Messages from the past in Sweden

One of the UK's funniest new breed of travel writers, Bernie Friend, releases his debut book, Cycling Back to Happiness, on April 28, 2008.

In it he describes his adventures along the torturous North Sea Cycle Route a coastal cycle route of 6,000 kilometres which takes in the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Scotland and England.

In this fourth instalment he explores the strange Bronze Age petroglyphs at Vitlycke...

An effortless downhill freewheel through the woods of Vitlycke led back to the rock carving centre.

A merchandise packed museum sits by the road, attached to an impressive outside facsimile Bronze Age farmstead.

Bone-like wooden supports criss-cross a cluster of thatched roofs, while Gotland sheep native to the period and crop studies from the same age give this living and breathing project authenticity.

It certainly did the trick for a couple of middle-aged Yanks holding Premier membership cards with DENSA.

"Do you think this is real mi-de-evil fur, Hank?" asked the woman as she stroked gold ring encrusted fingers through a replica fur coat.

"I don't know. Maybe, dear. Now come and finish your cappuccino."

The remarkable carvings date back a lot later, some 3,000 years ago, with the last engraving believed to have been chipped away just before the birth of Jesus Christ.

Opposite the museum, lying in the high grassy banks of Vitlycke is the real crowd puller, annually attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors from all over the world.

A flat slab of smooth granite, 20 metres long and seven metres high, containing 400 petroglyphs, a World Heritage classification gives this site the same historical importance as the pyramids of Egypt or India's Taj Mahal.

Offering a fascinating insight into the social, working and religious lives of these ancient people, the most famous carving is of an embracing bridal couple in the upper part of the rock face.

A stick woman with a dog-shaped head and a man, who appears to have an erect penis coming out of his backside, depict a holy wedding or a sexual intercourse ritual.

This ceremony would be used to safeguard the fertility of men and animals, probably carried out on May 1st each year, with cult priests taking on the mantle of gods.

This spot rested next to a coastline of fjord during the Bronze Age, allowing sailing chieftains to trade for copper with Italy and tin with Britain.

It is no surprise then that many of the carvings are related to the sea, with boats and whales predominant features.

Another shows a man lying down attached to a boat by his legs and a woman kneeling by his head.

This is believed to symbolise the journey to the kingdom of death. Another set of pencil-thin worshipping figures are holding lollipop suns on sticks, praying for healthy crops.

Nature plays its part, with birds and huge curly snakes, chasing terrified men, knocked into the stone.

But the strangest of all is a horned, devil-like creature with a tail and spear towering over a much smaller man (with an erection) fighting back with a wooden staff.

All the carvings have been painted red to make them more visible, an action frowned upon by many archaeologists, and need to be constantly cleaned to combat erosion pollution.

As I walked around these strange symbols, wondering what made the Bronze Age people carve out so much of their primitive graffiti in this one place, I collared a member of the rock spraying sterilisation team for an opinion.

"I think there are lots of messages here," said the pony-tailed Andreas.

"Maybe they are signs of past things or offerings to Gods. The rock is in an accessible place and was meant to be seen by lots of people, otherwise it would have been hidden away somewhere else.

"These carvings were made to stand the test of time and there could be a message here specifically made for us."

What a chilling thought. Could these Bronze Age symbols be a special code, sent down the corridors of time and still uncracked, trying to warn us about future threats and dangers?

Did these prophetic stone scribes know something about global warming and other natural disasters?

Or were they just a load of primitive old superstitious scrawlings? I doubt we will ever know for sure.

Cycling Back to Happiness (ISBN 9781906206710) is published by Pen Press. It is available to buy and order from all European book stores, or across the world from www.Amazon.co.uk.