All along the southern Norwegian coast we can find compasses carved in rock. These compasses can also be found in Sweden, Finland and on the Faeroe Islands. There is only one know compass like this outside of these four countries, that is on the top of Mont Orgueil Castle on the east coast of Jersey.

Research by Johan A. Wikander, the outmost expert on this type of rockcarving in Norway, has established that most of these compasses has been carved by pilots on high points, at their lookouts. These were to be used when they saw a ship signaling for pilot. If the weather turned bad or snow- or rainshower came in, he would still have the bearing for the ship.
These compasses are around a foot wide (smallest 17 cm, biggest 68 cm) with different layouts and use of symbols for north an east.

Johan A. Wikander at work on the compass from Hengsøy.

So far we have registered 48 compasses like this. Like I said, most of these were carved by pilots, but also many carved by soldiers at cairns looking for enemy ships. This mainly during the Napoleon war (for Norway 1807-1814) but also by soldiers waiting for the scraps of the Spanish armada in 1588.

The age of the compasses registered along the coast in Norway varies from the mid 1400 up until 1848. One of these compasses are most likely from around 1480-1500, but may be from as early as 1200! This in relation to the compass' variation.

The compass from Havnøy. Dated to be from between 1480-1500.
But it can be from as early as around 1200!

Just recently Wikander found another one carved in the entrance of a church from the 14th century. This could have been put there by the builder of the church. These churches were always built east-west.

One compass was just recently measured and dated by us, this last spring. It's on a small island outside Tananger, just west of Stavanger. We have dated it to 1750 and the "artist" is most likely a lobster fisherman. In the early 1700-hundred the lobstertrade really boomed in this area and fishermen would live on these island through the whole lobsterseason.

The compass as we found it. This compass was dated to around 1750.	The same compass after the carved parts had been highlighted with the use of tailorchalk.

Usually, like I said, the compasses were carved by men needing them for bearings towards ships to pilot or enemy ships to report. This one is rare, but not unique. There are other compasses carved at places with no view of the ocean. Maybe only a work of boredom. Still the compass is carved very precise, using an other compass as model.

The rock on Hengsøy where the compass is carved.

Here a couple of other compasses very similar to the one from Hengsøy:

Vakthusheia, Korshavn, apx. 1540-1560	Kjepsøy, Korshavn, apx. 1540-1560

My questions are:

-Have any of you ever heard of compasses like this, carved in rock?
  A lot of places have rock carvings, like in the Cornwall area, but no compasses. Do you know of any?
  What I'm trying to establish is, is this a pure Scandinavian tradition?

-Does anybody know of any writings of  Willem van Bemmelen or of any other isoclinal observations?


Hope anyone can help. This is a very interesting phenomena, with a lot of maritime history attached to it.

Smooth sailing

Atle Skarsten

Risnesbakken 4
4056 Tananger
Norway