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MONUMENTS
RUNE STONES |
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Rune stones were often raised
as memorials of Vikings and their battles. The stones above stand near the
church in Simris in Skåne. The inscription on the lefthand says: "Sigrev
let raise this stone after Forkun, father of Knut's man Asulf. God help
his soul." Knut may refer to the Danish Viking Canute the Great,
who was king of Denmark, England and Norway in the early 11th century. The
inscription on the stone to the right says: "Bjarngeir let raise this
stone after Ravn, his brother, squire of Gunnulf in Svitjod."
Svitjod was the Vikings' name for Sweden, referring to the area around
the lakes Mälaren, Vänern and Vättern. |
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The stone to the
left is in a group of seven raised stones (see picture below), two
of them with rune inscriptions, in a field at Västra Strö in Skåne. The inscription means: "Father let cut these
runes after his brother Asser, who met his death to the north when going
viking." |
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SHIP
SETTINGS
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). In Swedish
these graves are called skeppssättningar or, literally translated, ship
settings. The official translation to English is ship tumulus (tumuli
in plural), but I like the term ship setting better, so I am going to use
that. There are many of these ship settings to be found in the Swedish
landscape. The ones on this page are all in Skåne, the southernmost
province of Sweden.
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Above and right: Ales Stenar (Ale's Stones)
is among the largest
and best known of Sweden's ship settings. This magnificent
monument is located on the south
coast of Skåne at Kåseberga, on a meadow overlooking the Baltic Sea. As
you can see, it is a popular tourist goal. It consists of 58 large stones
and is believed to have been raised in the late Viking age. It is not
certain whether it was an actual grave or a cult place. The name might be
traced to the old gothic word ahls, which means
holy place. There are many legends and controversial theories about
Ales Stenar. Here are some links if you want to explore Ales Stenar in
more depth.
Ales Stenar:
When? Who? What For?
A Photogallery of Ales Stenar
Ales Stenar (a controversial theory) |
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This ship setting is part of a
grave field called Tofta Högar that was used from the
Bronze Age through
the Late Iron Age. It is located on the Bjäre Peninsula in the northwest
part of Skåne. |
Placed in a beautiful oak
meadow in the northern part of Skåne, this ship setting is part of a
field called Mala
Stenar, which contains several settings and raised stones. |
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