Ale's Stones

Ale's Stones (Ales Stennar in Swedish) is a megalithic monument in Scania in southern Sweden, from circa 500 BC, that is, the end of the Nordic Bronze Age and the beginning of the Pre-Roman Iron Age. Image File history File links Ales_stones. ... Image File history File links Ales_stones. ... Megalithic tomb, Mane Braz, Brittany A megalith is a large stone which has been used to construct a structure or monument either alone or with other stones. ...   SkÃ¥ne? (also known as Scania) is the southernmost historical province (landskap) of Sweden. ... Centuries: 7th century BC - 6th century BC - 5th century BC Decades: 550s BC - 540s BC - 530s BC - 520s BC - 510s BC - 500s BC - 490s BC - 480s BC - 470s BC - 460s BC - 450s BC Events and Trends 509 BC - Foundation of the Roman Republic 508 BC - Office of pontifex maximus created... Map of the Nordic Bronze Age culture, ca 1200 BC The Nordic Bronze Age is the name given by Oscar Montelius (1843-1921) to a period and a Bronze Age culture in Scandinavian pre-history, ca 1800 BC - 600 BC, with sites that reached as far east as Estonia [1... A map of the area covered by the Pre-Roman Iron Age, ca 500 BC-1 AD The Pre-Roman Iron Age (also called the Celtic Iron Age) (ca 600 BC or 500 BC - ca 1 AD) designates the earliest part (i. ...

Ale's Stones consist of a 67 metres long stone ship formed by 59 large pieces of sandstone, weighing up to 1.8 ton. The stone ship at Anunds barrow The Stone ship was a Gemanic burial custom, typical for Scandinavia with scattered examples in Northern Germany and along the coast of the Baltic States (where they are called devil ships). ... Red Sandstone in Wyoming Sandstone is an arenaceous sedimentary rock composed mainly of feldspar and quartz and varies in colour (in a similar way to sand), through grey, yellow, red, and white. ...

Inside the formation, remains of coal and human bones have been found and they have been dated to circa 1500 BP (i.e. circa 500 BC).

Speculations

Like many other megalithic monuments, speculations have been made about the significance of Ale's Stones. One of those attributed to Ale's Stones is that the structure had an astronomical purpose, based on the controversial interpretation that the stones have been positioned according to the 365 days of the year and the 24 hours of the day. Bob G. Lind is the main proponent of this theory, which is considered to be pseudoscience by established scholars. Professional astronomers and archaeologists believe that this is an incineration grave dating from circa 500 BC. Folklores ascribe Ale’ stones to be King Ale’s grave. In ancient Greece and other early civilizations, astronomy consisted largely of astrometry, measuring positions of stars and planets in the sky. ... Folklore is the ethnographic concept of the tales, legends, or superstitions current among a particular population, a part of the oral history of a particular culture. ...

External link

• Information from the Swedish National Heritage Board

External links in Swedish

• The great guide fight at the stones
• Astronomical speculations