<< Our Photo Pages >> Lerstang - Stone Circle in Norway in Telemark
Submitted by kenntha88 on Saturday, 28 October 2023 Page Views: 141
Neolithic and Bronze AgeSite Name: LerstangCountry: Norway
NOTE: This site is 0.626 km away from the location you searched for.
Fylke: Telemark Type: Stone Circle
Nearest Town: Porsgrunn Nearest Village: Brevik
Latitude: 59.078386N Longitude: 9.721510E
Condition:
| 5 | Perfect |
| 4 | Almost Perfect |
| 3 | Reasonable but with some damage |
| 2 | Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site |
| 1 | Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks |
| 0 | No data. |
| -1 | Completely destroyed |
| 5 | Superb |
| 4 | Good |
| 3 | Ordinary |
| 2 | Not Good |
| 1 | Awful |
| 0 | No data. |
| 5 | Can be driven to, probably with disabled access |
| 4 | Short walk on a footpath |
| 3 | Requiring a bit more of a walk |
| 2 | A long walk |
| 1 | In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find |
| 0 | No data. |
| 5 | co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates |
| 4 | co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map |
| 3 | co-ordinates scaled from a bad map |
| 2 | co-ordinates of the nearest village |
| 1 | co-ordinates of the nearest town |
| 0 | no data |
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One of the most interesting stone circles I have visited is the one at Lerstand. It is a beautiful stone circle consisting of 9 stones and the 10th in the centre surrounded by round barrows. It is located on the footpath from the parking lot to the hillfort "The castle". it has parking, information posters and well marked footpaths. The stone circle and barrows are regularly kept free of vegetation and the ground only have a layer of dead leaves.
The stone circle is inside a beautiful park or henge with large ash trees. The stone circle has 9 stones and a 10th in the center. The stone in the center is larger than the other stones in the circle and has a flat surface like a table or altar. It is around 1X1 metre wide and around 60cm in height. The stone has clear corners and resemble a rectangle. Theories are that the circle is not just a burial monument but had ritual purposes.
The 9 stones that make up the circles are from 50-60cm thick and wide and around 90-100cm in height. Most of them have more or less square cross sections while some have the shape of sharped-edged triangles. All the stones have flat top surfaces which is unusual in scandinavian stone circles. The stones have a distance between them of around 3 metres, the distance from the central stone to the outer circle is around 9-10 metres and the stone circle has a total diameter of 19-20 metres.
During the excavation of the stone setting at Lerstang, a thick layer of charcoal and burnt bones were found under the large central stone. It is not known for sure whether these are human bones or not. The stone circle may have been used for burial rituals, for example as the place where the actual cremation of the dead took place. This may explain why there is only one stone setting on the burial ground, while there are several burial mounds, five round and one elongated. Three of the burial mounds are difficult to spot, they are low and partially ruined. The others are around 9-10 metres in diameter and 1 metre in height and are easily seen in the landscape. All the barrows have clear ditches around the edges and most of them have very pretty rounded tops. When excavating one mound, burnt bones, charcoal and an iron ring were found.
In addition to the 6 burial mounds at the stone settlement there are 4 other burial fields with a total of 23 burial mounds around Lerstang. There have also been 4 or 5 burial mounds where the car park is located, but these have unfortunately been dug away.
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Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
103m NE 47° Rødvik-Slottet* Hillfort
4.5km NNW 346° Eidanger Prestegård* Barrow Cemetery
4.8km ENE 77° Landgangen* Rock Art
5.6km SSW 207° Rugtvedt Settlement* Ancient Village or Settlement
7.5km N 7° Bjørkedalen-Flogstad* Barrow Cemetery
8.2km SSW 202° Bamble Offerlund* Timber Circle
8.5km SSW 203° Bamble standing stone* Standing Stone (Menhir)
9.0km SSW 205° Steinsjordene sacrificial marsh* Natural Stone / Erratic / Other Natural Feature
9.6km NW 325° Østre Klyve* Barrow Cemetery
10.3km NE 54° Omsland* Barrow Cemetery
10.4km NNW 336° Borgestad* Stone Circle
11.5km NNW 327° Lyngbakken* Barrow Cemetery
12.9km NW 316° Findal Nordre* Barrow Cemetery
13.0km SSE 153° Mølen* Cairn
13.8km ESE 118° Kongerødhaugen Barrow* Round Barrow(s)
13.8km ESE 124° Sannisteinen* Standing Stone (Menhir)
14.0km NW 313° Holtan* Barrow Cemetery
14.1km NNW 345° Løberghaugen* Rock Art
14.2km NW 324° Gimsø Kloster* Barrow Cemetery
14.9km ESE 117° Hvatum Standing Stone* Standing Stone (Menhir)
15.0km ESE 116° Bratthaugåsen* Barrow Cemetery
15.0km NNW 331° Galgeholmen* Round Barrow(s)
15.4km ESE 113° Presteåsen* Standing Stone (Menhir)
15.8km NNW 330° Kjempa Hillfort* Hillfort
16.4km SE 134° Hummerbakken-Høgvik* Ancient Village or Settlement
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