Greby
The cemetery Greby with about 200 tumuli and stone circles situated in Västra Götaland County, north of Grebbestad in the community Tanum. It is one of the largest burial grounds on the Swedish west coast.
Description
The cemetery covers an area of about 300 to 210 meters, on which 68 round grave mound, 54 Long Hill, 47 round stone settings, 12 oval stone circles and standing stones are called 38. 28 standing stones standing on grave mounds or in stone circles. Grave mound and stone settings vary greatly in their dimensions. Several of the grave mounds are eingegrubt in the center, in one of the pits is a rock. The standing stones are 1.40 to 2.90 meters high and 0.50 to 1.50 meters wide. Several stones have fallen, two were re-erected in 1977. In the northern part of the field there are four large stone slabs side by side, one of which is decorated with a wheel cross and a circle segment.
The archaeologist Oscar Montelius found in 1873 in the study of eleven graves grave urns with grave goods such as fragments of bone combs, beads and hand spindles; in a grave there was a window box. The tombs consisted of a layer of pebbles, which were covered with earth and sand; on the basis of the graves there was a layer of ash, which came after Montelius ' view of the cremation. Montelius dated the burial ground on the 4th and 5th centuries AD
In the vicinity of the stone settings Sövall and Troy Castle Ulmekärr from the Bronze Age are.
Interpretation
According to local tradition Scottish warriors were buried in the cemetery, who had come to fish on the Swedish west coast and fell in a battle against the Germans living there. This oral tradition explanation is however not supported by the findings.
According to the archaeologists Lasse and Kristina Bengtsson the cemetery belonged to a trading venue, which was probably abandoned in the 6th century AD. But speak not only unusual for Sweden ceramics, but other finds in the area, as well as some place names that pointed to a usable in the 5th century seaport in Grebbestad.