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Skåne County (M)County
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Sites/Regions:
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7 posts
Ales Stenar |
3 posts
Disa's Ting Standing Stones |
8 posts
Gillhög Passage Grave |
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8 posts
1 site Gladsax Ganggrift Burial Chamber |
5 posts
Glumslövs backar Barrow Cemetery |
5 posts
Gårdlösa Skibssætning |
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10 posts
Havängsdösen |
13 posts
Kungagraven |
4 posts
1 site Ängakåsen Skibssætning |
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6 posts
Örenäs passage grave Passage Grave |
Skegriedösen
Dolmen / Quoit / Cromlech
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6 posts
Skepparp |
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2 posts
Snarringe |
4 posts
Trollasten Dolmen / Quoit / Cromlech |
Latest posts for Skåne County (M) |
Showing 1-10 of 92 posts. Most recent first | Next 10 
Gårdlösa (Skibssætning) — Folklore |
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According to local legend the stone ship was erected over the grave of a warrior, King Alne, which is why the site of Gårdlösa is also known as Alnabjar. On a terrace on the southern side of the hill a further four stones were said to have stood which marked the grave of Queen Gya, Alne's wife. (Information taken from the signboard at the site) |
Posted by Ravenfeather5th May 2012ce |
Gårdlösa (Skibssætning) — Fieldnotes |
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Visited 1st August 2011 Standing on a small natural mound, rising like an upturned boat above a stream which cuts its way through the flat agricultural land, Gårdlösa (literally the ‘loose gravel mound’) draws the eye as you approach. Following the directions in the papery TME we spotted the ridge from route 11 just after passing Smedstorp, and a small lay-by, along with information sign and stile allowed access to the site. Also known as the Alnabjar skibbstaetning, it was excavated in 1972. The hill was found to contain graves and dommarings as well as the stone ship setting itself. Only four stones remain of the ancient skibbsaetning which was obviously placed high on the ridge to be easily visible. Just to the south of the stones on the ridge are two dommarings. These are kerb circles dating from the Vendel period of Scandinavian history (550-800CE), which were used for legal pronouncements in the Viking times. It is still gloriously hot as we watch a group of hikers making their way back down the hill from the monument, and Ellen scans the field for signs of cows. Seeing that a large herd of the bovine beasties are separated from us by the river we climb the stile and make our way to the hill. The walk is pleasant, and not too steep, as we reach the stones shaded by the surrounding trees. After a few minutes of photographing the site though we are disturbed by an ominous mooing, and look around to find that the whole of the nearby herd of cows, accompanied by a rather large bull, and several calves, are now wading across the river into our field, and heading for the monument! Within a couple of minutes the herd had surrounded the base of the hill, cutting off our path back to the car unless we wanted to run the gauntlet of prime beef blocking our way. Now I’m not concerned by cattle, but even I didn’t fancy pushing my way past a group of protective mother cows, and the rather intimidating bull, and as Ellen was by now getting greatly freaked out we looked for another avenue of escape. Following the ridge along we skirted the herd and headed for a fence dividing the neighbouring field, hoping to head through it and rejoin the road leading to the car further down the lane. All well and good apart from the fact that most fences hereabouts in Sweden tend to be electrified, a fact we confirmed when Linda, who was with us, got a nasty jolt on the arm as we tried to limbo our way under! Eventually we rejoined the lane and headed back to the car to find the cows had now all congregated around the stile that lead to the site, curiously observing us as we took our leave. So overall Gårdlösa is a lovely site, although on the surface much less impressive than many of the other skibbstaetnings nearby in Skane, there is a real sense of place here, I’ll always remember the visit, although not quite for the nice relaxing experience I would have hoped for! Gårdlösa is one of those places which has obviously been a sacred place for a long time, and so definitely warrants a visit, just to be sure to take a stout walking stick with you in case you need to fend off the cows! |
Posted by Ravenfeather 5th May 2012ce |
Gårdlösa (Skibssætning) — Images (click to view fullsize) |
  
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Posted by Ravenfeather 5th May 2012ce |
Trollasten (Dolmen / Quoit / Cromlech) — Fieldnotes |
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Visited 6th August 2011 Trollasten, the 'Troll Stones' is a small but perfectly formed dolmen. We initially tried to visit earlier in the week, stopping off at the village of Stora Koping to have a look at the carved rune stone in the churchyard. Parking up at the church and after admiring the runestone we had a wander to the edge of the village to look for the dolmen. One difference you really notice in the Swedish countryside is the lack of hedges dividing up fields, and the dolmen was easily visible in a vast expanse of field stretching away in front of us. However if we wanted to visit it two problems then became apparent. Firstly we would have to dash across a train track with no obvious crossing, and secondly a huge combine harvester type machine was currently working the field. Not wishing to be crushed either by a passing express or some agricultural machinery we decided to try again another day. Today though we drove through the village, spotted a level crossing on the edge of town, and seeing the crop had now been harvested, we parked up on the correct side of the railway track at the edge of the unfenced field and trekked towards the stones. The site is in a bucolic paradise, hares played in the sunshine of the field, whilst buzzards circled overhead, and as we neared the dolmen rather than finding Trolls inside we instead disturbed two small deer who were sheltering from the heat of the day, startling us probably more than them as they raced away from the dolmen. I squeezed inside the chamber, where it's lovely cool and comfortable, I could stay here for ages. Trollasten reminds me of a slightly more diminuative version of the Spinsters Rock, and the airy inner chamber provides similar feelings of warmth and welcome. I'm really pleased we managed to actually get here rather than just viewing it afar from the wrong side of the tracks! |
Posted by Ravenfeather 18th April 2012ce |
Trollasten (Dolmen / Quoit / Cromlech) — Images |
  
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Posted by Ravenfeather 18th April 2012ce |
Penningagraven (Kerbed Cairn) — Fieldnotes |
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Visited 3rd August 2011 The Kivik bonus site! In English Penningagraven means 'Coin Barrow', as there was supposed to be treasure buried within it. It's a very fine site within the larger grave field of Ängakåsen, and it's amazing how much of this Bronze Age cemetery remains, and how little visited it seems considering its proximity to the Kungagraven. The kerb circle itself is comprised of nice chunky boulders and the battered central standing stone, which was once broken into three pieces, has been neatly stuck back together (no ugly iron banding here!). Two cult houses ('kulthus' in Swedish), smaller kerbed burial cairns, stand just to west of the monument, whilst another can be found actually inside the Penningagraven itself. Without the trees which screen the site there once would have been views from Penningagraven out across the Baltic to the north. It's lovely and peaceful here, and this is an amazing place. As I sit on the stones in the blazing sun I can just catch a glimpse of the shimmering blue Baltic through the trees, butterflies flutter around me and I'm lost for words in the magical atmosphere here. It's like being a kid in a megalithic sweetshop! Even the cows across the other side of the field are placid and chilled out by the atmosphere! |
Posted by Ravenfeather 16th March 2012ce |
Showing 1-10 of 92 posts. Most recent first | Next 10
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