What is a runestone?
A runestone is typically a raised stone with a runic inscription, but the term can also be applied to inscriptions on boulders and on bedrock. The tradition began in the 4th century, and it lasted into the 12th century, but most of the runestones date from the late Viking Age... (read more in Wikipedia.)
The ones I've met mostly contain serpent motives, possibly the single most common theme in Viking-age art, and the occasional crosses indicating about the new beliefs of the commissioners. About one fourth of the inscriptions were ordered by women, such as the massive Sigurd ristning further down.
A stone in Hovgården, the burial place of ancient Swedish kings. Nowadays part of a Unesco World Heritage site.
A stone by Anundshög, Västerås.
One near the University of Uppsala.
The Sigurd carving
Discovered this massive specimen merely a few days back, and must say it's the most intriguing prehistoric rock carving I've seen so far. 4,5 meters long, it retells the legend of Sigurd Fafnesbane, which also SRD used as inspiration for his Gap Cycle (even if through Wagner's Ring of Nibelung). It was located some thousand years ago by a bridge, the remains of which still lie nearby.
This was very hard to photograph. The red paint which the restorers use had faded down quite a bit, plus it sprawled across a rather slippery cliffside.
Read more about the carving here.
Some shots and details. I don't own a very fancy camera.
Additional pics/text from the info sign:
Met a nice older couple sitting by the cliff with their dog; they for some reason assumed I was a German backpacker and began speaking English to me. The guy told me he absolutely loved the carving and considered it the single most beautiful relic he'd ever seen.
A rather plain one in Uppsala, but this helps comprehending something about their size:
These are the only ones I've seen in Finland, and they resemble Gotlandish picture stones more than anything. The other's clearly christian, the other depicts a Sunwheel.
Aaand the Vaksala stone reposted from the 'how do you feel today ' thread.
I surmise the sense of adventure's one of the reasons why I love visiting these sites (and generally entertaining a huge interest on Nordic prehistory). Unlike in some other parts of the world, these places usually maintain an open-access status, so all you need is a map and wetherproof clothing. Both Hovgården and Sammallahdenmäki for instance (which was brought up) are free to visit on any time of the year </come to Sweden/Finland spam>.
