The location of the pile dwelling as seen in 2005

The Alvastra pile-dwelling (58°17′N 14°41′E) is a pile dwelling from ca 3000 BC in neolithic Scandinavia. South Scandinavia has many types of cult centres, but the Alvastra pile dwelling is unique in Northern Europe and is the only of its kind outside of the Alpine Pile Dweller culture. It was the seasonal social and religious centre of a tribe, who left objects from the Funnelbeaker culture but pottery from the Pitted Ware culture, in the dwelling. Ca 2/3 of the pile dwelling was excavated by archaeologists 1908–18, 1928–39 and 1976–80. 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Pile dwelling on Sumatra, Indonesia Pile dwellings are houses raised over the surface of the soil or a body of water. ... (31st century BC - 30th century BC - 29th century BC - other centuries) (4th millennium BC - 3rd millennium BC - 2nd millennium BC) Events 2925 - 2776 BC - First Dynasty wars in Egypt 2900 BC - Beginning of the Early Dynastic Period I in Mesopotamia. ... The Neolithic (or New Stone Age) was a period in the development of human technology that is traditionally the last part of the Stone Age. ... Scandinavia, Fennoscandia, and the Kola Peninsula. ... Northern Europe is marked in dark blue Northern Europe is a name of the northern part of the European continent. ... The Australian Labor Party or ALP is Australias oldest political party. ... The Funnelbeaker culture is the archeological designation for a late Neolithic culture in what is now northern Germany, the Netherlands, southern Scandinavia and Poland. ... A pottery shard showing the characteristic pits, from Uppland, Sweden The Pitted Ware culture (ca 3200 BC– ca 2300 BC) was a neolithic Hunter-gatherer culture in southern Scandinavia, mainly along the coasts of Svealand, Götaland, Ã…land, north-eastern Denmark and southern Norway. ... 1908 (MCMVIII) is a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... 1928 (MCMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1976 (MCMLXXVI) is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ...

Construction

The archaeologists found stilts made of deciduous trees, notably oak, hazel, elm and crabapple. A dendrochronological study showed that the construction had proceeded in two stages during 18 years, and after a break of 22 years, the work had been finished 40–42 years after the work had begun. Deciduous means temporary or tending to fall off (deriving from the Latin word decidere, to fall off). ... Species See List of Quercus species The term oak can be used as part of the common name of any of several hundred species of trees and shrubs in the genus Quercus, and some related genera, notably Cyclobalanopsis and Lithocarpus. ... This article is about the tree; for other meanings of hazel, see Hazel (disambiguation). ... Species See text Elms are deciduous trees of the genus Ulmus, family Ulmaceae. ... Species - Southern Crab - Siberian Crabapple - Sweet Crabapple - Apple - Japanese Crabapple - Oregon Crab - Chinese Crabapple - Prairie Crab - Asian Wild Apple - European Wild Apple Malus, the apples, is a genus of about 30-35 species of small deciduous trees or shrubs in the family Rosaceae, including most importantly the domesticated Orchard or... Pinus taeda Cross section showing annual rings, Cheraw, South Carolina Pine stump showing growth rings Dendrochronology or tree-ring dating is the method of scientific dating based on the analysis of tree ring patterns. ...

During the first years, the construction consisted of two rectangular surfaces, which were delimited by rows of oak stakes and the surfaces were placed in an oblique angle. Each rectangle was ca 200m² and were separated into eight or nine rooms. Most of the rooms had floors of logs. The reconstructions and the additions were partly motivated by fires, and the construction finally measured 1000m². The construction was connected with the shore by footbridges on both sides.

The size of the pile dwelling indicates that it was a communal work. It was also no fortification, because the stilts are too sparse and pushed into the bottom of the swamp too shallowly. The location in the swamp is also unfit for practical work, and the settlements were located on the arable soil around the swamp.

Early use as a cult centre

The pile dwelling was only inhabited during certain summer months. It was the tribe's or the clan's social centre where they gathered for festivities, especially after the summer's hunting and harvesting season. There are ca 100 hearths of limestone evenly distributed across the dwelling, which shows that there were no permanent houses, only huts supported by the many hazel stilts. Around the hearths, there is an abundance of residue from meals, charred wheat and barley, split and charred crabapples, hazel nut shells, bone of cattle, sheep and pigs. There are remains of game, such as red deer, moose, wolf and bear. Remains from birds such as mallard and black grouse and remains of fish such as northern pike and perch. Limey shale overlaid by limestone. ... Species T. boeoticum T. durum T. monococcum T. spelta References:   ITIS 42236 2002-09-22 Wheat (Triticum spp. ... Binomial name Hordeum vulgare L. Barley (Hordeum vulgare) is a major food and animal feed crop, a member of the grass family Poaceae. ... Species - Southern Crab - Siberian Crabapple - Sweet Crabapple - Apple - Japanese Crabapple - Oregon Crab - Chinese Crabapple - Prairie Crab - Asian Wild Apple - European Wild Apple Malus, the apples, is a genus of about 30-35 species of small deciduous trees or shrubs in the family Rosaceae, including most importantly the domesticated Orchard or... Binomial name Bos taurus Linnaeus, 1758 Cattle (called cows in vernacular usage) are domesticated ungulates, a member of the subfamily Bovinae of the family Bovidae. ... Species See text. ... Species Sus barbatus Sus bucculentus Sus cebifrons Sus celebensis Sus domesticus Sus heureni Sus philippensis Sus salvanius Sus scrofa Sus timoriensis Sus verrucosus Pigs are ungulates native to Eurasia collectively grouped under the genus Sus within the Suidae family. ... Binomial name Cervus elaphus Linnaeus, 1758 Subspecies Numerous - see text. ... Binomial name Alces alces (Linnaeus, 1758) Moose range map Alces alces, called the moose in North America and the elk in Europe (see also elk for other animals called elk) is the largest of all the deer family Cervidae, distinguished from other members of Cervidae by the form of the... Wolf Wolf Man Mount Wolf Wolf Prizes Wolf Spider Wolf 424 Wolf 359 Wolf Point Wolf-herring Frank Wolf Friedrich Wolf Friedrich August Wolf Hugo Wolf Johannes Wolf Julius Wolf Max Franz Joseph Cornelius Wolf Maximilian Wolf Rudolf Wolf Thomas Wolf As Name Wolf Breidenbach Wolf Hirshorn Other The call... Genera Ailuropoda Ursus Tremarctos Arctodus (extinct) A bear is a large mammal of the order Carnivora, family Ursidae. ... Binomial name Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 Subspecies (Common Mallard) (Greenland Mallard) (Mexican Duck) The Mallard, Anas platyrhynchos, also known in North America as the Wild Duck, is a common and widespread dabbling duck which breeds throughout the temperate and sub-tropical areas of North America, Europe and Asia. ... Binomial name Tetrao tetrix (Linnaeus, 1758) The Black Grouse (Tetrao tetrix) is a large bird in the grouse family. ... Binomial name Esox lucius Linnaeus, 1758 The Northern Pike (Esox lucius) is a carnivorous fish of brackish and freshwaters of the northern hemisphere. ... Species Perca flavescens (Yellow perch) Perca fluviatilis (European perch) Perca schrenkii (Balkhash perch) A perch is a freshwater bony fish belonging to the family Osteichthyes. ...

The ceramics are the same as those of the hunter-gatherer Pitted Ware culture, but tools and weapons are the same as those of the Funnelbeaker culture. The remains of craftmanship are few, and so the tools have been transported to the pile dwelling from the workshops, where they were probably sacrificed to the gods. In anthropology, the hunter-gatherer way of life is that led by certain societies of the Neolithic Era based on the exploitation of wild plants and animals. ... A pottery shard showing the characteristic pits, from Uppland, Sweden The Pitted Ware culture (ca 3200 BC– ca 2300 BC) was a neolithic Hunter-gatherer culture in southern Scandinavia, mainly along the coasts of Svealand, Götaland, Åland, north-eastern Denmark and southern Norway. ... The Funnelbeaker culture is the archeological designation for a late Neolithic culture in what is now northern Germany, the Netherlands, southern Scandinavia and Poland. ...

Among the most remarkable finds are double edged battle axes, which appear to have played a role in the cult. Swedish halberds from 16th century A halberd is a two-handed pole weapon that came to prominent use during the 14th and 15th centuries. ...

Late use as a grave

After the reconstruction, year 40–42, the construction was used as a cemetery, where the dead appear to have been left on platforms raised on stilts. For alternate uses, see Number 40. ... 42= The answer to life. ... Graves at Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York A cemetery is a place (usually an enclosed area of land) in which dead bodies are buried. ...

References

• Nationalencyklopedin

The Nationalencyklopedin is the most comprehensive contemporary Swedish language encyclopedia, initiated by a government grant. ...

See also

• Alvastra

Alvastra is a small town in Ödeshög Municipality in eastern Sweden. ...

External link

• An article from the National History Museum