Stone boxes from Göteryd

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Stone box ( Swedish Hällkista ) from Nöbbeled - a typical Småland box
Flint dagger from Bohuslän

The stone boxes from Göteryd in the municipality of Älmhult in Kronobergs län , Småland , Sweden , are a phenomenon of the end of the Swedish Neolithic . Similar to Falköping in Falbygden , where the highest number of Neolithic passage graves were found in Scandinavia , the end-Neolithic stone boxes that were built around 1000 years later are concentrated around Göteryd .

Before the late Neolithic , the area around Göteryd was largely uninhabited. There are no older megalithic monuments. Considering the minimal use of the region during the Mesolithic and Middle Neolithic, the late revival of Göteryd is particularly interesting. A population increase at the beginning of the late Neolithic (1800–1400 BC) led to the construction of over 100 megalithic stone boxes on the community area , which were seldom erected near settlements.

The agrarianization of the region seems to be the main factor in the construction of the stone boxes, which are fairly homogeneous in shape and size. Their lengths are between four and seven meters. Another factor is the formation of a so-called "late Neolithic elite " that stood out from the rest of society with " prestige objects " buried in stone boxes. The objects that turn the complexes into “elite graves” are primarily the flint daggers typical of the dagger period (Danish also Dolktid or Senneolithic) . Unused daggers of the most technically developed type IV were often given to people who apparently had a higher status in society. This dagger shape was primarily found in Denmark and the nearby southwestern Skåne .

The nine well-known late Neolithic dwelling places of Göteryd were primarily in two areas close to the water: in the north on the banks of the strongly indented Römningen (lake) and in the south on the river Helge å , where the battle of Helgeå took place around 1026 AD .

Göteryd was abandoned for reasons unknown during the Early Bronze Age . Pollen analyzes indicate a greatly reduced population. The smaller population gave up agriculture in the remote areas and concentrated on just two places to live on the Römningensee. There are only nine roes dating back to the Bronze Age; eight are at the lake.

See also

literature

  • Ebbe Westergren: Södra Småland under yngre stenåldern och bronsåldern. En study of bebyggelseutvecklingen i Göteryds sn.Göteryds hembygdsförening, Strömsnäsbruk 1978.

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