Welcome to Ales Stenar on the southern coast of Sweden

Ales Stenar...It Really Rocks! Yeah!

Ales Stenar this way:  Can you imagine living in a town just down a hill from the largest megalithic monument in all of Sweden? How exciting that must be...I think I would have majored in archaeology had I grown up in this area. I love rocks...and history...

Walking up the path toward Ales Stenar: We are a happy group of people as this, at least for me, was probably the most memorable visit of the entire trip. I love rocks....and I was about to see a whole bunch of big boulders...In the foreground was Amanda , Jonathan, and Ulla Britt. Olle was in the middle, with Krister and Victoria in the rear.

Ales Stenar: Amanda and Jonathan posed for me as I approached this awesome megalith monument. During the Iron Age, the dead were often buried in stone settings such as this. (Click on photo for larger view)

In 2006, The Swedish National Heritage Board's archaeological prospection group surveyed the site with the aid of a geophysical magnetometer and georadar technology.

The magnetometer is used to measure local deviations in the Earth's magnetic field, which can be caused by archaeological structures in the ground such as the remains of iron objects, fired clay, ovens or hearths, pits, or ditches.

The georadar technology acts as a ground penetrating echo sounder. Reflections are recorded at close intervals from underground structures down to several meters depth.

The survey revealed that the ground in and around the ship has been heavily marked by military activities during World War II. Analysis also showed traces of an approximately 50 meter diameter circular structure north east of the stone ship which you see here above ground. One hypothesis is that this above ground structure may have been related to an older stone construction, such as a megalithic grave. This means that the rocks you see here may have been recycled from an older monument that is now buried.

Ales Stenar Hosts for the day: Front Row: Krister, Amanda, Jonathan, Victoria. Back Row: Olle, Ulla Britt.

Ales Stenar Ship Setting:  This is 67 meters long megalith monument comprises 59 stones, each weighing between 4 and 5 tons. This could be a 1,400 year old ship barrow or a prehistoric almanac... no one knows. Although...research by Bob G Lind and the U.K. International Archaeoastronomical Society indicates that this is indeed "The Sunship", a giant sundial, the likes of which you will not find anywhere else on Earth. The stone you see at this end of the Sunship is the tallest and most important stone in the megalith. At the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, the sun sets over this stone. (Click on photo for a larger view)

Megalith definition: (answers.com)

Any large stone which has been sited by humans and which may have been erected as a monument. Most megaliths date from between about 3000 to 2000 years bc. Megaliths may be arranged in rows or circles; the most famous British example is Stonehenge.

Ales Stenar Stones:  Can you imagine what it must have been like here in the Viking era? Archeologists do not know whether it was a burial monument or if it was used for other purposes over time. C-14 dating places it to around 600 AD. And, ship settings like this usually date from the Iron Age in historical times. (Click on the photo for a larger view)

Have I mentioned how much I Love Rocks? I couldn't get enough of this stone monument. It was absolutely amazing. I had to hold onto the rocks so as not to get blown over. Whoohoo!

Ancient Stone: The stones at this site are millions of years old. They were pushed here and shaped during the Ice Age, and were used by people in ancient times. Each stone weighs between 4 and 5 tons. This stone was put into place in 600 AD.

View of Baltic Sea from Ales Stenar: What an exhilarating visit this was. I had to brace myself so as not to get blown backwards when taking this photo. The wind was gusting to 40 or 50 mph off the sea. Yahoo!!!

Path from Ales Stenar to Kaseberg Jetty and docks: We walked down the hill from Ales Stenar past some grazing land to Kaseberg.  There were some very nice views over the Baltic Sea.

Kaseberg Jetty: This is such an interesting little jetty to protect boats from the Atlantic Ocean.