Heimdall's stones at vitemölla in se sweden and the chronology and stratigraphy of the surroundings

Abstract

. Heimdall's Stones at Vitemölla is an archaeological monument of stones arranged in circles and where sightlines can be identified of the sunrise and sunset at winter and summer solstices and spring and autumn equinoxes. Therefore, this stone monument is likely to have served as an archaeoastronomic observatory. It is founded in a fossil land surface now covered by half a metre of eolian sand. In order to date this sand drift, sediment coring was performed in the nearby Sandefloen bog. Seven levels were subjected to AMS C14 dating. The first sand drift, correlated with the sand drift covering Heimdall's Stones, was dated at 500–600 cal. bc. Consequently, the observatory has to date back to the Bronze Age, fitting well with its Sun cult and with the rock carvings recorded on the individual stones. At the seashore 500 m east of the observatory and the bog, we were able to reconstruct the sea‐level changes. In conclusion, we combine the recorded sea‐level changes with the C14‐dated bog stratigraphy and the observed stratigraphy at Heimdall's Stones (covering an area of 500×500 m) into one unified picture. The chronostratigraphic position of Heimdall's Stones agrees well with the dating of the Kivik grave. The Vitemölla area is likely to have been an important cultural centre in the Bronze Age.

Long-Distance Travel and Trading in the Bronze Age: The East Mediterranean-Scandinavia Case

“…It has strict sightlines as illustrated in Figure 3 of Mörner et al (2009). Today's deviation with respect to perfect solar alignments suggests an age of about 1200-1400 BC.…”

“…Finally, just at Ravlunda where all the amber was to be found, we have a 30 m wide stone circle termed Heimdall's Stones (Mörner et al, 2009;. It has strict sightlines as illustrated in Figure 3 of Mörner et al (2009).…”

“…The monument of Heimdall's Stones is covered by half a meter of eolian sand. This sand-drift has been dated at 600 BC (Mörner et al, 2009;Mörner, 2015). Close-by, lies the Kivik Grave with its remarkably decorated sepulchral stones Goldhahn, 2005Goldhahn, , 2013.…”

“…The grave was found in 1756, badly destroyed in the 19th century and restored in the 1930s (Goldhahn, 2013). The grave is dated at 1200-1300 BC (Goldhahn, 2005;Mörner et al, 2009). It is located only 60 m from the fossil shore from around 1000 BC .…”

“…Obviously, they must lead their origin from abroad; be imported or cut by visitors from the Mediterranean (Nilsson, 1875;Mörner et al, 2009;. The omega-sign is older than the Greek letter omega, occurring both in Egypt and in Mesopotamia.…”