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<< Our Photo Pages >> Ales stenar - Stone Circle in Sweden in Skåne

Submitted by cereus on Monday, 26 September 2011  Page Views: 42482

Neolithic and Bronze AgeSite Name: Ales stenar Alternative Name: Ale's Stones, Ales Stones
Country: Sweden Landskap: Skåne Type: Stone Circle
 Nearest Village: Kåseberga
Latitude: 55.382500N  Longitude: 14.054300E
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
5 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
5 Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
4 Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
5

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CharcoalBurner89 visited on 26th Mar 2023 - their rating: Cond: 5 Amb: 5 Access: 4 Absolutely impressive. There is not much more to say about this site. The location by the sea, the size, everything gives the impression of a mystical place.

LeGuMa visited on 1st May 2013 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 5 Access: 4 It's a steep walk uphill from parking.

43559959 visited on 6th Jul 2008 - their rating: Cond: 5 Amb: 5 Access: 3

WhiskyRiver visited - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 5 Access: 3

fornjotr NeolithicFanatic Tonnox Alta-Falisa neolithique02 DrewParsons sirius_b have visited here

Average ratings for this site from all visit loggers: Condition: 4.5 Ambience: 5 Access: 3.5

Ales stenar
Ales stenar submitted by cereus : A neolithic sunship (3.300 - 3.600 BC). The most southern part of Sweden by the sea. There is much to read about it <a href="http://www.alesstenar.com/"> here</a> (Vote or comment on this photo)
For years and years, there has been an on-going conflict over Ales stenar, a prehistoric stone ship monument in Scania, southern Sweden. Scholarship has argued that like all other large stone ships in southern Scandinavia with ample space between the standing stones, Ales stenar was built as a grave marker in the late 1st millennium AD.

Radiocarbon dating has confirmed the date. On the other hand, amateur archaeo-astronomer Bob Lind has led a vociferous campaign asserting that the ship is several thousand years older than that and originally built as a calendarical observatory. People have actually come to blows over this in one of Sweden's most publicised battles between skeptics and woo-mongers. But not one academic archaeologist believes in Lind's interpretations. His model has been taken apart in great detail and shown to be baseless.

Note: Controversial amateur archaeologist Bob Lind excavates the Ales stones
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Ales stenar
Ales stenar submitted by Kristerp : Ales stones, Kåseberga, Sweden Shot by me. (4 comments - Vote or comment on this photo)

Ales stenar
Ales stenar submitted by DrewParsons : Site in Skåne Sweden: Photographed in late September - a magnificent site set on the cliffs above the Baltic. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Ales stenar
Ales stenar submitted by DrewParsons : Site in Skåne: September 2009 (Vote or comment on this photo)

Ales stenar
Ales stenar submitted by 43559959 : Early morning view of Ales Stenar and The Baltic. (1 comment - Vote or comment on this photo)

Ales stenar
Ales stenar submitted by greywether : (6 comments)

Ales stenar
Ales stenar submitted by neolithique02 : Ales Stenar Site in Skåne Sweden Image copyright: Néolithique02, hosted on Flickr and displayed under the terms of their API. (2 comments)

Ales stenar
Ales stenar submitted by 43559959 : Long shadows of magic stones in a late summer day at Ales Stenar. (1 comment)

Ales stenar
Ales stenar submitted by 43559959 : Setting sun at Ales Stenar creates magic in stones. (1 comment)

Ales stenar
Ales stenar submitted by Meginring : At Ales stenar, you are also treated to a magnificent view over the Baltic Sea. When in the area, don't forget the splendid beaches within the nature reserve at Sandhammaren!

Ales Stenar
Ales Stenar submitted by 43559959 : Ales Stenar, setting sun over the Baltic (1 comment)

Ales stenar
Ales stenar submitted by DrewParsons : Site in Skåne: A view showing the length of the monument looking towards the sea

Ales stenar
Ales stenar submitted by Ogneslav : Ales stenar

Ales stenar
Ales stenar submitted by Aska

Ales stenar
Ales stenar submitted by Aska

Ales stenar
Ales stenar submitted by AlexHunger : Site in Skåne Sweden

Ales stenar
Ales stenar submitted by Tonnox : Ales Stenar

Ales stenar
Ales stenar submitted by Tonnox

Ales stenar
Ales stenar submitted by LeGuMa : Site in Skåne Sweden, Ale's stones.

Ales stenar
Ales stenar submitted by 43559959 : Ales stenar. Site in Skåne Sweden

Ales stenar
Ales stenar submitted by 43559959

Ales stenar
Ales stenar submitted by neolithique02 : Ales Stenar Site in Skåne Sweden Image copyright: Néolithique02, hosted on Flickr and displayed under the terms of their API.

Ales stenar
Ales stenar submitted by neolithique02 : Ales Stenar Site in Skåne Sweden Image copyright: Néolithique02, hosted on Flickr and displayed under the terms of their API.

Ales stenar
Ales stenar submitted by 43559959 : Twilight at Ales Stenar (2 comments)

Ales stenar
Ales stenar submitted by DrewParsons : Site in Skåne: September 2009

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 5.2km ENE 61° Albertshög Passage Grave
 6.4km NNW 339° Ingelstorp Skrepphög Passage Grave
 6.6km ENE 58° Carlshögen Passage Grave
 7.2km NE 44° Hagestad Stendösa Passage Grave
 7.4km NNW 338° Glemminge Klövasten* Natural Stone / Erratic / Other Natural Feature
 7.7km ENE 68° Ramshög* Passage Grave
 7.9km N 3° Glemminge Dyssestenen Burial Chamber or Dolmen
 11.3km NW 325° Trollasten Dolmen* Burial Chamber or Dolmen
 11.9km NW 326° Stora Köpingestenen* Carving
 12.6km ENE 62° Lunnabjär-Gravfält* Cairn
 18.5km NNE 19° Stenhed* Stone Circle
 20.3km NNE 32° Totaskulle* Burial Chamber or Dolmen
 21.2km WNW 295° Bjäresjöstenen 1* Carving
 21.2km NW 321° Baldringestenen* Carving
 22.1km WNW 283° Svarte Standing Stone* Standing Stone (Menhir)
 22.1km WNW 283° Disa Ting* Stone Circle
 23.5km NE 37° Järrestad* Rock Art
 24.0km NE 45° Simris Kyrka Stone* Standing Stone (Menhir)
 24.0km NE 45° Simris Runstenar* Carving
 25.3km NNE 34° Gladsax 2 Passage Grave* Passage Grave
 25.8km NE 47° Simris Rock Carving Panel* Rock Art
 27.2km WNW 284° Sjörupstenen* Carving
 32.2km WNW 287° Östra Herrestadstenen* Carving
 33.1km W 277° Tofthög* Round Barrow(s)
 34.0km NNE 24° Stenshuvud Hillfort
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"Ales stenar" | Login/Create an Account | 23 News and Comments
  
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Ales Stenar Baalbek connection by Anonymous on Saturday, 28 November 2020
Phoenicians sailed to Scandinavia? - Ales Stenar in Sweden points directly at Baalbek in Lebanon.

Is this the final proof that the Phoenicians sailed to Scandinavia?

Ales Stenar is a megalithic ship-setting, that functioned as a sun-calendar; marking solstices and equinoxes. It has sometimes been referred to as "the Stonehenge of Sweden".

Placed on the most southern tip of Scania, it looks out over the Baltic Sea.

Before the 20th Century, Scandinavian historians and scholars were convinced, that not only the British isles, but also Scandinavia, and the Baltic Sea, had been visited by the Phoenicians.
Many of the rock carvings in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark, depict ships, some of whom show similarities to ships from the Mediterranean, during the Bronze Age.
The Bronze Age in Scandinavia was a very rich culture, judging from the very many finds of bronze, silver and gold objects from that time. The climate was also warmer, making it easier for ships coming from southern Europe, to cross over from Britain, to Scandinavia, and even into the Baltic.
The Phoenician word for "darkness", "obscurity", is thul, which reminds much of the ancient's word for a distant island, or land, in the mostly unknown north.
It thus seems it was the Phoenicians, that gave the name Thule to the north, and then it was picked up by Greeks, and later the Romans.

The political and economic centers of the Phoenicians lay along the eastern Mediterranean, in nowaday's Syria, Lebanon, and Israel. But their main religious site, was undoubtably situated in the valley between the two snow-covered mountains that stretch from the south-western Lebanon, to Syria in the north-east. These were also the mountains were the famous Cedar trees grew, from which all cultures in the ancient world, either bought, or stole, timber for their palaces and temples.
This religious center was called Heliopolis by the Greeks, and Baalbek by the locals. From Baalbek, the two rivers Litani and Orontes flow, like two streams of tears from a head source, called Ros Al Ayn, ie the "head source" This geographical scene, with the two mountains and the two rivers, is depicted on many ancient cylinder seals throughout the Middle East. It symbolized the most holy place of the Phoenicians, and their ancestors the Arameans, and was easily recognized by all who knew their mythology at that time.

Now back to the connection between the Phoenician sailors and traders, and Ales Stenar and Scandinavia.

If you draw a line between the two end-stones in Ales Stenar, and follow this line to the city Baalbek in Lebanon, you will come EXACTLY to the temple area, where the Temple of the Sun is.

Furthermore, this line points exactly at the point on the horizon, where the Sun rises at Winter Solstice (135.13-14 degrees, at this latitude). This is a VERY strong indication, that Ales Stenar has to do with the Phoenicians.
___


Baalbek - Heliopolis, City of the Sun

Baalbek is the location where the Book of Enoch places the habitation of the descended, corrupt angels, "between Lebanon and Seneser" (Senir). Senir is a mountain situated in the same ridge as Mount Hermon, but a bit north-east of it. Right between these two mountains, is the place where all the ancient legends and stories place the gathering place of the "Sons of God", angels that had abandoned Heaven, and chosen to live on Earth, and breed with human women, creating a race of Giants, called the "Nephilim", according to the Bible, the Book of Enoch, and other ancient sources.
This place was later commemorated, and huge temples and monuments were built.

The Temple of the Sun, later called the Temple of Jupiter, was when it was rebuilt by the Romans, the world's largest temple (much bigger than f.ex the Parthenon Temple at Acropolis in Athens).

A solar calendar in the form of a ship, pointed at the sunrise a

Read the rest of this post...
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Re: Ales stenar by Andy B on Friday, 14 September 2018
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It looks like a funereal vessel made of 59 obelisks standing between the sky and the sea, in a pasture on top of a steep cliff near the small fishing port of Kåseberga. Ystad is the closest town. Built by whom, why ? or what for?

http://ultima0thule.blogspot.com/2018/09/ales-stenar-stones-of-ale-viking.html
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Swedish Stonehenge? Ancient Stone Structure Spurs Debate by bat400 on Tuesday, 19 February 2013
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An article on Ales Stenar from 18 April 2012:

Ancient Scandinavians dragged 59 boulders to a seaside cliff near what is now the Swedish fishing village of Kåseberga. They carefully arranged the massive stones — each weighing up to 4,000 pounds (1,800 kilograms) — in the outline of a 220-foot-long (67-meter) ship overlooking the Baltic Sea.

Archaeologists generally agree this megalithic structure, known as Ales Stenar ("Ale's Stones"), was assembled about 1,000 years ago, near the end of the Iron Age, as a burial monument. But a team of researchers now argues it's really 2,500 years old, dating from the Scandinavian Bronze Age, and was built as an astronomical calendar with the same underlying geometry as England's Stonehenge.

"We can now say Stonehenge has a younger sister, but she's so much more beautiful," said Nils-Axel Mörner, a retired geologist from Stockholm University who co-authored the paper on the interpretation, published in March in the International Journal of Astronomy and Astrophysics.

Other researchers familiar with the site are skeptical. Among other arguments, they cite the results of carbon dating to reject Mörner's interpretation.

Mörner says his team observed that the sun rises and sets at specific points around Ales Stenar at the summer and winter solstices, hinting that an ancient culture could have built it as an astronomical calendar to time things like annual religious ceremonies or planting and harvesting crops.

The similarities led Mörner to propose the mysterious stone structure of Sweden was a Stonehenge-inspired astronomical calendar constructed by a Bronze Age Scandinavian community that regularly traveled and traded throughout Europe and the Mediterranean.

"The first thing is to see that, yes, it's a calendar," Mörner told LiveScience. "But Ale's Stones also tells us a lot more than we knew before about trading and travel in the Bronze Age among Scandinavia, England and Greece."

Other researchers are not convinced.

"The idea that the stone ship might have been an astronomical calendar has no supporters among academic archaeologists," said Swedish archaeologist Martin Rundkvist, managing editor of the archaeology journal Fornvännen.

Rather, Ales Stenar was probably an ornate grave marker, he said.

The Swedish countryside is home to many similar megalithic structures, which are generally known as stone ships. Most of them date back to Sweden's Late Iron Age (approximately A.D. 500-1000), and they serve as burial monuments, Rundkvist said.

Archaeologists using radiocarbon dating have calculated that Ales Stenar was built about 1,400 years ago, near the end of Scandinavia's Iron Age — long after the construction date estimated by Mörner's team.

Ales Stenar was built by members of a warlike community of seafarers who used oxen, slaves, rope, sleds, wooden spades and simple steel tools to collect and raise the huge boulders, Rundkvist said.

"This was the world of Beowulf," Rundkvist said, referring to the epic poem set in Iron Age Scandinavia.

Rundkvist believes there's no evidence for anything beyond that — including Mörner's Stonehenge theory.

"New Age mystics like standing stones," Rundkvist told LiveScience.



For more, see http://www.livescience.com

with thanks to Coldrum for the link
[ Reply to This ]
    Re: Swedish Stonehenge? Ancient Stone Structure Spurs Debate by Anonymous on Tuesday, 19 February 2013
    "Nils-Axel Mörner, a retired geologist" ......
    [ Reply to This ]
    Re: Swedish Stonehenge? Ancient Stone Structure Spurs Debate by Anonymous on Tuesday, 19 February 2013
    Again the Lind / Mörner nonsense which has been already reported here (see comments). Sad to see this stuff gains more interest than serious research. But at least the headline has "Stonehenge" in it.....
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      Re: Swedish Stonehenge? Ancient Stone Structure Spurs Debate by Andy B on Tuesday, 19 February 2013
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      I don't know about 'at least', they put Stonehenge in the title of unrelated reports about stones so people will notice them - it's incredibly annoying and definitely worthy of a huge AAAAArrrrrrGGGGGhhhhhhh!!!!!
      [ Reply to This ]
      Re: Swedish Stonehenge? Ancient Stone Structure Spurs Debate by tiompan on Tuesday, 19 February 2013
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      Fwiw , The axis of the monument does align with the winter solstice ,which does not make it a calendar ,but it does seem intentional .

      george
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        Re: Swedish Stonehenge? Ancient Stone Structure Spurs Debate by Martin_L on Tuesday, 19 February 2013
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        Yes. But the main axis is parallel to the cliff coast too.
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        Re: Swedish Stonehenge? Ancient Stone Structure Spurs Debate by tiompan on Tuesday, 19 February 2013
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        Many of the stone ships are inland and their orientation is not necessarily related to to the nearest coast .
        Those that are close to the coast do not necessarily align with the coast either.
        Different vessels moving in different directions at the same site would make a a direct relationship with the coast problematic .
        [ Reply to This ]
          Re: Swedish Stonehenge? Ancient Stone Structure Spurs Debate by Martin_L on Tuesday, 19 February 2013
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          I was only referring to this special case: the one stone-ship Ales stenar. And just intended to point out another possible reason for the orientation of its main axis. It must not be the mentioned approx. solstice orientation. Of course solstice sounds more interesting and perhaps this was the reason here. But in this case one would possibly expect to find more solstice-orientations at the mentioned sites with more stone-ships.
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          Re: Swedish Stonehenge? Ancient Stone Structure Spurs Debate by tiompan on Tuesday, 19 February 2013
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          I was only referring to Ales Stenar too . Winter Solstice orientations are associated with megalithic monuments particularly those connected with burials , whilst orientations with the coast lines are not . The bearing is as accurate as passage tombs with the same alignment , and the horizon is the sea due to the coast line taking a sharp 90 degree turn to the north so the view along the axis to the horizon is not actually the following the coast line but is transverse to it .
          George
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            Re: Swedish Stonehenge? Ancient Stone Structure Spurs Debate by Anonymous on Wednesday, 20 February 2013
            I was irritated as you mentioned orientations of (other) ship settings inland. I was referring to the nearest cliff coast just 80m from Ales Stenar, which stretches NW in the same direction towards Ystad for abozt 10km before it turns. Personally i do not think it is likely that the orientation of coast line is the main reason of Ales Stenar's orientation, but if solstice was of main importance why are there so many different orientations to be found at other ship settings? I agree on orientation of said passage graves of course. Martin
            [ Reply to This ]
            Re: Swedish Stonehenge? Ancient Stone Structure Spurs Debate by tiompan on Wednesday, 20 February 2013
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            That is the same problem we encounter with other megalithic monuments . Some appear to be intentionally aligned on solstices but the majority are not . We should expect some to aligned on solstices by chance but it is often the major monuments that have the clearest evidence for intentionality .
            [ Reply to This ]

Re: Ales stenar by neolithique02 on Friday, 26 October 2012
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ANCIENT TOMB FOUND NEAR SWEDEN'S 'STONEHENGE

The remains of a 5,500-year-old tomb near Ale's Stones, a megalithic monument where, according to myth, the legendary King Ale lies buried, has been discovered by Swedish archaeologists. The discovery is the product of a geophysical investigation of the area carried out in 2006.

Intrigued by a circular structure measuring about 165 feet in diameter with a rectangular feature in its center, archaeologists of the Swedish National Heritage Board decided to dig a trial trench.

NEWS: Swedish Stonehenge? Stone Structure Spurs Debate

"The outer circle was difficult to prove, but we did find vague traces at the spot, possibly imprints of smaller stones," archaeologist Bengt Söderberg told Discovery News.

In the middle, the researchers found "several components" that are evidence of a dolmen, a megalithic portal tomb usually made of two vertical stones supporting a large flat horizontal stone on top.

"The components consisted of imprints of large stones belonging to a central grave chamber, which was surrounded by large stones and a brim of smaller stones," Söderberg said.

Oriented north-south, the 65- by 26-foot dolmen dated to the Swedish early Neolithic period, about 5,500 years ago.

"We also found a blade, a scraper and some flakes of flint. This is not unusual when it comes to this type of graves," Söderberg said.

According to archaeologist Annika Knarrström of the Swedish National Heritage Board, the dolmen was likely "the grave of some local magnate."

"However, we have little data to really tell who was buried there," Knarrström said.

The newly discovered dolmen lay just 130 feet from the spectacular Ales Stenar ("Ale's Stones"), also known as "Sweden's Stonehenge."

Located near the fishing village of Kåseberga, the structure consists of 59 stones, each weighing up to 4,000 pounds, that appear to form a 220-foot-long ship overlooking the Baltic Sea.

Although some researchers argue that the stone formation was assembled 2,500 years ago, during the Scandinavian Bronze Age, most scholars agree that it dates back some 1,400 years, toward the end of the Nordic Iron Age.

Like Stonehenge, the enigmatic stone ship has raised many theories about its purpose. According to local folklore, it was the final resting place of a legendary leader known as King Ale. Other theories suggest it was an ancient astronomical calendar, a cemetery, or a monument to the Vikings. The newly discovered dolmen might provide new clues on the pre-history of the monument.

"Our findings confirm what we have long suspected: Some stone-built monuments might have stood on the ridge long before the Ale's Stones," Knarrström said.

The older stones, as well as those making the dolmen, were most likely reused to build the stone ship.

"This discovery also confirms our belief that the site must have attracted people in all times," Knarrström said.

Photos: Top: Archaeologists clearing part of the trench with Ale's Stones in the background. Credit: Annika Knarrström, Swedish National Heritage Board.

Middle: Detail from the west brim of the dolmen. Archaeologist Annika Knarrström puts a mark on one of the many small stones in the brim, after digitally measuring its position. Credit: Bengt Söderberg, Swedish National Heritage Board.

http://news.discovery.com/history/sweden-stonehenge-tomb-121017.html
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Ancient tomb found at 'Sweden's Stonehenge' by neolithique02 on Tuesday, 16 October 2012
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Swedish archaeologists have unearthed what is presumed to be a dolmen, or a portal tomb, that is believed to be over 5,000 years old near the megalithic monument Ale’s stones in southern Sweden.

”The findings confirm what we have believed; that this has been a special place for a very long time,” said archaeologist Bengt Söderberg to news agency TT.

On Saturday, the first day of the dig, the scientists already had a hunch that they would find something on the site, expecting a Stone Age grave and a Bronze Age monument.

And since, the hunch has become stronger.

“Let me put it like this: it looks bloody good,” said archaeologist Björn Wallebom of the Swedish National Heritage Board (Riksantikvarieämbetet) to local paper Skånskan.

Despite a few days of rain, the archaeologists have managed to uncover enough of the site to see that what they have found is like to be a dolmen, a type of megalithic tomb, most often consisting of three or more upright stones supporting a large flat horizontal capstone.

“It doesn’t have to be a chieftain buried here, it could be a wealthy farmer,” said Söderberg to local paper Ystads Allehanda.

According to reports, the archaeologists have found what they believe is an imprint of the tomb, which must have consisted of very heavy rocks as the impression was solid.

“It was like cement at the bottom. It points to it being pressed down hard,” Wallebom told the paper.

The archaeologists have also found what they believe to be the wall imprints.

“The imprints are very clear. Our hypothesis has definitely become more likely. This dig has all the recognizable components,” said Wallebom.

While digging up the barrow, the archaeologists also found a flint scraper tool.

“It is a standard tool from the stone-and bronze age,” said Söderberg to Ystads Allehanda.

However, despite the importance of the find, this was just a preliminary dig and the shaft is to be filled up on Monday.

According to the experts, a full excavation would be necessary in order to get a full view of what is buried on the site.

And a new dig could be on the cards as the find to some extent rewrites the history of the place, according to Wallbom.

“That’s what makes this dig so interesting, its location near the Ale Stones. Everyone knows the Ale stones and now we can discern a pre-history and a different context,” said Wallbom to Skånskan.

The Ale's Stones (Ales stenar) is a megalithic monument sometimes referred to as "Sweden's Stonehenge" and located about 10 kilometres southeast of Ystad in Skåne overlooking the sea in southern Sweden.

The site consists of 59 large sandstone boulders weighing about 1.8-tonnes each and arranged in the shape of a 67-metre long ship.

According to Scanian folklore, a legendary king named King Ale lies buried there.

TT/Rebecca Martin

http://www.thelocal.se/43820/20121015/
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Student Labour Wasted at Ales Stenar by Andy B on Monday, 26 September 2011
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Martin Rundkvist writes:

It's that time of the year again when little usually happens and Sweden's loudest and most aggressive amateur archaeologist likes to get in the news. As mentioned here before, Bob G. Lind has managed to get my otherwise respected colleague Wladyslaw Duczko to join him and dowsing-rod geologist N-A. Mörner for some fieldwork near a lovely standing-stone ship in Scania, the famous Ales stenar, built in the 7th century AD. Duczko's involvement solved the problem previously alluded to here, that when local bodies give Bob funding for fieldwork, they're betting on a horse that can't actually get a fieldwork permit.

The merry three believe, against all dating evidence from this and similar sites, that the monument dates from the Bronze Age. They are digging with Duczko's Polish students within sight of the stone ship, but not close enough to harm it. Nor, indeed, close enough for their results to have any relevance for the dating and functional interpretation of the monument. They're on a spot where there's faint remains of a trackway down the erosion scarp above the seashore. Such an erosion scarp moves inland over the centuries. This means that the stone ship was much farther from the sea when it was built than it is now.

The placement of the track is contingent on where the scarp is currently located, and so the track can't be very old. But Duczko & Co assume that the track was used to pull the stones to the site of the ship. So they want to date the track. If they can date it to a period before the Late Iron Age, their reasoning goes, then this will date the stone ship. This is really lame. Even if the track were Mesolithic in date, even if it were early post-glacial, then nothing would keep people in the Late Iron Age from plonking a monument down on or near the track. And there is nothing to suggest that the stones of the ship were really brought up the scarp along the track.

So what has the fieldwork shown? Touchingly, Duczko & Co emphasise that they have not found anything to date the track to the 1st millennium AD, as if this were an important result. Have they, then, been able to date it to the Bronze Age? No. The track remains undated and functionally unrelated to the stone ship.

I feel really sorry for the students who waste their time on this project. Scania is an extremely rich archaeological province, and there are so many amazing sites where these young people could contribute to new exciting discoveries, make useful contacts and learn something. Instead they've been lured onto a pointless dig devised by a crank with whom not one Scanian archaeologist is willing to collaborate.

More, with links, at his blog
http://scienceblogs.com/aardvarchaeology/2011/07/student_labour_wasted_at_ales.php
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Controversial amateur archaeologist Bob Lind begins excavation of Ales stones by Andy B on Monday, 26 September 2011
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The Battle of Ales stones continues. No traces of Iron Age and Viking era, reports the group now digging at the stone circles.

Bob Lind and his team believe that their excavations show that "Ales stones most probably from the Bronze Age." We have not found anything from the time that the established research says that ancient monument is from - 600 century after Christ.

Consistent updates have been made on any known stone ships with carbon-14 method.

- "There is no discussion of Ales stones in the scientific community. The discussion is just between Bob Lind and the rest of the world", says Martin Rundkvist.

Lind team also has another explanation for the stones use than the ordinary:

- There is an astronomical calendar. Cup marks are perfectly aligned after sunrise and sunset. It is statistically impossible that they ended up as a coincidence, says Nils-Axel Morner, associate professor of geology.

Source, with a video:
http://www.svd.se/nyheter/inrikes/ales-stenar-utgravning-sagas_6358670.svd

Google Translation:
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=sv&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.svd.se%2Fnyheter%2Finrikes%2Fales-stenar-utgravning-sagas_6358670.svd
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Re: Ale's Stones by Aluta on Friday, 29 October 2010
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Great photo of this site on Flickr.
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Re: Swedish Heritage Board Shoots Self in Foot by CFC on Sunday, 12 July 2009
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The stones are in a beautiful setting with wonderful views.

Unlike many culture sights in Sweden it is well signposted and there is even parking. I visited today and it was surprisingly and disappointingly quite busy, with families picnic-ing and paragliders. The stones are open at all times, I suggest the best time to go is probably after 5pm if you are visiting during the summer holidays.
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Swedish Heritage Board Shoots Self in Foot by Andy B on Saturday, 21 July 2007
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Dr Martin Rundkvist writes:

For years and years, there has been an on-going conflict over Ales stenar, a prehistoric stone ship monument in Scania, southern Sweden. Scholarship has argued that like all other large stone ships in southern Scandinavia with ample space between the standing stones, Ales stenar was built as a grave marker in the late 1st Millennium AD. Radiocarbon dating has confirmed the date. On the other hand, amateur archaeo-astronomer Bob Lind has led a vociferous campaign asserting that the ship is several thousand years older than that and originally built as a calendarical observatory. People have actually come to blows over this in one of Sweden's most publicised battles between skeptics and woo-mongers. But not one academic archaeologist believes in Lind's interpretations. His model has been taken apart in great detail and shown to be baseless.

Well, archaeology isn't just an issue for scholars and amateur scholars. Among the groups taking an interest in the subject are the authorities at various levels, primarily the National Heritage Board, Riksantikvarieämbetet. The Heritage Board is by no means staffed only with people who know anything about current archaeological research. And now, according to Dagens Nyheter, the Board has replaced the visitor's signs at Ales stenar with a new version stating that whereas Lind is wrong about the date of the monument, he's right about its astronomical function! It just makes me want to bang my head against my keyboard.

More at
http://scienceblogs.com/aardvarchaeology/2007/07/swedish_heritage_board_shoots.php
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Re: Ales stenar by greywether on Thursday, 18 August 2005
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Read more about Ales Stenar here
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