SHIP SETTINGS

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The Vikings often buried their dead in graves surrounded by large stones placed in the shape of a ship. They believed that the ship would carry the soul of the dead to Valhalla (the afterlife). This type of graves are called ship settings.

Ale Stenar

Ales Stenar (Ale's Stones), consisting of 59 large stones, is the largest Swedish ship setting and a popular tourist goal. It is not certain whether it was erected as a grave site or a cult place. The name can be traced to the gothic word ahls, which means holy place.

Located in a meadow overlooking the Baltic Sea on the south coast of Skåne, the monument is believed to be about 1,400 years old, from the Vendel Era, the part of the Iron Age that preceded the Viking Age.

Links:  Ales Stenar: When? Who? What For?    A Photogallery of Ales Stenar

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