitic gneiss and belongs to the ancient crystalline basement. The story began with a continental collision more than 450 million years ago.
Later, during the warmer Tertiary period, parts of the granite weathered into clay minerals. This weathering weakened the mountain enough that other natural processes could wash out fractures and cracks.
Then came the Quaternary, the geological period in which we still live today, beginning 2.58 million years ago. It was marked by some forty Ice Ages.
The Work of Sea and Ice
Vast amounts of water were locked up in thick ice sheets, causing the land to sink under their weight.
Torghatten was formed when the land stood at least 100 metres lower than it does today. During certain periods, the sea attacked the mountain with all its power. Waves, ocean currents, tides, frost and ice all played their part.
Millions of years of erosion and washing-out gradually enlarged fractures in the mountain. Eventually, caves developed from opposite sides. They became larger, met in the middle, and formed the spectacular tunnel we see today.
That is how Torghatten became a geological attraction of the “mega-class.”
More Than One Sea Cave
The Torghatten Tunnel is the most famous feature, but there are at least fifteen other sea caves within the mountain.
Here it is possible to study all stages of sea-cave development. Some caves are about 100 metres long, while others are only beginning to form.
Several lie 115–125 metres above sea level, at the same elevation as the tunnel itself, corresponding to a sea level from approximately 11,000 years ago. Others are found at elevations of 30–50 metres, corresponding to sea levels 8,000–9,000 years ago.
Brønnøy is, in fact, a kingdom of caves, with many sea caves as well as even more limestone caves in the inland areas of the municipality. The region is an open textbook showing how geological processes shape landscapes.
International Geological Significance
As a unique geosite, Torghatten played a major role in helping Trollfjell Geopark achieve UNESCO Global Geopark status in 2019.
The area contains geological heritage of international significance. When Norway’s geological national monument was selected in 2010, Torghatten and the strandflat landscape finished in second place. Leka, our neighbour to the south, came first.
Naturally, Torghatten is also one of the ten special attractions along Norway’s National Tourist Routes.
Nature Still Sets the Rules!
VISIT AT YOUR OWN RISK!
In keeping with Norway’s outdoor recreation tradition, visitors must assume responsibility for their own safety due to the risk of rockfall.
Around two million visitors have passed through the Torghatten Tunnel during the last 200 years. No personal injuries from falling rocks have been recorded. However, the tunnel was formed along zones of weakness in the rock.
Rocks fall every year, especially during freeze-thaw periods. Therefore, visiting the tunnel is not recommended between 15 October and 15 April.
The trail through the tunnel follows what geologists consider the safest route. Visitors are also encouraged to complete the circular walk rather than returning the same way.
Sources
• Anna Bergengren, Tom Heldal, Magnar Solbakk: Torghatten – The Land that Rose from the Sea, Trollfjell Geopark, 2016.
• Halfdan Carstens: The Torghatten Tunnel, interview with Stein-Erik Lauritzen, GEO365.no, March 2014.
• Stein-Erik Lauritzen: Torghatten in Focus During Geology Day in Brønnøysund, University of Bergen, Department of Earth Science, 2015 (adapted by Terje Erstad).
• Informants: Tom Heldal and Bjørn Nilsen, 2024.
• Wikipedia and other websites, including material on Ice Ages, sea levels, land uplift and caves, 2023.
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6. TORGHATTEN
The Mountain of Legends
“At two o’clock, after lunch, the ship stopped at Torghatten. …
There are many legends and fantasies connected with this mountain, somewhat like the ‘Ta Mong Lai’ legend we have in Siam. …
When we reached the northern side, we saw the mountain with a large hole in the middle, resembling the pierced mountain of Pathalung.
But the hole in this mountain was more impressive, because it lies exactly in the centre, both from side to side and from top to bottom.”
Chulalongkorn (1853–1910), King of Siam (Thailand),
from a letter to his daughter, 1907.
Torghatten has been a dramatic mountain since its birth. Then came the people, and eventually the myths. The mountain with the hole has inspired wonder for as long as people have lived here. For thousands of years, Torghatten has fired the imagination and given rise to some of Norway’s finest legends.
The landscape was given faces, strengths, weaknesses, and an eternal longing for love. Stories emerged about good and evil, about beautiful maidens and mighty giants whose destinies were worthy of legends. In their eagerness, the trolls forgot how short the spring night is and were turned to stone when the sun rose. Thus, the fairy-tale landscape was created.
A Mountain Woven into Legend
Torghatten is magical and mythical, and an important part of what may be called the world's longest fairy tale. The Troll Mountains stretch in a long chain through Nordland and beyond, woven together by generations of northern Norwegian imagination.
According to one famous legend, a hat was thrown gallantly through the air to save Lekamøya, the Maiden of Leka. Many versions exist, differing according to the storyteller’s perspective and circumstances. For example, the 75-metre vertical drop of Tettingsfossen waterfall is said to have become Lekamøya’s bridal veil during her flight from Hestmannen.
The Ever-Watchful Eye
Torghatten is often described as a vigilant eye watching over the land and its people, “seeing with a sleepless eye.”
These legendary mountains also served as navigation landmarks for generations of sailors. The sea route northward, known as the Nordvegen (“the northern way”), ultimately gave Norway its name. Seafarers would remove their hats in greeting as they passed this “gateway to the Northlands.”
Stories were told along the route, whether travelling north to the Lofoten fisheries or south to Bergen with dried cod. A long voyage is easier to remember when accompanied by a good tale. And if you doubt the truth of the legends, the mountains themselves still stand here as evidence in solid grey stone.
A Sacred Mountain?
Torghatten may also have been a sacred mountain in Sami mythology.
Johan Randulf, a priest in Nærøy from 1718 to 1727, suggested this in 1723. He mentions mountains such as Lekamøya, Heilhornet, Torghatten and the Alstadhaug Peaks, writing that people regarded “all such mountains as sacred and called them saivo.”
Nature Still Rules Here!
VISIT AT YOUR OWN RISK!
In accordance with Norwegian outdoor traditions, visitors are responsible for their own safety due to the danger of falling rocks.
Approximately two million people have visited the Torghatten Tunnel over the past 200 years. No injuries caused by rockfall from the tunnel ceiling are known. Nevertheless, the tunnel was formed along natural zones of weakness in the rock.
Rockfalls occur every year, especially during periods of freezing and thawing. Therefore, visiting the tunnel is not recommended between 15 October and 15 April.
The pathway through the tunnel follows what geologists consider the safest route. Visitors are also encouraged to complete the circular trail rather than returning the same way.
The Legend of Torghatten
(This version may combine two older legends into one.)
“Far north in Hålogaland lived two mighty kings: Vågakallen and the King of Sulitjelma, with Vestfjorden between them.
Both had their troubles. Vågakallen had his unruly son, Hestmannen, while the King of Sulitjelma had seven spirited daughters whom he had sent to Landego, where Lekamøya also lived.
One evening Hestmannen spotted Lekamøya and the Seven Sisters bathing in the sea near Landego.
A single glance ignited his burning desire for Lekamøya, and he resolved to abduct her at the height of the night.
Mounted on horseback in full armour, with his plumed helmet waving and his cloak thrown across his powerful shoulders, he galloped southward on his midnight ride.
The maidens saw him coming and fled in panic until they could run no more. The Seven Sisters finally gave up and collapsed at Alstahaug.
Only Lekamøya continued her flight southward, while the King of Brønnøyfjellene stood watching the wild chase.
Then dawn approached on golden clouds.
The King of Brønnøy saw the disappointed suitor place an arrow on his bow. To save Lekamøya, he hurled his hat into the arrow’s path.
The arrow flew from the string at that very moment and pierced the hat just before it landed at Torgar as the sun rose.
Everything turned to stone.
So the legend goes.”
Welcome to our world of legends!
Sources
• Birgitta Berglund: People of Torget in Ancient Times, Brønnøy Local History Book, Vol. 2, 2011.
• Reidar Christiansen: Legends of Nordland, DNT Yearbook, 1935.
• Einar Høvding: Torghatten via Brønnøysund, Brønnøysund Bookshop, 1959.
• Wikipedia and other websites on folklore and fairy tales, 2024.
• As well as countless tourist brochures.
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7. THE SEA LAND
And the Typical Northerner
“Not everyone is equally sure of the compass points, but that matters little when enthusiasm takes over:
It is impossible to imagine a more delightful contrast than the view of the hole itself and the mountains and sea to the east, and the meadows and farms to the west.
The view across the sea, with its countless mountains and skerries, seen through this gigantic telescope, is indescribably beautiful and impressive.”
James Monroe Buckley (1836–1920), American author, visiting in 1884.
One of the World’s Largest Shallow-Sea Areas
Beyond Torghatten lies one of the largest shallow-sea regions in the world, known as the strandflat or the Sea Land. To the southwest you may be able to see the island of Leka, home of the legendary Lekamøya.
Post-glacial land uplift revealed thousands of islands, islets and skerries. Four hundred years ago, people settled throughout this island realm. Timber and firewood were brought from the forested fjords inland.
At one time there were around twenty settlements between Torghatten and Leka, eventually supporting more than 200 inhabitants. These included two school districts (Horsvær and Hortavær), two fish-processing stations and two post offices. They bear witness to lives lived in an exposed island world.
The Typical Coastal Northerner
For at least a thousand years, the typical inhabitant of Brønnøy and Northern Norway was a fisher-farmer.
This was a gender-based working partnership. Women were primarily farmers, while men were fishermen. Together they managed the harvests.
Farming ensured basic self-sufficiency and food for the table. Small farms provided meat, milk, wool, eggs, potatoes and sometimes grain. Women were responsible for cooking, childcare, caring for the sick, handicrafts, tending livestock and managing the farm. They were often the first to rise and the last to go to bed.
The Sea Gives and the Sea Takes
Life always depended on the sea.
Fishing provided income for goods that could not be produced at home, as well as the means to pay taxes and fees. Men had to be capable and hardworking fishermen, spending much of their time in boats and boathouses.
They were often away from home for extended periods. Skills and practical knowledge were passed from generation to generation. Boys and girls alike learned responsibility and work from an early age.
A Life of Hard Work
Life as a fisher-farmer was marked by hard work, thrift, resourcefulness and versatility.
Torgværet, a group of small islands southwest of Torghatten, provides an example. The community had seven decares of fields and meadows, producing around thirty loads of hay each year. In 1875, the residents kept three cows, two calves and seven sheep. They sowed half a barrel of barley, three barrels of potatoes, and used twenty-four cubits of land for root crops.
For most of history, almost all fisher-farmers were tenant farmers. In Brønnøy in 1723, land ownership was distributed as follows:
- 1.5% hereditary family property
- 25% church-owned
- 73.5% owned by landlords
Eider Ducks and Down
This region was also known for egg and eider-down harvesting, a unique partnership between women and birds.
Wild eider ducks became “domestic animals” for a few weeks every year when nesting places were provided in small wooden and stone shelters. In return, the birds left behind soft and warm down, which was cleaned and sold as a valuable commodity.
Around 1900, there were between 2,000 and 3,000 nesting eider ducks between Torghatten and Leka. At Horsvær (in Sømna), the parish priest of Brønnøy was entitled to a share of the harvest, including 11 marks of cleaned eider down (equivalent to two duvets) and an astonishing 800 eider eggs.
The End of the Sea Land Communities
By the 1960s, the Sea Land had largely been abandoned after four centuries of settlement.
The era of the fisher-farmer had come to an end. Society had evolved from a subsistence economy to a monetary economy, from self-sufficiency to the consumer society.
A Landscape That Nearly Became a World Heritage Site
You are looking out across a coastal cultural landscape that almost became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The islands of Bindal, Sømna, Brønnøy and Vega, with Torghatten as a kind of internal boundary, form an exceptional coastal cultural landscape. In 1997, a Nordic research group proposed the area for UNESCO’s prestigious list of protected heritage sites.
At that time, only 102 sites worldwide held World Heritage status, including Røros, Bryggen in Bergen, the Alta rock carvings and Urnes Stave Church.
Instead, the Vega Archipelago was awarded UNESCO World Heritage status in 2004.
Mythology
According to local mythology, God created the Helgeland archipelago by washing His hands here at the end of the sixth day of Creation, and all was exceedingly good.
Today, you are looking out over at least four protected nature reserves.
Sources
• AOF: By the Sea. The Life and Work of Coastal Women..., Tiden Publishing, 1981.
• Bindal Municipality: Bindal Local History Book, Vol. 1, 1999.
• Brønnøy Municipality: Brønnøy Farms and Families, Vols. 1 and 2, 2009–2011.
• Sømna Municipality: Sømna Farms and Families, Vol. 2, 1989.
• Dagrunn Grønbech: The Coastal Woman: Fisher-Farmer and Caregiver, Helgeland Museum, 2010.
• Helge A. Wold: Outer Islands: Images from a Northern Norwegian Coastal Landscape, Cappelen, 1985.
• Wikipedia and other websites on fisher-farmers, Hortavær, the strandflat and related topics, 2023.
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8. STONE AGE SETTLEMENT
Dry Houses Among the Pebbles
“There were children here who laughed and children who cried.
Children playing near the edge of the dangerous ravine.
‘... And then there were the adults. They were all there, surely, not only Strong Nils and Wise Old One, but also Foolish Petter and Ladies’ Jens, the brothers Balance & Control, the sisters Kind and Sweet, the Know-It-All family and Uncle Hindsight ... Mr. Perfect next door ... And of course ordinary people too, just like you and me.’”
Hein B. Bjerck, archaeologist, Vega: Experience the Stone Age Island, 1989.
The Stone Age Is Not So Far Away
Imagine two skin-covered boats resting on the shore. Fish and animal hides hang drying in the breeze. The air carries the smell of smoke and rotting fish waste. Fish have been cleaned and prepared. “Boiling stones” are heating beside a fire. A hunter returns with fresh game. Someone is fitting a new flint point to a spear.
This may well have been what life looked like here.
A Settlement from 6,000 to 4,000 Years Ago
You are standing at a settlement site that was occupied between 6,000 and 4,000 years ago. It lies 20–25 metres above today’s sea level, which allows archaeologists to date it to the Late Stone Age.
This dating is based on the assumption that Stone Age people always settled close to beaches and sheltered harbours.
Food and Warmth Were Essential
Much of life revolved around obtaining food and keeping warm.
From here there was a clear view of the sea and easy access to nature’s pantry. Fish and marine mammals were available nearby. Eggs could be collected and seabirds hunted. Shellfish could be gathered along the shoreline.
People made clothing, boats and tents from sealskins. They obtained light and warmth from animal fat and driftwood. Flint for tools and weapons could also be found along the coast.
The House Pits
Within this pebble field are ten dwelling remains, visible as depressions in the ground. Five are larger and five are smaller.
The largest measure between two and four metres in diameter and are 20 to 50 centimetres deep. One stands out, measuring seven by five metres externally and about fifty centimetres deep. There is also a rock shelter measuring approximately three by eight metres.
The number of dwelling sites suggests that hunting and gathering families may have lived here for much of the year. At times, as many as twenty to thirty people may have occupied the settlement simultaneously.
Why Build in a Pebble Field?
The pebbles keep the site dry because rainwater drains away quickly. They also absorb and retain warmth from both sunlight and fires.
Stone Age people often dug their huts slightly into the ground, providing greater protection from the wind. Here, such depressions could easily be made even without proper digging tools.
Stones and earth were commonly piled around the pits. Frameworks of wood or bone were erected above them and covered with animal skins. Moss and fur bedding probably made life indoors more comfortable.
A Hard but Meaningful Life
The Stone Age way of life endured for thousands of years in close interaction with nature.
Life was often “hard as stone.” At times people were hungry, cold and vulnerable. At other times they were warm, well fed and secure. The sea gives and the sea takes; the risks were considerable.
The people who lived around Torghatten balanced constantly between prosperity and disaster. Life’s contrasts were great, leaving little room for indifference or complacency.
Ten Thousand Years of Human History
The northwestern side of Torghatten is one of the places in the world where traces of Stone Age life still dominate the landscape.
At least seventy dwelling pits have been discovered around Torghatten at various elevations. This means that people lived here throughout almost the entire Stone Age, from about 10,000 to 1,500 years before the Common Era.
As one school pupil put it:
“The Stone Age must have been a good time to live in, otherwise it would not have lasted so long.”
We have lived here for 10,000 years, and we still want to live here today!
Protected Cultural Heritage
The Stone Age settlement sites within the pebble field are protected by Norwegian cultural heritage law:
DO NOT TURN OVER STONES!
DO NOT BUILD CAIRNS!
Sources
• Birgitta Berglund: People of Torget in Ancient Times, Brønnøy Local History Book, Vol. 2, 2011.
• Hein B. Bjerck: Vega: Experience the Stone Age Island, 1989.
• Hein B. Bjerck: Research-Based Cultural Heritage Management on Vega, Museum of Natural History and Archaeology, 1989.
• Silje E. Fretheim: Housing Trends in the Early Stone Age, Spor No. 2, 2023.
• Trine Johnson: Upgrading the Trail at Torghatten, 2009.
• Directorate for Cultural Heritage: Cultural Heritage Search Portal, 2023.
• Wikipedia and other websites on the Stone Age, 2023.
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9. THE STRANDFLAT
Uniquely Norwegian
“Not all travel descriptions are equally accurate, but some are certainly colourful:
‘On the island of Torget live about a dozen people; they all make their living selling cranberries, lemonade, picture postcards, and sea urchins. …
Moreover, there is a beautiful view from this passage through the rock to both sides of Torghatten: an opalescent sea dotted with blue islets.’”
Karel Čapek (1890–1938), Czech author, from Travels in the North, 1936.
A Distinctively Norwegian Landscape
The fjords and the strandflat are quintessentially Norwegian. The term strandflat has even become established in English.
The strandflat consists of low-lying land and shallow coastal waters. Here, thousands of islands, islets and skerries are surrounded by shallow seas. It is generally defined as terrain lying approximately 50 metres above or below sea level.
Most of the strandflat today lies beneath the sea. Locally it is sometimes called a “boot sea” because of its shallow nature. Rising above it are resistant, steep coastal mountains, often made of granite and shaped like hats. To the east, the strandflat is bounded by steep mountains.
One of the Largest in the World
Similar landscapes occur in other Arctic regions that have been, or still are, glaciated. Strandflats can be found on Svalbard and in Greenland, but they are rare elsewhere in the world.
Here in Helgeland and Namdalen, the strandflat reaches its greatest extent, perhaps the largest anywhere on Earth. It stretches almost 60 kilometres seaward from the coast.
For thousands of years it has provided an ideal setting for fishing and farming, forming the basis of coastal life.
How Was It Formed?
The strandflat continues to fascinate geologists.
During warm and humid periods, the bedrock gradually weathered and broke down. Later, repeated Ice Ages eroded the softer rocks, creating a low landscape of flat islands and shallow seas.
Sea-level change, wave erosion, frost weathering and glacial erosion all contributed to the formation of the strandflat, together with sea ice and tides.
Torghatten and Climate Change
Torghatten has become more relevant than ever as a symbol of long-term climate change and sea-level fluctuations.
It even appears on the cover of the book Climate: What Is Happening? (2007). Quite appropriately, dramatic climate changes were precisely what created both Torghatten and the strandflat.
During Ice Ages, vast quantities of water become locked up in glaciers on land. Over the last 2.6 million years, Earth has experienced between 30 and 40 Ice Ages. When temperatures rise and glaciers melt, the Earth's crust rebounds and rises where the ice once rested.
Rising Land and Rising Seas
Since the last Ice Age, the land around Torghatten has risen by more than 100 metres.
Among Norway’s coastal regions, post-glacial uplift has been greatest in Helgeland, Trøndelag and the Oslo area, averaging 2–4 mm per year. The same process continues at Torghatten and has so far compensated for rising sea levels.
However, climate scientists estimate that global sea levels may rise by between 43 and 84 centimetres during this century, depending on greenhouse-gas emissions.
If all the ice on Greenland and Antarctica were to melt, sea levels would rise by approximately 65 metres.
The Gift of the Gulf Stream
We also owe a great deal to the Gulf Stream.
Despite its northern latitude, Torghatten enjoys relatively mild conditions. It lies on roughly the same latitude as the Central Siberian Plateau and the Bering Strait, and farther north than Fairbanks in Alaska, Hudson Bay in Canada, and Nuuk in Greenland.
Without the warmth brought by the Gulf Stream, average temperatures would be at least five degrees lower, and agriculture would not be possible in Norway.
The Gulf Stream has flowed for hundreds of thousands of years, though not continuously and certainly not forever. May it continue for a long time yet, but remember: everything is in motion.
Sea, Sand and Tides
The sea laps gently against the shore. The water is clear, and the seabed is covered with white sand.
The water level is constantly changing. Tides, created by the Moon and the Sun, raise and lower the sea twice daily. Here at Torghatten, the average difference between high and low tide is 168 centimetres.
The interval between two high tides is approximately 12 hours and 25 minutes. Sea levels also vary because of waves, air pressure, wind direction and water temperature.
Take a walk along the shore, play in the sand, wade into the sea, discover colourful shells, and search for curious stones.
Sources
• Ole Mathismoen: Climate: What Is Happening?, Font Publishing, 2007.
• Bjørn Vassnes: Our Mother, the Gulf Stream, Klassekampen, 3 August 2023.
• Information boards: Leka (2016) and Vega World Heritage Centre (2016/2023).
• Norwegian Mapping Authority: Tide Table, Torghatten (Brønnøy), 2023.
• Wikipedia and other websites on the strandflat, shoreline changes, climate change, sea level, tides and the Gulf Stream, 2023.