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The Stone ship was a Germanic burial custom, typical of Scandinavia
Scandinavia

Scandinavia is a historical and geographical subregion in northern Europe that includes the Scandinavian Peninsula. It consists of the kingdoms of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark; some authorities also include Finland and some might even include Iceland....
, built from tightly or loosely fit slabs or stones. Sometimes they are of monumental proportions. In Sweden
Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic countries on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden has land borders with Norway to the west and Finland to the northeast, and it is connected to Denmark by the ?resund Bridge in the south....
, the size varies from 67 metres (Ale's Stones
Ale's Stones

Ale's Stones is a megalithic monument in Sk?ne in southern Sweden, probably from circa 600 CE, that is, the end of the Nordic Iron Age. Scanian folklore ascribes the stones to Ale the Strong's grave....
) to only a few metres. The orientation varies. Inside, they can be cobbled or filled with stones, or have raised stones in the positions of masts.






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Stone Ship
The Stone ship was a Germanic burial custom, typical of Scandinavia
Scandinavia

Scandinavia is a historical and geographical subregion in northern Europe that includes the Scandinavian Peninsula. It consists of the kingdoms of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark; some authorities also include Finland and some might even include Iceland....
, built from tightly or loosely fit slabs or stones. Sometimes they are of monumental proportions. In Sweden
Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic countries on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden has land borders with Norway to the west and Finland to the northeast, and it is connected to Denmark by the ?resund Bridge in the south....
, the size varies from 67 metres (Ale's Stones
Ale's Stones

Ale's Stones is a megalithic monument in Sk?ne in southern Sweden, probably from circa 600 CE, that is, the end of the Nordic Iron Age. Scanian folklore ascribes the stones to Ale the Strong's grave....
) to only a few metres. The orientation varies. Inside, they can be cobbled or filled with stones, or have raised stones in the positions of masts. The illusion of being ships has often been reinforced by larger stones in the ends. Some have an oblique aft. Ship settings are often found on grave fields, but sometimes far from any other archaeological remains.

Scattered examples are found in Northern Germany and along the coast of the Baltic States (where they are called devil ships). They are believed to have represented the actual burning ship in which the dead was sent out to the sea. Excavations have shown that they are usually from the latter part of the Nordic Bronze Age
Nordic Bronze Age

The Nordic Bronze Age is the name given by Oscar Montelius to a period and a Bronze Age archaeological culture in Scandinavian pre-history, ca 1800 BCE - 500 BCE, with sites that reached as far east as Estonia....
 ca. 1000 BC - 500 BC (e.g. Gotland
Gotland

is a Counties of Sweden, Provinces of Sweden and Municipalities of Sweden of Sweden and the largest island in the Baltic Sea. At 3,140 square kilometers in area, it makes up less than one percent of Sweden's total land area....
) or from the Germanic Iron Age
Germanic Iron Age

The Germanic Iron Age is the name given to the period A.D. 400?A.D. 800 in Northern Europe and it is part of the continental Age of Migrations....
, the Vendel Age and the Viking Age
Viking Age

Viking Age is the term for the period in European history, especially Northern European and Scandinavian history, spanning the eighth to eleventh centuries....
 (e.g. Blekinge
Blekinge

is one of the provinces of Sweden , situated in the south of the country. It borders Sm?land, Sk?ne and the Baltic Sea.Blekinge consists of 5 towns; Karlskrona, Ronneby, Karlshamn, S?lvesborg and Olofstr?m....
 and Scania
Skåne

Scania is a geographical region on the southernmost tip of the Scandinavian peninsula, a traditional provinces of Sweden in the Kingdom of Sweden, before 1658 a province in the Kingdom of Denmark and part of the historical lands of Denmark....
).

Prominent stone ships

  • Ale's Stones
    Ale's Stones

    Ale's Stones is a megalithic monument in Sk?ne in southern Sweden, probably from circa 600 CE, that is, the end of the Nordic Iron Age. Scanian folklore ascribes the stones to Ale the Strong's grave....
     is a stone ship in southernmost Sweden. It is 67 metres long and 19 metres wide.
  • Stones of Askeberga is Sweden's second largest stone ship measuring 55 metres in length. It is, however, the most remarkable one as it is made of 24 enormous boulders, weighing about 25 tonnes each.
  • Anund's Mound () The double stone ship at Anund
    Anund

    Br?t-Anundr or Braut-?nundr was a legendary Swedish king of the House of Yngling who reigned in the mid-seventh century. The name would have been Proto-Norse *Anuwinduz , meaning "winning ancestor"....
    's mound has a total length of 100 metres and one of the ships is 25 metres wide. In the same area there are several smaller stone ships.
  • Bække, Denmark. 25 km. south for Bække is their found 45 meter long ship. Dating from the viking area.
  • Gettlinge
    Gettlinge

    Gettlinge is a village in the southwest portion of the island of ?land, Sweden. It is known for its impressive stone ship burial ground. Gettlinge is situated on the western fringe of the Stora Alvaret, a World Heritage Site designated by UNESCO....
     gravfalt, Öland
    Öland

    is the second largest Islands of Sweden and the smallest of the traditional provinces of Sweden. ?land has an area of 1,342 km? and is located in Baltic Sea just off the coast of Sm?land....
    , Sweden (Environmental Baseline Study, Oland, Sweden, Öland, Sweden, July, 2004)
  • Hulterstad
    Hulterstad

    Hulterstad is a small coastal town on the southeastern part of the island of ?land, Sweden. Hulterstad is situated at the eastern fringe of the Stora Alvaret, a limestone pavement habitat which hosts a diversity of rare species and has been designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO....
     gravfalt, Öland, Sweden includes a total of 170 burial locations.
  • Kerteminde
    Kerteminde

    Kerteminde , is a city in central Denmark, located in Kerteminde municipality on the island of Funen. It has 5,766 inhabitants . It is a small harbor town surrounded by farms....
     fjord, Denmark, a ship of 20 meter, dating from the viking area.
  • Lejre
    Lejre

    Lejre is a town and municipality on the island of Zealand in east Denmark. It belongs to Region Sj?lland. The town's Old Norse name was Hlei?ra....
    , Denmark. A ca. 80 meter ship of 27 stones. The ship got bursted away in 1921 by a landowner, but some local history interested people succeeded to save the stones. Dating back from the viking area.
  • Lindholm Høje
    Lindholm Høje

    Lindholm H?je is a major Viking burial site and former settlement situated to the north of and overlooking the city of Aalborg. The first major excavation of 700 graves began in 1952, although earlier excavations, such as that in 1889, had been conducted....
     near Aalborg
    Aalborg

    Aalborg is a city in Denmark. Its population, as of 2008, is 121,818, making it the fourth largest in the country after Copenhagen, Aarhus, and Odense....
    , Denmark
    Denmark

    Denmark is a Scandinavian country in northern Europe and the senior member of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries....
  • Stones of Blomsholm The stone ship at Blomsholm near Strömstad
    Strömstad

    Str?mstad is a cities in Sweden in Bohusl?n in western Sweden and the seat of Str?mstad Municipality, V?stra G?taland County.Str?mstad is, despite its small population, for historical reasons normally still referred to as a Stad ....
     in Bohuslän
    Bohuslän

    is one of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden , situated on the west coast of the country. It borders Dalsland and V?sterg?tland as well as the Skagerrak arm of the North Sea and ?stfold in Norway....
     measures more than 40 m in length and consists of 49 large menhirs. The fore and the aft are about 4 meters tall. There are several other large megalith
    Megalith

    A megalith is a large Rock which has been used to construct a structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. Megalithic means structures made of such large stones, utilizing an interlocking system without the use of mortar or cement....
    s in the area.
  • Thyra's burial mound. Around the burial mound of queen Thyra
    Thyra

    Thyra was the consort of King Gorm the Old of Denmark. She is believed to have led an army against the German people. Gorm and Thyra were the parents of King Harald I of Denmark....
     in Jelling
    Jelling

    Jelling is a village situated in Vejle municipality, Denmark on the Jutland peninsula. Previously a Viking royal locality, today Jelling is a small town with a population of 3,178 ....
    , Denmark, is there found a giant stone ship with a length of 354 meter. This is by far the larges stone ship ever found and dating back from the viking area.
  • Tjelvar's Grave (Image) is according to legend the grave of Gotland
    Gotland

    is a Counties of Sweden, Provinces of Sweden and Municipalities of Sweden of Sweden and the largest island in the Baltic Sea. At 3,140 square kilometers in area, it makes up less than one percent of Sweden's total land area....
    's mythical discoverer Thjelvar, and it is dated to ca 750 BC.
  • Altes Lager Menzlin
    Altes Lager Menzlin

    Altes Lager is a site 1,5 km south of the Menzlin village near Anklam, Western Pomerania, Germany. The site at the banks of the river Peene was an important Viking trade post during the Middle Ages ....
     near Anklam
    Anklam

    Anklam is a town in the Western Pomerania region of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is situated on the banks of the Peene river, just 8 km from its mouth in the Kleines Haff, the western part of the Szczecin Lagoon....
    , Western Pomerania, Germany
    Germany

    Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
    . The stone ships date back to the 9th century.


See also

  • Menhir
    Menhir

    A menhir is a large upright standing stone. Menhirs may be found singly as monoliths, or as part of a group of similar stones. Their size can vary considerably; but their shape is generally uneven and squared, often tapering towards the top....
  • Ship burial
    Ship burial

    A ship burial or boat grave is a burial in which a ship or boat is used either as a container for the dead and the grave goods, or as a part of the grave goods itself....
  • Solar barge
  • Stone circle (Iron Age)
    Stone circle (Iron Age)

    The Stone Circles of the Iron Age were a characteristic burial custom of southern Scandinavia, especially on Gotland and in G?taland during the Pre-Roman Iron Age and the Roman Iron Age....


Sources

  • Nationalencyklopedin
    Nationalencyklopedin

    Nationalencyklopedin is the most comprehensive contemporary Swedish language encyclopedia, initiated by a Government of Sweden grant. The printed version consists of 20 volumes with 172,000 articles; the Internet version is slightly larger ....