Jaap van 't Veen's photos with the keyword: runensteen

Runestones are mostly raised stones with a runic inscription. These stones are often memorials to dead men and were usually brightly coloured when erected, though this is no longer evident as the colour has worn off. This tradition began in the 4th century and lasted into the 12th century. Most of them date from the late Viking Age and are located in Scandinavia (the majority however is found in Sweden, estimated around 2.000 of these stones). The Rökstenen (Runestone in Rök) is the most famous runestone of Sweden. It features the longest known runic inscription of the world in stone with 760 characters. The text is considered to be one of the earliest examples of writing in the Old Swedish language and it marks the beginning of the history of Swedish literature. The stone is almost four metres tall and was carved and erected most probably in the early 9th century, judging from the main runic alphabet used and the form of the language. Rökstenen is covered with runes on five sides; a few parts of the inscription are damaged, but most of it is readable. In the 11th century the stone was used for the building of a church in Rök. Rökstenen was discovered in the late 19th century in the wall of the church and then was placed on the graveyard. In 1933 it became a shed, protecting the stone for decay. There is also an information centre next to the stone.

Anundshög is Sweden’s largest burial mound. It is 9 metres high with a diameter of 64 metres. It dates from the 6th to 8th century AD. The mound is built on a foundation of clay on which the dead were cremated. The remains were then covered with a mound of stones, which was covered by turf and earth. Many people were involved in the work of building Sweden’s largest burial mound. Anundshög offers further 11 burial mounds and 10 round stone settings. They vary in size between 6 and 30 metres in diameter. These graves were probably raised over members of different generations of the same family. On the grounds is one runestone (PiP), dedicated to Folkvid, a powerful man in the area at the beginning of the 11th century. He paid for the impressive rune stone to tell the world about his son and himself.