In an area of the flat wheat-growing Skäne region, there is a small gravel road, and at the end of it, a smallish mound. You notice this as you approach, the rest of the land being so flat, but it could almost disappear if the area were forested. Also call
ed Hofterupsdösen (for the Hofterup locality), Gillhöp is a small man-made tomb/ cave which is accessed by a narrow low six metre (6 yard) passage. It was constructed of stones, large ones being laid for the walls and even on the top for the roof. I have seen these kinds of graves in England too. This one is likely to be about four thousand years old.
They are usually communal graves, and are used over and over again, sometimes over considerable time spans, even hundreds of years. Sometimes when they are opened, it is discovered that the bones have been sorted into types, so the individuals they belonged to are 'lost' and muddled up.
This one had few flint tools, some beads made of amber, and some pieces of broken pottery along with the bones.
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| So, how do you like my hat? |
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| Hand showing scale. Some of the stones are new, part of the recent restoration. |
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| From inside the main chamber, looking back to the entrance tunnel. |
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| One end of the main chamber. |
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| Back into the sunshine and on the road to the coast. |
Tomorrow: Next stop - the little coastal village of Barsebäckshamn.
That was fascinating. Thank you for taking us with you.
ReplyDeleteThanks Emma! Always nice to have company on tour.
DeleteHow interesting, Kate! I wonder if the people who built these were in some way connected. Not that i have heard of the bones being sorted into types. Really makes you wonder what it was all about !
ReplyDeleteThat's an interesting question Jenny. About the connection.
DeleteI suspect that over the years the graves would get very crowded and if you put similar bones together, it takes up a lot less space. It's a bit morbid but it appeals to my tidy mind too - maybe I'm not alone in this feeling, sharing it with some distant ancestors! In Switzerland I have seen just the skulls kept (in open, lattice-fronted 'cupboards' in the village squares), and the rest burnt, as there's not much soil-land - and what there is was needed for food-growing...
That is amazing. I have never seen anything like it before. My favorite thing is to find new outdoor features to explore.
ReplyDeleteWell, I think your pelicans are very special Ratty!
DeleteWell next time you pop over to Lewis I'll take you to see our Iron Age houses and mills etc.
ReplyDeleteWell, that would be nice Geeb. As you know, I love 'Everyday' too.
DeleteWhat would be nicer is just the 'pop' bit.
However I am indeed aiming for 2020. And something not very 'everyday': the Aurora.
This is wonderful. I like such places. They have made a good job of the restoration.
ReplyDeleteI like them too Adrian. Especially if one is able to 'just be' there, with quiet and time for thought... I like to try and think of what it would have been like to have been there, burying a loved one in those times. For example, although we know so much more these days, back then, there would have been so much less choice... and sometimes choice overwhelms me.
DeleteAh, you were not going where I thought (from a previous post) that you might be going. There's a lot of flat landscape in Skåne! ;) (I was thinking of the south-east rather than the west) I've not been to this site. I have seen other passage graves, but don't think I ever visited one of this type that was so well preserved or restored that one could actually go inside. There are many ancient stone graves and stone circles in the province where I live and grew up too, though (Västergötland). So I feel I've "always" known about them as part of our history (without in any way being an expert on all the various kinds and which belongs to what period etc).
ReplyDeleteAh, ok. Monica. I feel like I have 'known' them too, although we have nothing so old in New Zealand. Perhaps it dates from when I visited Stonehenge when I was eleven, and my family did a lot of talking and reading about such places. I sometimes 'miss' Europe, even though I have never lived there properly. My heart (and probably my genes) belongs there.
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