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_Megalithic monuments of Sweden
Text by Camilla Olsson_

Photo © Camilla Olsson 1999-2000

The megalithic monuments of Sweden date back to the Neolithic period,
about 3 800 1 800 BC. There are three types of monuments, Dolmens -
the oldest type, Passage graves and Stone cists - the youngest. Almost
all megalithic monuments found in western Europe dating to this period
of time are located throughout the coast-lines and so are the Swedish
ones with one exception, a large concentration of passage graves are
located to a small area called Falkbygden in the inland of western
Sweden. The Scandinavian megaliths are of the same tradition as the
megaliths found in western Europe. The building technique is the same
as in similar European monuments, although the ones in Scandinavia are
not always as monumental (compared to Newgrange and Gavrinis). All
three types have been used for burials during long time spans and also
for secondary burials in other time periods as for example in the
Bronze age (1 800-500 BC).

Dolmens date from 3 800 BC to about 3 400 BC and were probably used as
family vaults, there are very few skeletons found in the graves. Many
of the monuments have been robbed-out or destroyed in other ways.
Sometimes traces of a stone circle set of on the edge of an earthen
mound can be found around the stone construction. There are about 80
known dolmens in Sweden situated along the west-coast, from Bohuslän
in the north to Scania in the south. In Norway there are only 2 or 3
known stone monuments, dolmens,  from this time period. They are
located on the west-coast close to the Swedish/Norwegian boarder.

Dolmens were replaced by a more elaborate type, the passage graves,
dating from about 3 400 BC- 2 400 BC. These tombs were communal and
held the bodies of many people not necessarily of the same family.
Broken pots are often found outside the entrance or the chamber,
sometimes in vast amounts (in one case 45 000 sherds). The pots have
probably been used at funeral feasts or burial rituals. Traces of food
offerings have been found in the ceramic material. The passage graves
were covered by an earthen mound with a stone wall or circle
surrounding it. There are about 350 known passage graves, about 250 of
them are located in the Falbygden area. Other passage graves can be
found throughout the west-coast and on the island Öland outside the
southern part of the east-coast.

Both dolmens and passage graves are mostly located at hill-tops that
has a view overlooking a large area, they have been visible from long
distances. Many times roads are located close to them and they are
probably in some cases traces of very old travelling tracks, maybe
dating as far back as to the Neolithic time. In some areas the
monuments are found in big clusters, situated in rows on high ridges
in the landscape. Dolmens and passage graves are similar in building
technique, although there are differences. They were in use over long
time period that spanned over 1 500 years.

Around 2 400 BC a completely new type of monument is introduced, the
stone cists or coffins. Stone cist are found in concentrations in the
inland as well as along the coasts in the middle and the south of
Sweden. They were in use until about 2 000-1 800 BC. Some of them are
very long and divided into rooms by stone slabs and some have big
round hole/s in the short-ends. A mound or a cairn often cover the
cist. The burial pattern is the same as of the passage graves although
the broken pottery is not found around this grave type. These
monuments differ from the other two types, they dont have the specific
location on hill-tops and have been in use over larger areas. The
known number, about 1 500, is also a lot higher than for the other two
types.

Rock carvings have been found on all of the monument types, but do not
occur on all of them. The most common figure is the cup mark or
cupulae, round bowls carved in the stone surface. They are often
carved in the roof stone and on some have as many as 450 cup marks
been found. Since most rock carvings in Scandinavia date to the Bronze
age, it has long been discussed if the ones found on the monuments are
of the same date as the monument itself, but scholars now agree that
they most certainly are.

Other types of stone monuments have been in use during the Bronze
(1800-500 BC) and Iron (500 BC - 1100 AD) age, but they are of
different types such as ship settings, stone circles, standing stones,
cairns etc and do not have a connection to the western European
megalithic tradition.

References

1. http://www.lessing4.de/megaliths/start.htm
2. http://www.lessing4.de/megaliths/glossary.htm
3. http://www.lessing4.de/megaliths/time.htm
4. http://www.lessing4.de/megaliths/images.htm