This burial mound is enormous,
the largest one along the coast
of Bohuslän in western Sweden.
It´s about 45m across and 6m high.
You would expect it to be the grave
of a Viking king, wouldn´t you?

Well, when it was excavated in 1929,
it was a disappointment to all the
hero loving nationalists…all it contained
was a ceramic pot with cremated
remains, some pearls and parts of
decorated bonetools …for weaving(?).
Other individuals had been buried in
its outskirts…sign of a communal
burial site. The age of the mound
is appreciated to be around the year
500AD. Beowulf´s time…

My conclusion of these facts would
be that this is the mound of a Queen,
the head of a clan, and all the effort
in building her this enormous monu-
ment also served the whole community
as a place for gatherings at special
occations, such as holding Thing
procedings. You could sail your ship
right up to the heap then, the land
has risen considerably in 1500 years.
Today the E6 between Gothenburg and
Oslo passes, where the sea once was.