The Stone Cist Phenomenon : a study of stone cists on the island of Gotland and their role in the late Neolithic - early Bronze Age society

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The Stone Cist Phenomenon

A study of stone cists on the island of Gotland and their role in the

late Neolithic - early Bronze Age society

University of Gotland 2011 / 2012

Masters essay

Author : Alexander Sjöstrand School of Culture, Energy and Enviroment

Department of Archaeology and Osteology

Supervisors: Paul Wallin Sabine Sten

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Abstract

Hällkistfenomenet

Magisteruppsats av Alexander Sjöstrand. Högskolan på Gotland. Institutionen för kultur, energi och miljö. Avdelningen för arkeologi och osteologi.

Denna magisteruppsats behandlar hällkistor under senneolitikum och äldre bronsålder på Gotland. Frågeställningar kring hällkistans betydelse i samhället under denna tid diskuteras, samt om det är möjligt att producera en kategorisering av hällkistor. Hällkistan har varit en viktig del i det senneolitiska - äldre bronsålders samhället, utifrån dessa går det identifiera ett agrikulturellt starkt hierarkiskt samhälle med indikationer på ett maktcenter i väst nordvästra kustregionen av ön. Kategorisering av hällkistor har visat olika särdrag hos hällkistor, vilka involverar individantal, lokalisering samt ytterligare anläggningar anslutna till hällkistan.

En osteologisk analys har även utförts på skelettmaterialet hällkistan, Alskog 48:1 med frågor kring individantal, kön och ålderfördelning. Samt frågor kring datering på hällkistan och dess konstruktion. Benmaterialet presenterade 26 individer, i motsats till de 15 individer som initialt antagits funnits, av dessa fanns individer i alla åldrar. Både män och kvinnor identifierades, med en liten majoritet av män. Hällkistan i fråga som är en naturlig taklös grotta, naturlig kista, enligt de kriterier som använts kan denna konstruktion anses vara en hällkista och ingen annan typ av konstruktion.

Nyckelord: Gotland, hällkistor, senneolitikum, äldre bronsålder.

The Stone Cist Phenomenon

Masters essay by Alexander Sjöstrand. Gotland University. Institution for Culture, Energy and Environment. Department for archaeology and osteology.

This masters essay studies the stone cist phenomenon during the late Neolithic and early Bronze Age on the island of Gotland. The aim of the study is to understand the importance of the stone cist in society during this period, as well as attempting to categorize the stone cists located on the island. It can be argued that society during this period was a agricultural, highly hierarchical society with indications of a power center at the west northwestern parts of the island. Stone cists can be seen having different contexts involving number of individuals, location and features connected to the cist.

An osteological study has also been performed on the skeletal material from the stone cist Alskog 48:1, with the aim of getting further knowledge regarding number of individuals and the age and sex distribution of those individuals. As well as questions regarding the stone cist construction and dating. The bone material presented 26 individuals, contrary to the 15 individuals which was initially identified during the excavation. These 26 individuals were of all ages, both male and female, with a slight majority of males. The stone cist which is a natural roofless cave, a natural cist, can according to the criteria defining a stone cist, be regarded as a stone cist and not another construction.

Keywords. Gotland, stone cist, late Neolithic, early Bronze Age.

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Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Paul Wallin for helping with information and discussion on the subject, as well as helping with structure and editing on the paper. I would also like to thank Joakim Wehlin for presenting the initial burial who got me started on the subject, as well as editing maps and providing information on the subject. Additionally I would like to thank Sabine Sten for helping with the osteological analysis and editing of the osteological report. Finally I would like thank Margareta Kristiansson for helping with the osteological analysis.

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Introduction

This thesis will address the phenomenon of stone cists on Gotland, in what shapes and forms do they occur, and how did society function around these cists?

An osteological study will also be performed on the skeletal material from a stone cist at Alskog 48:1, to get further knowledge regarding number of individuals and the age and sex distribution of those individuals.

Stone cists is a burial monument consisting of stone slabs placed to form a cist, these have been constructed in a various amount of sizes ranging from small cists 0,5 meters long and 0,5 meters wide to 4-5 meters long and 1-2 meters wide.

They have been a common type of burial monument during long periods during Gotland's history ranging from the late Neolithic to Iron Age, yet only minor research has been done regarding the late Neolithic and early Bronze Age stone cists on the island of Gotland. It is a difficult subject to address due to the difficulties in dating since many stone cists on the island being from the Iron Age. There are however differences, which in this paper the author will try to sort out and provide a clearer picture and deeper insight into the burial monument known as stone cist. Additionally a case study will be performed in which the author will try and shed light on a peculiar stone cist burial.

There has been a long standing discussion regarding the late Neolithic society and its structure, where the long held belief was that the late Neolithic society was based in a nomadic practice where the people moved around with their animals. This view changed and it was soon the general consensus provided smaller stable societies during the early Bronze Age (Artursson 2009). Artursson also proposed that the late Neolithic society was more advanced than previously thought. This study will try and connect stone cists with the society of the time, in order to provide further evidence for a more advanced form of society.

In his Ph.D dissertation, Daggers, Knowledge and Power, Jan Apel (2001) presents flint daggers as a symbol of hierarchy and their importance as a burial gift. Could it be possible to present such ideas concerning the Gotlandic society and its stone cists as well?

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Aim and purpose

My general aim is to differentiate the Gotlandic stone cists into categories, and a secondary aim is to make an osteological analysis as a case study.

My general research questions are:

- What role did stone cists play in the late Neolithic - Early Bronze Age society? - Is it possible to discern social structure / social hierarchy using the stone cists as a template?

Specific research questions in the case study at Alskog 48:1 are:

- How many individuals are buried and which age and sex distribution do they represent?

- Is the natural formation seen at Alskog 48:1 a stone cist or is it possible to categorize it as something else?

Methods

In order to address the aim and research issues for the study comparative archaeology will be adopted, where different stone cists and their context will be compared to other stone cists. Here I deal with both qualitative considerations as well as quantitative measurements. The stone cists presented have been chosen with several criteria, as there are stone cists dated to late Neolithic - early Bronze Age, these have been regarded as the template. The context in which stone cists are located has presented an important factor in choosing which would be involved in the study.

Information regarding stone cists on the island of Gotland has been gathered using FMIS (Fornminnesregistret), where stone cists have been chosen from different criteria. This generally entails cists larger than 1 meter long, often located in stone settings or cairns and or located near monuments of this type.

When differentiating stone cists into categories, the categories presented in (Wallin 2008:54-55) will be used.

These categories will involve stone cist size as well as cairn / stone setting size. These will be divided into three categories small, medium and large.

Stone cist size (length and width) Small 0,6-1,9*0,35-0,5m

Medium 2,0-2,3*0,6-0,9m Large 2,4-3,1+*1,0-1,5m

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8 Cairn / Stone setting size (diameter) Small 4,5-9m

Medium 9,1-15m Large 18-30m

As there are stone cists which exceed the maximum of these categories, these have been included in large category.

When there is not sufficient information to conclude which category the item fits into, "Na" (not announced) will be noted where the information would otherwise appear. If there is no feature or number of individuals this will be noted with "-".

Furthermore a comparative discussion will be made using research done on the subject on the Swedish mainland and Scandinavia as a whole.

Osteological methods are described in connection to the case study on pp 20-22 below.

Demarcation

This thesis will focus on stone cists on the island of Gotland, as well as comparing them with studies performed on the Swedish mainland. The stone cists in this study will be limited to the late Neolithic - early Bronze Age periods.

The study will mainly focus on excavated cists with a certain or probable dating to the late Neolithic - early Bronze Age, and non excavated cists with certain criteria which should place them in this time period such as a larger cist inside a stone setting or cairn. Stone cists without these criteria i.e. a larger stone cist without a stone setting or cairn will not be used in this study due to difficulties in dating.

Comparisons with the Swedish mainland will be made with stone cists which have a certain dating to this period. Information regarding this time period on the Swedish mainland will be used due to the lack of knowledge about this period on the island of Gotland.

Evaluation of the sources

When confronting this material there are several things that have to be accounted for. Many of the stone cists on Gotland were excavated in the early 20th century which has resulted in poorly detailed reports and in some cases no written reports at all. The excavations themselves might not have been conducted according to today's standards resulting possible missing material such as smaller bone fragments, artifacts or formations such as post holes. The tendency to only excavate the monument and ignore the surrounding area might also have an impact on the material found and documented.

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The problem with dating is also something that has to be kept in mind, as the stone cist tradition spans from the Neolithic up into the Iron Age, with only minor differences in construction between certain types of cists, this presents a big issue that has to be dealt with accordingly. As many of these sites has been used during long periods of time this could also present problems with reburials and other activities which could have impacted the initial monument. This problem has also been observed on the stone cists of the island Öland, to the west of Gotland (Papmehl-Dufay 2010:117-118).

Material

Archaeological material

The material consists of 106 stone cists from the late Neolithic and early Bronze Age period on the island of Gotland. I will here below present the information used

regarding these stone cists.

The study will have two main groups of stone cists, one will be stone cists which have been excavated, documented and has been dated or through findings put at the late Neolithic - early Bronze Age period. These will be presented in detail below with the information that is known. The second group consists of stone cists which has been found using FMIS, the majority of these has not been excavated and those who has, does not have a certain dating. These stone cists will be used due to their context. There is a big issue with stone cists as they are hard to separate from Iron Age cists which cause large problems in identifying non excavated stone cists to a certain time period. This study has used large stone cists located in stone settings and cairns as a template for possible late Neolithic - early Bronze Age stone cists. This does however present other issues, as stone cists without a feature such as a stone setting or cairn covering it presents the almost impossible task of identifying time period without an excavation having been made.

The group of stone cists that were excavated early, before sites were given "RAÄ" (Riksantikvarieämbetet) numbers presents a difficulty as these have been excavated in a manner which might not have been adequate today, and might have missed findings, or is simply lacking in description of the site.

One site will be studied in detail and that is Alskog 48:1 on which a case study will be carried out archaeologically as well as osteologically.

Osteological material

The material was excavated in 1927 at the Gålrum burial site in the parish of Alskog on the island of Gotland. The material consists of 15,7 kg of unburnt bone fragments. The material has a high degree of fragmentation with few or no complete bones, most of the material consist of fragments a few centimeters in size.

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Earlier research

Stone cists are a phenomenon which has been studied for a long time, with several studies and excavations having been made over 100 years ago. Ture J. Arne 1905, Sigurd Erixson 1913, Carl M. Fürst 1912, Gustaf Hallström 1924, Knut Kjellmark 1906, Oscar Montelius 1906 are just a few whom has presented articles on the subject, often only addressing a single or a few stone cists. However quite recently the late Neolithic stone cist phenomenon was treated in a PhD thesis by Eva Stensköld (2004).

The subject of late Neolithic stone cists on the island of Gotland is a fairly unexplored one with only one Bachelors paper dedicated fully to the subject (Luthander 1988). There is however other papers which have addressed the subject.

Nils Lithberg describes the stone cists on Gotland in his dissertation from 1914. He merely presents information regarding several stone cists whilst not discussing the subject further (Lithberg 1914:90-94).

Harald Hansson, whom in his book about the Bronze Age on Gotland, presents some discussion regarding the stone cist, among other things noting their often long periods of use (Hansson 1927).

Mårten Stenberger also touches on the subject in his publication about the prehistoric Sweden, where he in a sub-chapter brings up the stone cists in Sweden. In which he amongst other things discuss the influences that lead to the building of these monuments (Stenberger 1964:120-138). He has also presented a article regarding stone cist / cairn on Gotland (Stenberger 1940:95-113)

Ann Luthander presented in 1988 her BA paper regarding stone cists during the late Neolithic on the island of Gotland. In her study she tries to organize stone cists after certain parameters in an attempt to catalog them from shape / size and artifacts. She notes the difficulties in cataloging stone cists due to the often long periods of usage and the minor or nonexistent differences between the late Neolithic - early Bronze Age stone cists and the stone cists that derive from the Iron Age. Noting as well that changes in the landscape due to agricultural processes might have had an impact on stone cists, changing them making it harder to categorize as well as some may have been removed.

Due to these problems and a lack of material she does not reach any conclusions, merely indicating that it might be possible to see social structure based on the construction of the cists. As well as pointing out that a clear continuous use of many of the sites can be seen.

Lars Bägerfeldt published his book “Neolitikum på Gotland” in 1992, in which he brings up several features during the Neolithic such as flint daggers and stray finds and more. He also points out that Luthanders work on the late Neolithic stone cists has some drawbacks, but he is still using some of her data in his complimentary studies. Like Luthander he points out the issue of dating with regards to stone cists from this period, on the subject also noting that a late Neolithic stone cist is actually a

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stone cist from the late Neolithic as well as the early Bronze Age, a period known as the dagger making period as flint daggers is a prevalent artifact during this period. Additionally pointing out a large issue with stone cists from this period, as many of them are covered by a feature such as a cairn or a stone setting this creates a large number of unidentified and undated stone cists. Also, noting that finds of artifacts is the only way to date stone cists, although construction can be a compliment.

Bägerfeldt presents the burials dated to this period, putting this number at 19, with 120 individuals of which 70 is derived from 5 collective burials (Bägerfeldt 1992:162). Also noting that the burials dated to the late Neolithic - early Bronze Age tends to be coastal. He also discuss the subject of population, where he points out problems due to several factors, but estimates that the population should have been at about 10000-14000 individuals during this period (Bägerfeldt 1992:124).

Paul Wallin published an article in 2008 regarding the Neolithic monuments and their connection to the domestication process. In this he performs a correspondence analysis in an attempt to shed some light on possible late Neolithic stone cists. With this analysis he presents three different groups of cists, based on size, orientation, findings and so on. This resulted in a dispersal map, showing that the majority of stone cists are located in coastal areas. Finally noting that the burial landscape has changed over time and that different stone cist types found could be an expression of social structure rather than chronology (Wallin 2008).

In the following section I will present all excavated stone cists as well as a table of cists that possibly can be traced back to the late Neolithic - early Bronze Age.

Alskog 48:1

This is a natural roofless cave (closer analyzed in this study) which has been interpreted as a stone cist, 4,25 meters long and 1 meter wide. It was excavated in 1927, findings consist of fragments from two bone needles, flint fragments, ember, a bone pearl and human remains from an estimated 15 individuals. The burial is located in the Gålrum burial field which consists of supposedly 8 ship settings (only 7 has been located during a recent inventory), a cairn and a menhir.

The osteological material from this stone cist has been analyzed by the author, the results will be presented under chapter osteological results (Pp. 22-24).

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Figure 1. Gålrum burial site. Photo by Anders Gustavsson.

Alskog 192:1

Stone cist, a flint dagger, flint sickle and a boar tusk was found, as well as human remains from 13-17 individuals of which two were young and four were children. Osteological analysis by C.M Fürst in 1912.

Bunge 70:1

At the site three stone cists were located near each other where one was 2,3 meters long and 0,95 meters wide, the second 1,15 meters long and 0,5 meters wide and the third 0,7 meters long and 0,4 meters wide.

The largest of these three stone cists contained a human burial positioned in a supine position with the head to the south. With a flint dagger positioned by the left hand of the individual, with the head, upper part of the chest and the left upper arm bone missing.

In the second stone cist remains from a child was found consisting of jaw, bones from the chest, upper extremities and parts of lower extremities were found, also in a supine position with the head in the east.

The third and smallest stone cist had remains from a small child consisting of cranial fragments and the lower jaw.

Burs 9:1

Burs was excavated in 1984 by Göran Burenhult, this is a large turf cairn 24 meters in diameterwith a central cairn 10 meters in diameter at the center. In the central cairn a stone cist 2,7 meters long, 1,5 meters wide and 0,3-0,6 meters high was found within the four stone circles which were present in the cairn.

Within the stone cist human remains from 20 individuals was found. Osteological analysis showed that of the 20 individuals 10 were children and one teenager. Four were men and two were women. Bone fragments from fish, bird and dog was also

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identified (Lindh 1997). A number of the buried individuals were found with their heads in the east, positioned in the supine position. Although one individual was found with his head to the west, they also identified this man as the first burial in the cist. Additionally several of the individuals presented wounds which had been healed. In the cairn and the stone cist, a number of artifacts were found. In the cist they found a bronze fibula, two tutulus, a copper ring, a bone item with a hole, flint, a pearl from long bone, and a pearl from glass/rock. Additionally numerous items was found in the cairn, i.e. three pearls from teeth, bone pearls, a necklace of pierced teeth, a bronze razor a flint scrape (Stensköld 2004:155-157).

Vallstena 73:1

Vallstena was excavated in 1970 the site consisted of two cairns, with the largest being 30 meters in diameter and 1 meter high, the smaller being 12 meters in diameter. The large cairn consisted of 9 stone circles with a stone cist in the middle, around the cist 15 post holes could also be identified surrounding it in a oval shape, as well as burnt remains from posts in the holes.

Three individuals were found in the stone cist, two adults and one child. The adults had been moved in favor of the burial of the child. As the child was found in situ a bone button and part of a long bone was found and could be connected with the child (Stensköld 2004:157-158).

The smaller cairn, 12 meters in diameter also contained a stone cist which was partially destroyed. Mixed remains from 10 individuals were found in the cist, with a few artifacts, including a flint dagger, a bone needle and flint scrapes (Hallström 1971:114).

Under these two cairns in the beach gravel 10 burials was found, containing about 20 individuals, many of them infants. These burials consisted of cists and shafts, four of the cists contained only infants, one with five infants in it. A few bronze items and fragments of ceramics were found in the layer.

The upper part of the beach gravel was covered with a soot mixed layer containing about 50 post holes, two buildings 15*9 m and 6*6 m in size could be identified. Findings of flint, ceramics, a flint arrow point, a flint spear point and fragments from a stone axe.

All these layers and features have been dated to late Neolithic - early Bronze Age (Stensköld 2004:158).

Lärbro 172:1

Lärbro was excavated in 1959 a cairn 17 meters in diameter was analyzed and a stone cist 3,5 meters long and 1 meter wide was found inside. Artifacts found in the stone cists consist of a bronze needle, 2 spirals in bronze, a flint point, boar tusks and a buckle.

Rone 288:1

Excavated in 1950, a stone cist 2,6 meters long and 0,95 meters wide. Located nearby is a stone cist dated to roman Iron Age. With findings of burnt bones, ceramics, and a burnt comb with a rivet, found between the two cists.

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Remains from 8 individuals were found inside the stone cist, one of which was found to be a child. Two of the individuals were identified as lying with their heads to the southwest. Artifacts found inside the cist consisted of two flint daggers, a bone needle, a shaft hole axe a late Neolithic arrowhead type, 27 tooth pearls and one ring shaped pendant was found in the cist. Several of these being interpreted as connected to one individual (Bägerfeldt 1992:63).

Kräklingbo 12:1

Kräklingbo was excavated in 1966, a cairn 12 meters in diameter was found containing a stone cist 2,5 meters long 1,5 meters wide and 0,6 meters high. Located in a burial field consisting of two cairns, 50 stone settings of which 17 is uncertain and 4 menhirs, two of which is uncertain. The cairn contained two stone circles, one outer and one inner. In the space between these inside the cairn, a secondary burial was found.

Inside the stone cist a large amount of human and animals bones was excavated, these were unorganized and spread over the cist, in all layers. The excavators interpreted this as the cist having been plundered.

Two flint daggers were also found, one between two limestone slabs, and the other under the northern cist slab. Also found during the excavation was a bone needle, a flint arrowhead, three bone pearls and two bone points.

Väskinde 129:1

Väskinde was excavated in 1947, the stone cist, 3,1 meters long and 1,5 meters wide was found containing the remains from 6 individuals, three of them buried with their head to the southwest and three to the northeast. Also found in the cist were three bone needles indicating a late Neolithic dating (Luthander 1988:63).

Inventory of additional stone cists

Below, a full table over the stone cists involved in the analysis will be presented (Table 1). This table will include the previously presented as well as additional stone cists which has been involved due to certain characteristics which places these amongst the late Neolithic - early Bronze Age stone cists.

There are also several stone cists from this period which due to the time of their excavation does not have a "RAÄ" number, these stone cist will also be presented at the end of this table and used for the analysis.

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Table 1. Stone cists and their size, feature, orientation, m.a.s.l (meters above sea level), number of individuals and artifacts.

Site Stone cist (S, M, L) Feature (S, M, L) Orientation M.a.s.l No. individuals Artifacts of

Alskog 48:1 L - Na 10 15 2 bone needles, 1 bone pearl, 1 ember pearl, flint Alskog 92:1 _S _- _E-W 5 _- Alskog 92:1 _S _- _N-S 5 _- Alskog 171:1 _S _S _NE-SW 15 _- Alskog 192:1 Na - Na 25 13-17 1 flint dagger, flint fragments, 1 boar tusk Anga 31:3 _S _- _E-W 10 _- Bro 39:1 _M _S _Na 55 _- Bro 76:1 S - N-S 50 ? Ceramics, modern safety pin Bro 90:1 _M _M _N-S 55 _-

Bunge 70:1 _M _- _N-S 10 ₁ _{1 flint dagger} Bunge 70:1 _S _- _E-W 10 ₁ Bunge 70:1 _S _- _N-S 10 ₁ Burs 9:1 L L Na 10 20 1 bronze fibula, 2 tutulus, a copper ring, 1 bone item with a hole, flint, 1 bone pearl, 1 glass/rock pearl Ekeby 26:2 _S _- _E-W 30 _- Eksta 72:1 _M _L _N-S 10 _- Eksta 121:1 _S _M _N-S 10 _- Eksta 126:1 _S _S _NE-SW 5 _- Eksta 127:1(1) _L _- _E-W 5 _- Endre 32:1 _L _S _N-S 35 _- Fleringe 23:1 _S _- _N-S 25 _- Fleringe 23:1 _L _S _N-S 25 _- Fleringe 24:1 _M _S _NE-SW 25 _- Follingbo 33:1 M S N-S 60 ? 1 flint dagger, 1 bone needle, both outside the cist Follingbo 37:1 _L _S _NE-SW 60 _- Fårö 191:1 _M _M _N-S 20 _? Gammelgarn 59:1 M S NW-SE 20 - Grötlingbo 13:1 L - N-S 10 Several 1 flint dagger, supposed to have been found early Grötlingbo 81:1 _S _- _E-W 5 _-

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16 Site Stone cist (S, M, L) Feature (S, M, L) Orientation M.a.s.l No. of individuals Artifacts Guldrupe 37:1 _M _S _N-S 40 _- Hall 5:1 _L _M _N-S 15 _- Halla 73:1 _M _S _E-W 30 _- Hejnum 65:1 _M _M _N-S 50 _- Hellvi 128:1 L - NW-SE 30 ? 3 fragments from a bone comb, 2 bone arrowheads Hörsne 23:1 _L _M _NE-SW 15 _4-6 _{1 flint scrape} Hörsne 25:1 _L _M _NE-SW 20 _- Klinte 13:1 _M _Na _N-S 5 _- Kräklingbo 9:1 _M _M _NW-SE 20 _- Kräklingbo 12:1 L M E-W 20 ? 1 double stud, tinplate of bronze, flint arrowhead, 2 flint daggers, flint sickle, 6 bone pearls, bone pendant, 2 bone needles, 2 bone points, about 100 ceramic pieces Lau 65:1 Na Na Na 15 2? 1 arrowhead bone Linde 6:2 _S _S _NE-SW 40 _- Linde 11:1 _M _L _NW-SE 35 _- Linde 11:1 _L _L _NW-SE 35 _- Linde 13:1 _S _S _E-W 35 _- Lärbro 127:2 _L _- _N-S 30 _- Lärbro 172:1 L L Na 30 - Bronze artifacts, flint, boar tusk Martebo 13:1 _L _Na _NW-SE 45 _- Rone 288:1 L - NE-SW 10 8 2 flint daggers, 1 bone needle, 1 shaft hole axe, 1 late Neolithic arrowhead, 26 tooth pearls, 1 rings shaped pendant Rute 30:1 _M _M _NE-SW 40 _- Sjonhem 40:1 _L _M _N-S 35 _- Stenkumla 4:1(2) M S N-S 65 - Stenkumla 4:1(2) L - N-S 65 - Stenkyrka 46:1 _L _M _N-S 45 _-

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17 Site Stone cist (S, M, L) Feature (S, M, L) Orientation M.a.s.l No. of individuals Artifacts

Stenkyrka 125:1 _M _Na _N-S 50 ₂ _{1 bone needle} Sundre 8:1 _M _- _E-W 5 _- Sundre 31:1 _L _- _NW-SE 10 _- Sundre 36:1 _M _M _NE-SW 10 _- Sundre 36:1 _S _M _E-W 10 _- Sundre 36:1 _S _S _NE-SW 10 _- Sundre 41:1 _S _S _NE-SW 5 _- Sundre 128:1 _M _S _NE-SW 15 _- Vallstena 73:1 L L Na 20 3 (20 under the cairns) 1 bone button, piece from a long bone Vallstena 73:1 Na M Na 20 10 (20 under the cairns) Vamlingbo 10:1(1) L M NE-SW 15 - Vamlingbo 21:1 _L _M _NE-SW 10 _- Vamlingbo 23:1(1) M M E-W 10 - Vamlingbo 28:1 _M _M _N-S 5 _- Vamlingbo

29:1(1) M M N-S 10 ? flint, 1 slate button Vamlingbo 29:1(1) L - NE-SW 10 - Vamlingbo 34:1 _S _M _NE-SW 10 _- Vamlingbo 123:1(2) S - NE-SW 5 - Vamlingbo 123:1(2) S - NE-SW 5 -

Visby 8:1 _M _L _N-S 40 _Several _{1 flint spear} Visby 11:1 _L _M _E-W 35 _- Visby 11:1 _S _M _NW-SE 35 _- Visby 27:1 _L _M _NE-SW 40 _- Väskinde 3:1 _L _Na _Na 40 _- Väskinde 3:1 _L _- _N-S 40 _- Väskinde 3:1 _L _- _NE-SW 40 _- Väskinde 3:1 _M _- _N-S 40 _- Väskinde 7:1 _L _M _NW-SE 40 _- Väskinde 56:1 _M _S _N-S 15 _- Väskinde 69:1 _L _Na _N-S 40 _- Väskinde 84:1 _L _M _E-W 40 _- Väskinde 86:1 _L _L _NE-SW 35 _- Väskinde 92:1 _L _M _N-S 40 _- Väskinde 95:1 _L _M _NE-SW 35 _- Väskinde 117:1 _M _S _E-W 40 _- Väskinde 123:1 _L _S _NE-SW 40 _- Väskinde 126:1 _M _S _NE-SW 40 _- Väskinde 127:1 _M _S _NE-SW 40 _-

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18 Site Stone cist (S, M, L) Feature (S, M, L) Orientation M.a.s.l No. of individuals Artifacts

Väskinde 129:1 _L _- _NE-SW 35 ₆ _{3 bone needles} Väskinde 154:1 _L _S _NE-SW 40 _- Västerhejde 11:1 L S N-S 45 - Västerhejde 14:1 S S NE-SW 15 - Västerhejde 17:1 L S NE-SW 20 - Sites without Raä numbers

Boge M S Na 5 1 2 flint daggers Lokrume L M N-S 50 1 1 flint dagger Lokrume M S NW-SE 50 2

Lokrume M S E-W 50 1

Martebo S - NE-SW 40 3 1 flint dagger, 2 bone needles Stenkyrka Na - NE-SW 10 2-3 Visby S S NE-SW 10 1 Väskinde M L N-S 40 4 1 bone needle, 6 canines from seal, 2 bone tools Väskinde M - NE-SW 40 3 Väskinde M M NE-SW 40 3 Väskinde S S NE-SW 40 Na

A case study: Alskog 48:1. Stone cist a

collective burial...?

Introduction

The main focus of this analysis is to get further information about a supposed natural stone cist with several individuals buried in it. This information will be achieved using osteological methods to find out the number of individuals as well as sex and age of the individuals buried. This information will be used as part of a study of stone cists on Gotland, with this burial as a case study to expand the material and bring some light to this unusual burial.

The context of the burial, being located at the Gålrum burial site consisting of seven (known) ship settings and one mound makes the burial interesting. The unusual shape of the "cist" in which the skeletal material was found also adds to the value of knowing more about this burial.

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Material

The burial was excavated in 1927 at the Gålrum burial site in the parish of Alskog on the island of Gotland. The material consists of 15,7 kg of unburnt bone fragments supposedly from 15 human individuals interpreted by the excavators. The material has a high degree of fragmentation with few or no complete bones, most of the material consist of fragments a few centimeters in size.

The material has been separated into 17 separate plastic bags with id numbers, supposedly during the excavation and the handling by the museum. No further information regarding the context of these different id numbers has been found by the author.

Background

The burial was discovered in December 1926 when the owner of the grounds wanted to clear the area for construction, whilst in the process of removing rocks, they discovered human remains, among them 5 or 6 craniums. Due to the time of discovery it was concluded that nothing would be done with the burial for now, and the bones was reburied (Arne 1927).

The burial was partially excavated in May the same year by the H.R.H Prince Gustaf Adolf and A. Edle. At this occasion a few craniums was picked up and shown to the Prince. According to the landowner Levin, they mainly excavated the northern parts of the burial (Bergman 1927:5-6). These bones was then put back in the burial and left there for two months, exposed to the air and elements. It was further excavated by T.J Arne in August the same year where he describes the site as a roofless cave about 4 meters in length and 1 meter wide. Stating that the remains were now significantly worn by weather and wind, and fell into pieces when moved, although he predicted that there were remains from about 10 individuals in the burial. The poor condition of the bones resulted in an excavation without any proper mapping of the remains. He also stated that he did not find any artifacts among the remains (Arne 1927).

Bergman who did the final excavation of the burial also states that the remains were in bad shape and it was not possible to conserve anything in its original shape. He did however find artifacts at the site, consisting of 2 pearls made of amber, 2 fragments from bone needles, flint fragments, a possible fragment of amber and a few modified bone fragments. He notes Arne found about 7 individuals and he found about 8 individuals, which was now sent to the museum.

Mentions of the burial

Annie M. Jacobsson mentions the burial in her book Alskboar - En bok om Alskog

socken och dess invånare, (Alskboar - A book about Alskog parish and its

inhabitants) from 1974. Here she tells the story of Karl Levin, the owner of the grounds. - When he was going to clear the grounds in favor of building a barn, they found human remains. Which supposedly were 12 men, in a sitting position with the backs to the rock, with their heads between their feet. Additionally mentioning that the location has been used as a gallows, where criminals were decapitated and buried

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(Jacobsson 1974:113-114). There is however no mention of this positioning of the bodies in the reports, indicating that Jacobsson’s information is probably incorrect.

Bergman whom did the final excavation, has also noted the burial in a book called

Genom Gotländska Bygder (Through gotlandish countryside's), as a guidebook of

historical monuments for the Gotland tourist department released in 1929. Bergman describes it as Arne did, a roofless cave 4m in length and 1m wide in size, as well as pointing out the excavation of about 15 individuals, and a few artifacts. He also states that during the later of the burials the previously buried individuals had been moved aside to make room for new ones.

Criticism of the sources

Due to the high degree of fragmentation the material might not be as reliable as possible, this could cause a twisted view of the material as for example, females and children more slender bones than adult males might have a higher degree of fragmentation and therefore not be as represented in the identified material.

The archaeological methods used during the excavation of the burial in 1927 might not have been as detailed as it would have been today, resulting in a loss of bone fragments and find context. As previously mentioned the burial was open for about 9 months before being completely excavated, which according to reports made the bone severely brittle causing many of them to fall into pieces when moved.

Demarcation

Due to time constraints the analysis was made very basic and fragments that were not identified within a limited time was discarded as undetermined. The time limitation also limited the analysis to finding out number of individuals, sex and age. Pathologies, oral status and other osteological information has been briefly noted by the author during the analysis and will be mentioned briefly but only in basic information as time constraints prevented a thorough analysis of these. Due to the high degree of fragmentation measurements for stature and sex assessment was to a large degree impossible, with only a few bone elements where measurements could be taken.

Methods

In this analysis several methods were used, these include MNI (minimum number of individuals), tooth eruption, tooth wear, sex assessment, bone fusing and comparison with bone elements with known sex and age.

The osteological analysis was carried out at the osteological laboratory at the University of Gotland.

Description of long bones was presented using Gustav Malmborgs 1-6 division as presented below (Malmborg 2004).

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2 - Proximal part of diaphysis 3 - Supraproximal part of diaphysis 4 - Supradistal part of diaphysis 5 - Distal part of diaphysis 6 - Distal diaphysis

MNI was determined using pars petrosa, sinister (part of the left temporal bone), this was done due to a large amount of preserved bone elements as these are robust and easily identified.

Age was assessed by looking at tooth eruption in maxilla (upper jaw) and mandibula (lower jaw) (Buikstra, Ubelaker 1994:20; Brothwell 1981:64) and tooth wear in maxilla and mandibula (Brothwell 1981:72).

Sex was assessed by looking at several features of the cranium and mandible and these consisted of the glabella (part of the frontal bone), margo supraorbitalis (part of the frontal bone), processus mastoideus (part of the temporal bone), protuberantia

occipitalis externa (part of the occipital bone) and tuberculum mentale (part of the

mandible) and grading these on a scale from 1-5 with a classification for each number according to (Buikstra, Ubelaker 1994:20), See below.

1 - Female

2 - Probable Female 3 - Undeterminable 4 - Probable Male 5 - Male

Due to the high degree of fragmentation, these features was used without a combining context i.e. a cranium, this resulted in separate features being graded 1-5 and then compared regarding side and grade, in an attempt to summarize these into individuals. However due to the lack of context of these features, only having single features a certain assessment has not been possible to make. Although from the single features available a probable assessment can be made regarding the distribution of sex.

The material was weighed in categories due to time constraints, which consisted of Undetermined, long bones, cranium and other. Other being a category involving non long bones and cranium such as, vertebrae, scapula (shoulderblade), coxae (hipbone), metacarpal, carpus, metatarsal, tarsus, and patella (kneecap).

Pathologies, oral status and other information will be mentioned in its most basic form, regarding for example, healed bones, lipping, severe tooth wear, cut marks and other such findings.

The material was analyzed according to their separate storage bags as not to mix the different bags as well as being separated in the bone appendix. Although, since the material was noted in the reports as one burial, the material has been summarized as one context and thus will be presented as one unit.

When presenting the material the expression undetermined will represent fragments which have not been determined as neither to species, bone element or bone type,

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i.e. cranium, long bone or vertebrae. With determined fragments being fragments that have been determined to species, bone element and / or bone type.

Results

Osteological results, Alskog 48:1

¹⁴C and ¹³C

Two teeth from two lower jawbone were selected and sent to ¹⁴C and they presented the following:

Sample 1: 1830BC (90,1%) 1520BC (Ua-43662, BP 3386+-59) Sample 2: 1920BC (95,4%) 1660BC (Ua-43663, BP 3468+-48)

Which places them during the late Neolithic/Earliest Bronze Age on Gotland.

The δ¹³C analysis showed a value of -21,1 and 21,2 from sample 1 and 2 respectively. The results indicate a terrestrial food.

Fragmentation

As seen below in Table 2, 4120 fragments (43,8%) of the analyzed material was determined of the total 9405 fragments. The determined fragments weighed a total of 11,5 kg (72,6%) of the total weight of 15,8 kg.

Table 2. Weight distribution and number of determined and undetermined fragments.

Determined Undetermined Total

Weight (g) 11455 (72,6%) 4322 (27,4%) 15777 (100%)

Fragments (no) 4120 (43,8%) 5285 (56,2%) 9405 (100%)

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MNI

The analysis showed 26 individuals, based on pars petrosa, left, as well as 23 individuals based on pars petrosa, right. Resulting in a minimum of 26 individuals buried.

Age

There are individuals of all ages in the material, using tooth eruption up to the age of 12 and then tooth wear the following ages occurred.

There are at least two children aged about 6 and 10.

There are at least one individual between 15-17 and at least a two individuals between 17-25.

There are at least one individual aged 25-35. There are at least one individual aged 33-45.

There are at least three individuals older than 45 years.

Sex

To make a sex assessment of these individuals, several fragments with determinable features was observed and graded, these were then assessed in order to identify different individuals, in an attempt to reveal the distribution of sexes in the burial. Using the mandible and the tuberculum mentale a probable number of at least 3 males occurred. And using the glabella and margo supraorbitalis, at least 1 female occurred.

When summarizing the material as a whole there were more male oriented features identified than female oriented. Indicating that there were more males present than females in the material.

Pathologies

During the analysis several marks was found present on a few bone fragments, these were initially interpreted as possible pathologies and sent to the Osteoarchaeological Research Laboratory at Stockholm University for further analysis where Anna Källström studied them further. This analysis concluded that the marks were caused by taphonomy and not pathologies.

Additionally during the analysis severe tooth wear was present in a number of teeth, presenting in a few cases, a skew wear of teeth, a possible indication of teeth having been used for processing of materials.

There were also a few teeth with indications of caries attacks, these changes were not however, studied further.

Due to the high degree of fragmentation trauma on bone elements is hard to locate, during the analysis no indications of cuts, broken bones or other trauma was discovered.

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Animals

During the analysis fragments from possibly five different animals was discovered, pig (Sus scrofa), sheep (Ovis aries) / goat (Capra hircus), cattle (Bos taurus), bird

(Aves sp.) and seal (Phoca sp.).

The pig was represented by only an ulna (elbow bone) which had a different color and wear than the rest of the material, indication a possible later date of entry.

The sheep/goat was represented by 3 bones, a metacarpal, a Ci (one of the wrist bones) and a talus (ankle bone).

The cattle was represent by a fragment of a tooth (dent).

The bird was represented by a possible fragment from a long bone.

The seal was represented by several fragments which could not certainly be identified as seal, yet giving the impression that seal bones might be present in the material.

Artifacts

Three fragments were found having been worked by human hands, these consisted of a bone fragment sharpened to a point, the point of a bone needle, and the head of a bone needle (Figure 3, 4 and 5).

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Figure 4. Worked bone fragment sharpened to a point, possibly part of a needle. Photo by Alexander Sjöstrand

Figure 5. Worked bone fragment, possibly head of a needle. Photo by Alexander Sjöstrand

Archaeological results

The archaeological material has presented some interesting patterns regarding stone cist location and size. As the one of the main focuses is the analyzed burial of Alskog 48:1 and the comparison with other stone cists, this has been compared with similar burials.

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There are only seven stone cists which have been determined to contain more than five individuals these are presented in Table 3. Vallstena 73:1 which contains two cairns with stone cists inside is interesting as one cist had 10 burials and the other had three. In addition there were 20 burials located under the cairns, which these have been dated to the late Neolithic and have a clear connection to the cists, therefore these will be included.

As can be seen in Figure 6, of these seven stone cists, all but Väskinde 129:1 is located on the eastern part of the island, in contrast with the majority of stone cists which are located on the western coast.

It can also be seen that five of the stone cists were large and the other two are missing information regarding size.

Three of the seven cists were located inside a feature, two of them medium in size and one large.

Only three of the cists has information regarding orientation, these show NE-SW for all three.

Looking at the artifacts it can be said that only two of these, Rone 288:1 and Alskog 192:1 contained flint daggers, which is generally considered typical for burials from this period.

Table 3. Sites with stone cists containing more than 5 individuals.

Site

Stone cist

(S, M, L) Feature (S, M, L) Orientation M.a.s.l No. Individuals Artifacts

Alskog 48:1

L - Na 26 2 bone needles, 1 bone pearl, 1 ember pearl, flint

Alskog 192:1

Na - Na - 13-17 1 flint dagger, flint fragments, 1 boar tusk

Burs 9:1

L L Na - 20

1 bronze fibula, 2 tutulus, a copper ring, 1 bone item with a hole, flint, 1 bone pearl, 1 glass/rock pearl

Hörsne 23:1 L M NE-SW 15 4-6 1 flint scrape

Rone 288:1

L - NE-SW

10

8

2 flint daggers, 1 bone needle, 1 shaft hole axe, 1 early Neolithic arrowhead, 26 tooth pearls, 1 ring shaped pendant

Vallstena 73:1 Na M Na 20 10 (30) Väskinde 129:1 L - NE-SW 35 6 3 bone needles

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Figure 6. Map over Gotland with the coastline at 4000BP showing the distribution and size of presumed late Neolithic - early Bronze Age stone cists.

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Stone cist size

The stone cists presented in Figure 6, exclude the 11 stone cists in the study which do not have a Raä number, as the coordinates are unknown.

As can be seen in Figure 6, the majority of the stone cists are located along the coasts or in close proximity to the coast, with a large cluster at the west northwestern coast.

Containing one cluster of large stone cists, with a nearby cluster of medium sized cists just to the south, a smaller cluster is located further south of the other two at the Midwestern coast of the island, containing all three size categories.

It can also be seen that a number of cists are located along the west coast at the southern tip of Gotland, with a minor cluster of medium and large cists at the northern parts of it.

There are also stone cists spread among the inland, notably is a small cluster in the southern middle of the island, as well as one in the northern parts, both containing three cists, one of each size category.

As Table 4 shows the distribution between the size categories is fairly equal with a small majority of large cists and a minority of small cists.

Table 4. Distribution of stone cists according to size.

Stone cist size

S 25 23,58% M 35 33,02% L 42 39,62% Na 3 2,83% - 1 0,94% Total 106 100%

Table 5. List of the sites and their number on the map. Nr Site Nr Site 1 Alskog 48:1 45 Follingbo 33:1 2 Burs 9:1 46 Fårö 191:1 3 Eksta 127:1(1) 47 Gammelgarn 59:1 4 Endre 32:1 48 Guldrupe 37:1 5 Fleringe 23:1 49 Halla 73:1 6 Follingbo 37:1 50 Hejnum 65:1 7 Grötlingbo 13:1 51 Klinte 13:1 8 Hall 5:1 52 Kräklingbo 9:1 9 Hellvi 128:1 53 Linde 11:1 10 Hörsne 23:1 54 Rute 30:1 11 Hörsne 25:1 55 Stenkumla 4:1(2) 12 Kräklingbo 12:1 56 Stenkyrka 125:1 13 Linde 11:1 57 Sundre 8:1 14 Lärbro 127:2 58 Sundre 36:1 15 Lärbro 172:1 59 Sundre 128:1 16 Martebo 13:1 60 Vamlingbo 23:1(1) 17 Rone 288:1 61 Vamlingbo 28:1 18 Sjonhem 40:1 62 Vamlingbo 29:1(1) 19 Stenkumla 4:1(2) 63 Visby 8:1 20 Stenkyrka 46:1 64 Väskinde 3:1 21 Sundre 31:1 65 Väskinde 56:1 22 Vallstena 73:1 66 Väskinde 117:1 23 Vamlingbo 10:1(1) 67 Väskinde 126:1 24 Vamlingbo 21:1 68 Väskinde 127:1 25 Vamlingbo 29:1(1) 69 Alskog 92:1 26 Visby 11:1 70 Alskog 171:1 27 Visby 27:1 71 Anga 31:3 28 Väskinde 3:1 72 Bro 76:1 29 Väskinde 7:1 73 Bunge 70:1 30 Väskinde 69:1 74 Ekeby 26:2 31 Väskinde 84:1 75 Eksta 121:1 32 Väskinde 86:1 76 Eksta 126:1 33 Väskinde 92:1 77 Fleringe 23:1 34 Väskinde 95:1 78 Grötlingbo 81:1 35 Väskinde 123:1 79 Linde 6:2 36 Väskinde 129:1 80 Linde 13:1 37 Väskinde 154:1 81 Sundre 36:1 38 Västerhejde 11:1 82 Sundre 41:1 39 Västerhejde 17:1 83 Vamlingbo 34:1 40 Bro 39:1 84 Vamlingbo 123:1(2) 41 Bro 90:1 85 Visby 11:1 42 Bunge 70:1 86 Västerhejde 14:1 43 Eksta 72:1 87 Alskog 192:1 44 Fleringe 24:1 88 Lau 65:1

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Figure 7. Map over Gotland with the coastline at 4000BP showing the size of features with presumed late Neolithic - early Bronze Age stone cists.

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Figure 8. Map over Gotland with the coastline at 4000BP showing the orientation of presumed late Neolithic - early Bronze Age stone cists.

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Feature size

As seen in Figure 7, presenting the size of features with presumed late Neolithic - early Bronze Age stone cists. The features are spread over the whole island with the main cluster at the west northwestern parts of the island, with mainly small features but all sizes are present.

As seen in Table 6, there is a equal distribution between small, medium and cists without features, where large features are only present in about 8,5% of the total material.

Table 6. Distribution of features according to size. Feature size S 31 29,25% M 30 28,30% L 9 8,49% Na 6 5,66% - 30 28,30% Total 106 100%

Stone cist orientation

Figure 8, showing the orientation of stone cists indicate no evident clusters, there is a slight majority of N-S oriented cists in the west northwestern parts of the island, whereas there is a majority of NE-SW at the southern tip of the island. However, four orientations can be seen all over the island.

As Table 7 shows, over 60% of the stone cists are oriented N-S or NE-SW presenting a majority in this general orientation.

Table 7. Distribution of stone cist according to orientation. Orientation N-S 34 32,08% NE-SW 36 33,96% NW-SE 10 9,43% E-W 16 15,09% Na 10 9,43% Total 106 100%

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Discussion

The analyzed material, both osteological and archaeological, has presented interesting information. The natural stone cist in Alskog 48:1 presents an interesting case, which will here be compared with other earlier researched cists on Gotland.

Alskog 48:1

The material was initially thought to consist of about 15 individuals, this analysis has come to the conclusion that at least 26 individuals are present, individuals ranging from 6 years old to 45+, taking dental wear into regard it seems more than likely that at least one of these 45+ was significantly older than 45.

As there has been a suggestion of whether that the location of Alskog 48:1 was the site of a gallows (Jacobsson 1974:113-114) it needs to be considered here. If this is true this could have contributed to the number of individuals, whereas they simply put the executed individuals in the previously found burial which they might or might not have known to be old. However the dating to late Neolithic would seem to contradict these being the victims of a gallows, the possibility still exist that some of these individuals are from a separate time period. This is impossible to tell, without having performed a 14C analysis on all of the individuals. Keeping in mind the artifacts and both of the 14C dating coming out during the late Neolithic it can be assumed that a majority if not all of the individuals, can be attributed to this period.

Stone cist?

The issue of whether this can be seen as a stone cist or simply a natural roofless cave is hard to address. The size, 4 meters long and 1 meter wide places it well within the reasonable range of a late Neolithic stone cist. As the artifacts and the dating place it during the late Neolithic it would be reasonable to assume that this can be categorized as a stone cist. There is at least one stone cist known to the author that has used natural stone formations for a stone cist. Andersson and Hjärthner-Holdar presents a stone cist located inside a cairn from Annelund, Uppland on the Swedish mainland, where the natural rock formation of the location had been used as a part of the stone cist (Andersson & Hjärtner-Holdar 1988:210).

All of these factors point to this having been seen as a stone cist at the time of construction, as there is nothing indicating that this would be a different type of monument or construction, this should be considered to be a natural roofless cave, which have been used as a stone cist.

Comparison

When comparing Alskog burial with other stone cists on Gotland shown in Table 8, as this has been referred to as a stone cist, this would due to the large number of individuals buried, 26, be the largest burial in a stone cist on Gotland. With the closest one at 20 individuals from Burs parish as well as 13-17 individuals from Alskog 192:1 followed by Vallstena 73:1 with 10 individuals inside the cist. These are

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the only cists with 10 or more individuals buried dated to this period, if you lower that number to 5, you add Rone 288:1, 8 individuals, Väskinde 129:1 with 8 and Hörsne 23:1 with 4-6.

Table 8. Stone cists and number of individuals buried. Site No. of individuals Alskog 48:1 ₂₆ Burs 9:1 ₂₀ Alskog 192:1 _13-17 Vallstena 73:1 10 (30) Rone 288:1 ₈ Väskinde 129:1 6 Hörsne 23:1 _4-6

There are however large osteological materials from other cists, which unfortunately have not been analyzed and can therefore not contribute to this list analysis. These will when analyzed in the future, contribute greatly to the small amount of stone cists which have been analyzed osteologically.

The individuals

The analysis also showed that the material probably contains at least 3 males and at least one female, this however is very hard to say due to the high degree of fragmentation. Although when looking at the general features of the bones, the impression was that the majority of the fragments was male oriented, indicating that a possible majority of the individuals in the burial were male.

This would present an interesting find if the indication is correct, as studies have shown that in the area of eastern middle Sweden, there is in average 2,3 men buried per woman buried in stone cists (Apel 2001:342). This is indicates a possible correlation between that area of Sweden and Gotland.

Unfortunately, very few osteological materials from stone cists has been analyzed, the only other location with several individuals that has a sex distribution is Burs 9:1 where there were four men and two women buried, together with 10 children (Lindh 1997). This also indicates that the sex distribution present on the eastern middle Sweden could be the same on Gotland. Yet, without more osteological analysis's this question will remain unanswered.

Fragmentation

Further it has to be noted that the total weight of the material is 15,8 kg, with a minimum of 26 individuals the weight of these individuals is quite low, only about 600 g per individual if spread out. Is this simply because of the high degree of fragmentation or that the bones have been destroyed beyond preservation due to

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bad conservative circumstances. It must also be added that the initial skeletons that was unearthed was revealed to weather and wind from December until August before being fully excavated and moved. This, according to reports significantly damaged the bones which became very brittle and fell apart when they tried to move them. The initially found of craniums, became so exposed that they later fell apart and they are now only fragments, see Figure 9.

Figure 9. Degree of fragmentation of craniums. Photo by Alexander Sjöstrand

Animals

Three different animals with a possible addition of two more, made their appearance amongst the human remains at Alskog 48:1, and they were cattle, pig, sheep and possibly bird and seal. Whilst the cattle and sheep represented by a tooth and anklebone, metacarpal and carpal bone respectively these had the same degree of wear and seemed to fit in with the rest of the material, the pig represented by a elbow bone, had a slightly different wear and color, indicating a possible later date of entry. This could simply be a bone that on accident turned up there after being present in the landscape, this since there has been activity on the location during different times in history. Although the presence of pig in the material would not alter any preconception regarding the dating as pigs have been present in the archaeological material during large parts of Gotland's Stone Age.

The presence of cattle and sheep in the material is however more indicatory of a culture different than the pitted ware culture where there are documented cases of both cattle and sheep (Martinsson-Wallin 2008:174) but not in large numbers. As these are present amongst the burial material this would most likely indicate that the burial is part of the culture that would emerge during the late Neolithic and early Bronze Age, where sheep and cattle become more common in the archaeological material.

The presence of bird was presented by a possible long bone, which could very well be natural and not in context with the burial. As the identification of the bone was not certain, nothing of importance can be concluded from this possible presence.

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As with the seal, several fragments were identified during the analysis as possible seal fragments, however none of these could be determined with certainty. It is also worth noting that seals have been hunted during large periods of Gotland’s history and might be found in places where human activity has occurred. In light of this no conclusion regarding the possibility of seal in the burial can be drawn. A further more detailed osteological analysis might provide more information.

Gålrum

The dating also confirms the question of whether this is the oldest burial at the Gålrum burial field. This is interesting as Gålrum is a significant prehistoric site due to the concentration of ship settings, could this be indicative of a continuous use of the location and knowledge of the stone cist formation and its burial? Or is it simply a matter of a location which has held meaning for the population and therefore having been used for ceremonies with knowledge of previous burials and events, only an understanding of the importance and ritual value of the location.

¹³C

The ¹³C analysis of the two teeth which were 14C dated to late Neolithic showed a value of -21,1 and -21,2 from sample 1 and 2 respectively. This presents interesting information as this shows a terrestrial food economy during the late Neolithic. This indicates that the population of Gotland had changed to an agriculturally based economy by this time. This provides further knowledge of the people who constructed the stone cists, this is if not proof at least an indication that the population during this period were farmers.

The age of stone cists – Interpretation

of an era

Evidences of stone monuments/cists is seen already in the early Neolithic or c. 5000 years ago. One megalith grave (dolmen) is known on the island, which also is the easternmost structure found within the north European Funnel Beaker Culture. There are on the other hand no monuments at all during the mid-Neolithic Pitted Ware Culture, who buried their dead under flat ground. However, in the following period from around 4000 BP a new burial custom is visible and that is the era of the stone cists.

The only megalith grave

It is during this period that the (depending on definition) only megalithic monument occurs on the island, a dolmen located in Tofta parish in close proximity to two of Gotland's largest ship settings. The monument is made of four 1,2 meters high granite blocks were three are forming the northern wall and one the southern wall. There have been arguments to whether this can be considered a megalith or not. As this would be the easternmost located megalith in northern Europe, there has been some reluctance to accept it as such. Several excavations have taken place at the