Many megalith sites are located around the lake Vättern. We visited three around Motala. Below is a rock carving found in Hästholmen. The exact location is very difficult to find as there is no indications. Should you wish to visit, enter 58.275723 and 14.638081 as coordinate, and cross the field from the road leading to the guest harbour...
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| Horses pulling the sun back on earth in the evening... |
Hästholmen
More than 140 figures are carved on the site of Hästholmen. It includes 26 ships and 14 axes. Some of the figures are difficult to interpret, and one has been interpreted as a two-wheeled carriage. By comparing ax carvings with axes from the Bronze Age, it has been possible to date the carvings to the early part of the Bronze Age.
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| The lighthouse at the entrance of the guest harbour |
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| The guest harbour at Hästholmen, with 10 visitor berths |
The carvings in Hästholmen are related to the sun, which had a central place in the cult of the bronze age. It was believed that the sun was carried by a ship in the morning and by charriot using a pair of horses in the evening. During the night, a snake and a fish were bringing back the sun to its morning starting point.This is why you can find suns (dots) charriots and ships on this rock carving site dedicated to the cult of sun.
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| Ship bringing the sun up in the morning... |
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| Charriot bringing in back in the evening... |
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| Charriots |
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| Ships |
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| Ships, with the sun onboard... |
Nässja
The Nässja site consists of 24 large stones weighing more than 10 tons each. The ship measures 44 x 18 metres. The ship is part of a larger burial site.
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| The stone ship at Nässja |
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| View from the stone ship site |
Rökstenen
The Rök stone was found built in the wall of the church. It was removed from the wall and is now displayed outside the church. It is certainly the most famous runestone in Sweden, being the largest and the one containing the longest series of runes. It dates around 800 AD. It is considered as the first piece of Swedish literature.
More on Rök rune stone on BalticSailors
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