Verneplan for vassdrag - 10 års vernede vassdrag : Kulturminner i Vikedalsvassdraget, Rogaland/Hordaland

Abstract

This report was prepared under a contract from "the steering committee for evaluating cultural remains in rivers temporarily protected from hydroelectric development". Under this program 60 watercourses have been surveyed to establish which should be permanently protected. This report gives a survey of sites of cultural interest within the 110 km2 watershed of the Vikedal river. Their potential for further research was to be emphasised together with their potential capacity to convey understanding - and to evoke an experience of history for the public. Within this framework, no attempt has been made to evaluate possible damages due to specific hydropower schemes. The Vikedal river lies within the Vindafjord community in Rogaland. It drops some 800 meters from source to fjord. 75 sites with a total of 135 separate ancient remains are known. These are as follows: 48 settlements, 33 burials, 21 remnants of agriculture, 2 remnants of roads, 24 burial-related artefacts, 7 other. Most of the sites are in the still permanently settled area, but some of them are in the more remote hills far from the present day farms. All of the sites can be related to an agricultural economy. The river basin is well defined and small enough to be convenient for studies of geographical expansion, local economy and demography.