Petroglyphs of Lake Onega and the White Sea, Rock art sites in Republic of Karelia, Russia.

The Petroglyphs of Lake Onega and the White Sea are rock carvings in Karelia spread across two main clusters. One sits by the lake featuring roughly 1,200 different images, while the other at the White Sea contains significantly more figures, together forming one of Northern Europe's largest collections of such ancient carvings.

These carvings were made roughly 7,000 to 4,000 years ago during the Neolithic period. They rank among the oldest artistic expressions in this region, showing how ancient the human presence in Karelia truly is.

The carvings show scenes from the daily lives of early inhabitants, depicting hunting, boats, and spiritual rituals that reveal what mattered to these ancient communities. Walking past these images, you sense how people understood their relationship with nature and the spirit world.

These sites are spread across a sparsely populated region and not all are easily reachable; some require hiking or local guides. Plan your visit from the city of Petrozavodsk, where you can arrange transportation and local assistance.

The carvings show humans in unusual positions that may represent religious or magical rituals, revealing much about the spiritual beliefs of that time. Particularly striking are the detailed boats with multiple people, showing how central waterways were to life back then.