Langeland: more lovelies
7 April 2006
We were so wowed with Langeland that we felt another trip was necessary. I liked the close proximity of all the monuments and their variety (it's a bit like Carnac in that respect) and the delightful drumlin-hilly landscape.
I was feeling quite miserable due to the terrible cold weather and long driving days we'd had. I felt sure that Langeland would cheer me, especially as the sky was blue and the sun was shining. Next time we're going somewhere hot – like Sardinia – Moth promised. (Or Africa, I hoped.)
We started at Skovsgard megalithic longship tucked away in some leafless late winter woodland in the east on the island. The stones were all there, but all fallen down and thick with acid green carpet moss.
At one end the stone was bigger, like a prow. If only they could be re-erected, this'd be a corker.
Just a five minute drive away (everything here is just a five minute drive away) the Kædeby dolmen lurks in a hedgerow to the south of Kædeby.
It's isn't that easy to find as there are no heritage signs to it and no information board. It's not until you're right up close do you realise the enormous bulk and height of the capstone. As we approached Moth disturbed a sleeping hare, and two deer on the path ahead of us didn't notice our approach until we got quite close.
There were some cupmarks on the capstone showing up clearly in the low sun, but I'm no rock art aficionado and was not whelmed.
The Annemolehøj jættestue is just across the road from the Dyssekammer i Herslov which we had noticed at the roadside the day before.
This was lovely. As usual, the information board displayed lots of useful text in Danish, but from what we could glean the usual potsherds, ritual axes and amber beads were found.
This passage grave had a wide transverse chamber which once you were inside it felt inconceiveable that such a large stone structure could be hidden under such an unassuming little mound.
On a line within sight of the Dyssekammer I Herslov and the Annemolehøj jættestue is yet another monument, the Langdysser I Herslov, but it looked unkempt and had no visible access from the road.
Ringelshøj is a long barrow like Hulbjerg and is tucked away in trees. It was pretty unkempt, but at one time was yet another monster.
Moth noticed Pæregårdstrand dysser on a map and wanted me to see it because he knows how much I love beachside monuments. Pæregårdstrand dysser is about 1000ms along the beach perching on the sandy cliffs, 7 metres above the seashore.
Unfortunately it was overgrown, forgotten and largely trashed, despite its stunning location and the fact that it was once a large monument with three chambers and good sized kerbstones.
The walk back along the deserted beach under virtually cloudless skies was wonderful.
I liked Kong Renes Høj a lot.
It's not hard to see why. We were particularly intrigued with the capstone of one of the dolmens which someone at some point had tried to cut into pieces. They failed to complete the job and left the chunk they'd removed where it lay.
We stopped briefly for Moth to see the very long Langdysser nord Forfrettesvig, but it was in crop and he couldn't get to it.
Tvedeskov is fascinating. Tucked away in woods this double passage grave has lost all its caps but this gives the advantage of being able to see its design. A nice job was made when it was excavated and restored in 1978.
Our final monument on Langeland was the disappointingly abandoned and probably only just tolerated Jaettestue i Skovtofte. In a pine and birch plantation it reminded me of Slatepits Copse long barrow in Oxfordshire – almost lost, horribly overgrown, carpeted with thick moss and in danger of complete loss through sheer neglect.
So many monuments in such a tiny place! Either they escaped destruction because of Langeland's remoteness, or the population here were prolific in their grave building because the farming, fishing and fowling was so easy. The lack of Romans and the late arrival of Christianity probably helped, too.
If you want to take your family on holiday and still see sh*tloads of big old rocks, you'll do no better than Langeland. Just make sure you go during the summer months.
Glossary
Høj – hill or mound
Jættestue – literally 'giant's stones'
Skibssætning – megalithic longship
Ringdysser – mound or barrow with stones or burial chamber
Dyssekammer – dolmen or burial chamber, I think!
Langdysser – long barrow with stones and/or burial chamber
Photos: Moth Clark
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Langeland: will the real Kong Humbles Grav please stand up
5 April 2006
In The Megalithic European, Julian pays little more than a double page spread of lip-service to the long, glorious island of Langeland off the southern coast of Fyn in Denmark, almost certainly due to lack of space in the book and time in the field. So I'm going to try to make up for that here and in my next blog (coming soon).
The thing that doesn't come over in Julian's commentary is the sheer variety, intensity and close proximity of monument after monument in this small finger of land. It took us two days to do it justice.
The bridges to get there are mercifully toll-free and the rolling countryside on the island is more enchanting even than the rest of Denmark. Langeland is home to scores of bird species and hares and deer abound. The main town on the island is Rudkøbing which felt very strongly like a far less bleak Kirkwall.
It was Moth's birthday and while we were waiting for our friends Cloudhigh and Roland Wyckwyre to join us for some lunch, we quickly zipped out of town to see Bjerrebygaard dolmen.
We arrived in blazing sunshine and galloped over the muddy field to reach the stunning monument, cluster of large stones, dolmens with giant capstones and six monster, gnarled 'pantomime' oak trees sticking out of a large mound. Very dramatic.
We spent some time enjoying it until the sky in the northwest darkened suddenly and a wall of weather closed in. We made it back to the car just in time as a full-on blizzard of hailstones pelted down.
We thought we'd take Cloudhigh and Roland Wyckwyre out to see two monuments guaranteed to delight even non-stone-huggers: Kong Humbles Grav and Ristinge Klint, a dolmen near a beach.
Kong Humbles Grav is in all the guidebooks as the most fabulous langdysser with exposed chambers in Langeland. So what we couldn't understand was the place that Julian's instructions took us to in TME…
…a most underwhelming, crescent shaped long embankment on top of a huge grassy mound overlooking the town of Humble, opposite the church.
Moth and I couldn't believe it. We were embarrassed to have taken our friends after the major build-up we'd given it. Something was wrong. We left disappointed and highly suspicious.
As I drove us to our next monument, Moth checked other guidebooks, including the Oldtidsminder På Langeland by Jens Bech of Langelands Museum and Jens Kortermann, a jewel among guidebooks (text all in Danish) but with brilliant maps and drawings.
Oops Julian! If you're reading this, I'm afraid you screwed up, sweetie. The underwhelming earthwork you call Kong Humbles Grav on page 168 of TME is no such thing. The real Kong Humbles Grav will stand up in two paragraphs' time.
Meanwhile come with us to the dolmen on Ristinge Klint, on a tiny, narrow peninsula, jutting out the west of Langeland. The rain, hail and sleet had passed and the beach was bathed in warm sunshine, the first time I'd not been cold whilst outside all week. We walked along the path up through the dunes and along the sandy cliffs above the deserted and beautiful beach until we reached this glorious erection:
It was much bigger than we dared hope from the tiny line drawing in the pamphlet we had. We were all delighted with it.
The *REAL* Kong Humbles Grav
We returned to where we'd previous been to see Kong Humbles Grav and found the real one with not too much trouble. Here's how to get there. Drive past the church and turn down the first farm track to the left, towards a beautifully kept pink and blue farm house with a monster yellow barn. Park here, put your money in the honesty box and walk north behind the white barn and follow the track through the field. Here is Kong Humbles Grav – a magnificent long barrow with squared off ends and lots of good kerbstones.
The main chamber in the middle is an exposed dolmen in superb condition.
Straw had been put on the ground in the chamber so I shot in, not only to get out of the bitter wind and the threat of rain but because it really was delightfully hygge in there!
Our friends departed and we pressed on towards Hulbjerg jaettestue from where I was thrilled to see a honey buzzard.
Hulbjerg is a classic little passage grave, with a good puffy domed mound and a transverse chamber coming off a narrow and low short passageway.
Beautifully restored and carefully tended, this is a model of care for our prehistoric past.
From here we drove to Myrebjerg jaettestue, past some wetlands and lakes crawling with tufted ducks, but the field was in crop and we couldn't get to it.
The Ormstrup langdysser looked promising and spectacular…
… but again the field was in crop and this no-entry sign made the situation pretty clear.
The Kindeballe dolmen was just round the corner from Ormstrup and a great surprise to see at the roadside.
Hesselbjerg langdysser is featured on page 168 of TME in an open watery landscape alive with swans and geese. Compared to other langdyssers we'd seen I found this one disappointing but Moth loved it.
I'd had enough at this point but Moth nipped out quickly to see Langdysser ved Ristinge Nor:
As we drove back towards the bridge to get us back to Fyn, we spotted this Dyssekammer i Herslev from the main road, the 305.
Ain't that sweet?
Glossary
Høj – hill or mound
Jættestue – literally 'giant's stones'
Skibssætning – megalithic longship
Ringdysser – mound or barrow with stones or burial chamber
Dyssekammer – dolmen or burial chamber, I think!
Langdysser – long barrow with stones and/or burial chamber
Photos: Moth Clark
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Katbjerg and the Spanskhøj mystery solved
4 April 2006 …
…continued from previous blog …
We pressed on northwards towards the charming cobbled-paved town of Mariager where Hohøj, the largest mound in Scandinavia is found.
It is situated at the highest point hereabouts and from the top of its 12metre high bulk there are glorious views. Silbury it ain't, but it is impressive anyway. Legend has it that it was once inhabited by a pig-scoffing troll.
Don't miss the Katbjerg monuments
On route 555 out of Mariager, Moth had found our next set of monuments on the internet. We could find no printed information about the monuments at Katbjerg at all which is almost criminal, because the long barrow called Kongehøjen ved Voldstedlund is the finest long barrow we had ever seen. , Yes, seriously!
This monument was untrashed and probably not much restored. It was long – perhaps 25 metres and rectangular with a continuous line of big kerbstones. And tall, too! The mound billowed upwards along the entire length of the monument, completely undenuded.
No fancy horned forecourts here though; instead just really whopping stones at each end. Down one side are two low passageways, each leading to a large intact chamber. Oooh! Oooh! OOOOH! This place blew our minds.
Fifty metres directly west is the ruins of a round barrow which has lost much of its material but still has a chamber to see.
Now badly overgrown and rather unkempt, this is home a families of blue tits.
Continuing west on the 555 you don't need your specs on to notice the Jordhøj and Ormhøj barrows, sited on the same east-west line as Kongehøjen ved Voldstedlund long barrow
These are gigantic! We didn't bother to walk over to them as the clouds threatened to do something evil again, there was nowhere to park at the roadside and no obvious track through the field to get to these huge barrows, with their south east facing entrances.
Yikes! Julian gets it wrong
It was late in the day and I was døgntired after already having driven more than 170 miles north. We still had 115 miles to get back to our cottage, but we couldn't miss what Julian calls Spanskhøj on page 159 of TME.
After reaching Snæbum* we saw the sign to drive into a farm courtyard. Before we had even turned the engine off, a kind woman had scurried out with a huge torch for us to view inside the mound. We dropped our 6kr kroner each in the honesty box, took an informative homemade leaflet and set off through the thick smell of pig poo to the field with the mounds.
*yes, we tittered, too!
Spanskhøj, Snibhøj and one other flattened double-entranced mound stand in the same field. But don't be mistaken, as Julian apparently was. The picture in TME is not of Spanskhøj it is Snibhøj. Both the information leaflet we picked up on site and James Dyer are clear about this.
Snibhøj is very special.
I'd never seen a monument like it…
… two passageways, two fabulous chambers one of which housed this tiny, sleepy bat.
Immediately next to Snibhøj this is all that is left of its once identical neighbour. We couldn't find its name.
Spanskhøj stands tall and proud at the other side of the field. We drove round to see if we could get in. We couldn't. It was quite tousled with vegetation and had no clear path to it. It certainly had two passages but there was no way we could get in.
Well, now you know for your next edition, Julian, if you're reading this.
Glossary
Høj – hill or mound
Jættestue – literally 'giant's stones'
Skibssætning – megalithic longship
Ringdysser – mound or barrow with stones or burial chamber
Dyssekammer – dolmen or burial chamber, I think!
Langdysser – long barrow with stones and/or burial chamber
Photos: Moth Clark and Jane Tomlinson
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Møls and Tustrup
4 April 2006
From where we were staying on Fyn, the monuments of north east Jutland, Denmark seemed quite long way for a day trip. Nevertheless we went.
Our first stop was Groenhøj (page 163 of The Megalithic European [TME]) chambered tomb, near Horsens, a perfect pincushion of a monument, not unlike the Great Cairn on Porth Hellick Down, Scilly, but bigger.
It has a continuous ring of handsome kerbstones and a good high grassy mound. Like so many of the monuments in Denmark, the stones are lovely sparkly pink and grey. It has a very narrow corridor which I probably could have wriggled through to reach the chamber but as it was wet underhoof and I was wearing my only clean pair of jeans so I didn't bother. At its 1940 excavation, thousands of pottery sherds were unearthed here, the breaking of which was some kind of ritual associated with the use of the mound.
Today, under blue skies with big fluffy clouds and chaffinches darting around in the trees Groenhøj looked very hygge.
From Groenhøj, we headed up to Møls area (page 160 of TME) on the beautiful Djursland peninsula, just north west of Århus. Its pretty remote up here, but quite gorgeous. The most beautiful part of Denmark I had yet seen. I wanted to see Poskær Stenhus – surely the most picturesque place in TME!
As we arrived the sun came out unbroken and I scampered about the monument like a happy bunny. Moth climbed the Tinghulen to get some height some photos and I , after speaking to a woman tending her horses (who, with the horse she currently tended had once lived in Lambourn) sat and found the view where the light was just right for me to paint.
Poskær Stenhus is essentially the skeleton of a monument exactly like Groenhøj – gorgeous pink kerbstones, bit of a passage, nice chamber complete with capstone, bob's yer uncle. But the setting here is so very fabbie.
Rolling fields and hills, great views, green pasture, heathy bits – oooh! And the nicest thing it's that somehow its all on a human scale. Nothing here is grand or majestic or mighty. It's all rather comfortable and nice. I like that.
It should be noted that at Poskær Stenhus visitors will find excellent toilets, so for once, ladies, you don't need to pee in the open and risk mooning as passers-by. Here's what I managed to sketch before I had to use the facilities:
The woman with the horse advised me and Moth to go up the road to the village of Agri where there was more stuff to see and very good walking. I didn't like to tell her that walking + me = no no, but we had a tootle up there anyway. How glad I was we did! As we drove up the hill I spotted this!
And this, one of the many Stabelhøje dolmens…
And many, many more!
A note about Danish barrows
There are tons and tons and tons of them! Everywhere! They are not the sad, flat remnants of once-mighty burial places we get in the UK. Oh no. Here in Denmark they are everywhere and stand tall and proud and big and round dotted all around the countryside with a gratifying frequency and seem to be a source of national pride. How sad that in the UK modern farming methods and treasure hunters over the years have rendered ours so deflated and scrubby.
Anyway, the landscape of Møls is particularly rich in barrows.
From Agri we headed off through the lanes towards the Tustrup jættestue. At one point I mis-navigated but managed to pick up an alternative route. I'm glad that I made this error or we would not have driven past this little dolmen, just sitting in a field quietly minding its own business.
Suddenly the weather changed! From bright sunshine we hit hail, then sleet, then snow, then more hail. Fortunately in the space of 20 minutes the blizzard passed and we were back in bright sunshine for the Tustrup jættestue (page 161 of TME)
The place reminded us a lot of St Just in France. The heathland landscape, the birds, the general atmosphere. There are four main monuments here each within a few metres of each other. There is a stone chamber…
…this lovely chambered tomb with spectacular kerbstones…
… and a weird thing that was probably a building or mortuary house…
…and this marvellous passage grave.
It didn't have kerbstones but the interior was awesome! I sat on top of it for while and considered the landscape, the hooded crows and these lovely monuments.
More from our day out in North East Denmark in the next blog…
Glossary
Høj – hill or mound
Jættestue – literally 'giant's stones'
Skibssætning – megalithic longship
Ringdysser – mound or barrow with stones or burial chamber
Dyssekammer – dolmen or burial chamber, I think!
Langdysser – long barrow with stones and/or burial chamber
Photos: Moth Clark and Jane Tomlinson
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Als well that ends at Baronens Høj
Als is a small island off the south eastern coast of Jutland, Denmark, linked to the mainland by a toll-free bridge. It's got a few pretty HOT monuments...
Blommeskobbel (page 155 of TME) is tucked away in woodland off a muddy track – which thankfully you can drive to because it was raining again.
The trees gave some shelter but it was as damp and muddy and joyless as you could ever want. Blommeskobbel cheered me though. How could it not? The site consists of two langdyssers and two round barrows, with good kerbing, nicely exposed chambers and lots of character.
I had looked forward to Blommeskobbel not just because the name sounds so cool and it means flower stones in Danish, but because when I first saw page 155 of Julian's 'The Megalithic European' [TME] I knew it wouldn't be long before I would have get to Denmark.
I would have liked to have painted here but it was too grey, too damp, too miserable. The weather was forecast to dry up later, but there was no sign of that as we headed up the coast a tiny bit from Blommeskobbel towards Nørreskov, 5 kms away.
The Nørreskov monuments
We'd spotted Nørreskov in James Dyer's book 'Discovering the Archaeology of Denmark' and as we were so close thought we'd take a look even if we hade already found Dyer to be slightly unreliable, banging on about finds and stuff rather than the monuments. (It's always bloody pottery sherds and amber beads, too.)
Our first Nørreskov monument was at Frydendal Kro in the strip of woodland leading down to the sea. Here we found a rather cute little dolmen emerging out of a round barrow…
…. and right next to it, a short barrow (it wasn't long) with a good stone cist in the top.
Dyer suggested that there were others lurking in the woods like which went on for a few kilometres hugging the coast, like this one we just happened across…
The woods had some nice rough but driveable tracks running through it, one of which had a very promising name…
As it had suddenly stopped raining and it looked as if even the sun might appear, we drove along spotting birds (jays, an unidentified-but-mighty-raptor and a goldcrest!) and any suspicious humps with stones. We spotted a couple which were deeply underwhelming, but then rounded a corner and found ourselves face to face with the Havredyssers.
The road ran between them.
Each of them were great with plenty of high mound, kerbstones, cists and a chamber.
Moth strode off into the woods to seek out the Gamle Troldhøj (the Old Troll's Hill) …
…while I sat in the car and had a cuppa like a miserable-and-fed-up-with-the-rain old cow. Three days of low cloud, brisk breezes and cold rain and had taken its toll on my mood.
Dyer suggested another monument 5kms through the woods to look at. Despite feeling like 'I just wanna go home' we went to seek out what Dyer describes as: 'a fine round dolmen with a central burial chamber and a ring of kerbstones', the Baronens Høj. He should have just said: 'it's f*cking ace, Jane!'
The setting, the construction, the character and the fact that the sun came out while we were there lifted my heart! What a beautiful place. It perches like a little crown 25 feet above the sea in a clearing which it shares with an old farmhouse.
It reminded me of Innisidgen on Scilly which 'feels' the same. Its immediate neighbour, the old farmhouse was that very distinctive shade of Danish yellow and its thatch was thickly covered in moss. When the sun came out it glowed green and bright – it felt like it was the first time I'd seen Denmark in colour. That was it. Time to get the paints out. At bloody last!
This is what I managed to sketch.
On the way back to our cottage as we travelled through south Jutland, we sought out the Hjulgraven at an industrial estate at Hjordkær a picture of which Moth had found on the internet and looked very promising. In fact it was crap, so don't bother with it.
Badly restored barrows with not much more to see than concrete markers. Shame. Although the factory next door did have a very interesting collection of electricity-generating windmill parts.
Glossary
Høj – hill or mound
Jættestue – literally 'giant's stones'
Skibssætning – megalithic longship
Ringdysser – mound or barrow with stones or burial chamber
Dyssekammer – dolmen or burial chamber, I think!
Langdysser – long barrow with stones and/or burial chamber
Photos: Moth Clark and Jane Tomlinson
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Habitat: Commonly sighted in fields round Oxfordshire and Wiltshire.
Distribution: Widespread; occasional migrations to overwinter in Africa or other hot climes.
Characteristics: A tall, blonde, opinionated bird with feisty temper when provoked. Prone to spells of gloom during winter months. Usually sporting dark plumage, except for golden head, can often spotted with sketchbook and brushes near megalithic sites.
Feeding habits: Easily tempted with cheese (any variety) or a nice cup of tea. Unfeasibly fond of curry.
Behaviour: Unpredictable, approach cautiously. Responds very favourably to flattery.
Abhors: slugs, invisible sky gods, Tories, the Daily Mail, bigots, eggs, the cold, walking and timewasting.
Adores: a man called Moth, painting, live music, furry creatures, tea administered frequently, hot places, cheese, writing crap poetry, David Attenborough, Ernest Shackleton, Vincent van Gogh and the English language.
Want more?: see her website.
Big old rocks I find appealling
Their secrets they are not revealing
Some are chambers, some are tombs
Hidden in valleys and in combes
Some are said to act like clocks
With shadows cast out from their rocks
I like the way they just survive
When I visit, I feel alive
So I chase my rocks around the maps
Round England, Ireland and France, perhaps
But there ain't nothin' that I liked so much
As to see the Hunebedden, dem is Dutch.
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