Gettlinge cemetery

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Grave field near Gettlinge
Grave field near Gettlinge, the ship placement

The grave field Gettlinge ( Swedish Gettlinge gravfalt also called Klinta gravfalt ) is one of the largest grave fields on the Swedish island of Öland with a length of almost two kilometers . It runs through the south of the island, along the western highway, through the villages of Gardstorp, Gettlinge and Klinta.

Grave field near Gettlinge

The grave field was already mentioned by the cultural historian Johannes Haquini Rhezelius († 1666) in his Monumenta runica , published in 1634 . He recorded the ship's position in his travel diary. Carl von Linné (1707–1778) examined a grave here in 1741. The local landscape artist Abraham Ahlqvist (1794–1844) described the square in 1825. He was particularly interested in the two three meter high limestone slabs near Klinta.

The series of prehistoric places of worship begins north of the village of Gettlinge. Many were destroyed by quarries or treasure hunts . There were about 250 graves in the burial ground. Today more than 200 are preserved. Most of them are typical hills of the younger Bronze and Iron Ages . In them one found stone coffins and body burials within square and round stone settings . The field is most pronounced in the northern part. The large limestone slabs there were probably built to emphasize the importance of the square. There are about 20 bowl-shaped depressions on an approximately 30.0 meter long ship settlement , which consists of 23 closely spaced granite stones .

Around 1900 15 graves were examined in Gettlinge. They were mostly men's graves in stone mounds . Some contained weapons, but most were robbed. The best-preserved grave was made of ten layers of limestone and a double layer of capstones. The dead man was placed in the grave with his dog , two spears , a shield and spurs . This type of grave dates from the 1st century AD. The grave field was from 1000 BC. Chr. To 1050 AD, so over 2000 years in use.

North of the burial ground was the stone from Klinta , which is now in Stockholm. There are still several grave fields on the western side of the island. The largest with around 300 graves is located near Ottenby , another large one is near Mysinge .

literature

  • Markus Forslund (Red.): Nature and culture on Öland. Länsstyrelsen Kalmar län, Kalmar 2001 ISBN 91-973802-4-5 .
  • Kiki Lundh: Cultural and historical excursion destinations .
  • E. Nilsson: Ämnesord: Landskap Öland In: Utgiven av Ölandsfolk . 2005.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Thorsten Jansson: Welcome to Stora Alvaret , ISBN 91-973802-1-0 , page 17

Coordinates: 56 ° 23 ′ 16.2 ″  N , 16 ° 26 ′ 3 ″  E