Hola berget by Årdalstjørnane
Type: Bedrock with sound
Local name: Hola berget
Locality
County: Vestland
Municipality: Sveio
Location: Årdalstjørnane–Øspedalen, Skiftestadvegen
Hola berget is located along Skiftestadvegen, between Nordskog and Eltravåg—some 50 meters southeast of the road by Årdalstjørnane (Skiftestad Nature Reserve).
Description
This is an approximately 12 meter long section of open, fairly flat bedrock. In some places, there are apparently air pockets in the rock that make a hollow, dull sound when you hit the surface. The rock surface is about to be overgrown with moss, and now only a small area of the visible rock makes a resonant sound (see video). The top two photos are from 2009, when a much larger part of the rock was visible, while the others were taken in 2022.
Cultural history and tradition
The rock lies in the middle of an old, abandoned road. When people passed here – for example by horse and cart – they noticed the strange hollow sound, and the place was named Hola berget, meaning “The Hollow Rock”. Leiv Rossehaug (b. 1952) has the name and the knowlegde of the place in his family tradition.
Thanks to Leiv Rossehaug, Magnus Bauer-Nilsen and Lars Svanberg Jakobsen.
Photos
