Stone ship explained

The stone ship or ship setting was an early burial custom in Scandinavia, Northern Germany, and the Baltic states. The grave or cremation burial was surrounded by slabs or stones in the shape of a boat or ship. The ships vary in size and were erected from c. 1000BCE to 1000CE.

History

Stone ships were an early burial custom, characteristically Scandinavian but also found in Northern Germany and the Baltic states. The grave or cremation burial was surrounded by tightly or loosely fit slabs or stones in the outline of a ship. They are often found in grave fields, but are sometimes far from any other archaeological remains.

Ship settings are of varying sizes, some of monumental proportions. The largest known is the mostly destroyed Jelling stone ship in Denmark, which was at least 170m (560feet) long. In Sweden, the size varies from 67m (220feet) (Ale's Stones) to only a few metres. The orientation also varies. Inside, they can be cobbled or filled with stones, or have raised stones in the positions of masts. The illusion of being ships has often been reinforced by larger stones at the ends. Some have an oblique stern.

Scattered examples are found in Northern Germany and along the coast of the Baltic States. Excavations have shown that they are usually from the latter part of the Nordic Bronze Age, c. 1000BCE – 500BCE (e.g. Gotland) or from the Germanic Iron Age, the Vendel Period and the Viking Age (e.g. Blekinge and Scania).

Scholars have suggested both that the stone ship developed out of the desire to equip the dead with everything they had in life, and alternatively that it was specifically associated with the journey to Hel.[1] One puzzling feature is that they sometimes occur at the base of a barrow, enclosing a flat area presumably intended for public ceremonies.[2]

In a paper published in 2012, Joseph S. Hopkins and Haukur Þorgeirsson propose a connection between stone ships and the image of a 'ship in a field' that the goddess Freyja's afterlife locations Fólkvangr and Sessrúmnir produce when considered together. According to Hopkins and Haukur, "'A ship in the field' in the mythical realm may have been conceived as a reflection of actual burial customs and vice versa. It is possible that the symbolic ship was thought of as providing some sort of beneficial property to the land, such as good seasons and peace brought on by Freyr’s mound burial in Ynglinga saga."[3]

Notable stone ships

Denmark

Germany

Sweden

Estonia

Latvia

See also

Notes and References

  1. [Hilda Ellis Davidson|Hilda Roderick Ellis]
  2. Ellis, p. 111.
  3. Hopkins, Joseph S. and Haukur Þorgeirsson (2012). "The Ship in the Field ". RMN Newsletter 3, 2011:14–18. University of Helsinki.
  4. Book: Treib, Mark. The Landscape of Loved Ones. Places of Commemoration: Search for Identity and Landscape Design, Selected papers from the 19th Dumbarton Oaks Colloquium on the History of Landscape Architecture held in 1995. Joachim. Wolschke-Bulmahn. Washington, D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection. 2001. 0-88402-260-9. 88–106 + 98, note 27.
  5. Environmental Baseline Study, Oland, Sweden, Öland, Sweden, July 2004

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