Grave Orb is the name for a petrosphere

Petrosphere

In archaeology, a petrosphere is the name for any spherical man-made object of any size that is composed of stone. These mainly prehistoric artefacts may have been created and/or selected, but altered in some way to perform their specific function, including carving and painting.Several classes of...

 that was put on the tomb of a deceased. Grave Orbs were made throughout Scandinavia

Scandinavia

Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...

 from the Pre-Roman Iron Age

Pre-Roman Iron Age

The Pre-Roman Iron Age of Northern Europe designates the earliest part of the Iron Age in Scandinavia, northern Germany, and the Netherlands north of the Rhine River. These regions feature many extensive archaeological excavation sites, which have yielded a wealth of artifacts...

 until the Vendel era

Vendel era

In Swedish prehistory, the Vendel era is the name given to a part of the Germanic Iron Age ....

.

The Grave Orb could have been selected for its round shape or shaped by hand. They were then put in the centre of a burial site. Tumuli

Tumulus

A tumulus is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, Hügelgrab or kurgans, and can be found throughout much of the world. A tumulus composed largely or entirely of stones is usually referred to as a cairn...

, stone circle

Stone circle (Iron Age)

The stone circles of the Iron Age were a characteristic burial custom of southern Scandinavia, especially on Gotland and in Götaland during the Pre-Roman Iron Age and the Roman Iron Age. In Sweden, they are called Domarringar , Domkretsar or Domarsäten...

s and stone ship

Stone ship

The Stone ship or ship setting was an early Germanic burial custom, characteristically Scandinavian but also found in Germany and the Baltic states. The grave or cremation burial is surrounded by tightly or loosely fit slabs or stones in the outline of a ship...

s often have a reclined or raised central stone, and grave orbs derive from this practice.
They were of ritual or symbolic significance.

Some grave orbs are engraved with ornaments, such as the orb at Inglinge hög or Barrow of Inglinge near Ingelstad

Ingelstad

Ingelstad is a locality situated in Växjö Municipality, Kronoberg County, Sweden with 1,655 inhabitants in 2005.Ingelstad may also refer to Ingelstad Hundred, located in the province of Skåne....

 in Småland

Småland

' is a historical province in southern Sweden.Småland borders Blekinge, Scania or Skåne, Halland, Västergötland, Östergötland and the island Öland in the Baltic Sea. The name Småland literally means Small Lands. . The latinized form Smolandia has been used in other languages...

. Hög is from the Old Norse

Old Norse

Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....

 word haugr meaning mound or barrow.

See also

• Stone balls
  Stone balls
  The terms Stone balls, "stone ball", "stone spheres", and "stone sphere" have been used to designate spherical stone objects of both natural and artificial origin...
  
  
• Stone spheres of Costa Rica
  Stone spheres of Costa Rica
  The stone spheres of Costa Rica are an assortment of over three hundred petrospheres in Costa Rica, located on the Diquis Delta and on Isla del Caño. Known locally as Las Bolas, they are also called The Diquis Spheres...
  
  
• Carved Stone Balls
  Carved Stone Balls
  Carved Stone Balls are petrospheres, usually round and rarely oval. They have from 3 to 160 protruding knobs on the surface. Their size is fairly uniform, they date from the late Neolithic to possibly the Iron Age and are mainly found in Scotland...
  
   of Scotland
  Scotland
  Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...