Sweden’s own Stonehenge
At first glance the Ale Stones or Ales Stenar appears to be like that of Stonehenge. A circular formation of fifty-nine stones be exact, standing in an upright position. Weighing in at 1100 to 3960 pounds they stand atop a beautiful location looking out to the Baltic Sea in southern Sweden about six miles from Ystad in the sleepy village of Kaseberga.
The Ale Stones date back 1,400 years ago by Carbon-14 dating and are known to archeologists as ship settings. These stone circles are found by the thousands in the Nordic region, arranged in a diamond shape, like the frame of a ship. The Ale Stones are one of the largest ship settings to be found in Scandinavia and they continue to slowly grab attention around the world.
The Stones were hidden by loose sand, only being restored in 1916. Archaeologists first thought the site might have been a burial ground although to this day no graves have been confirmed. Many theories exist including the possibility of the stones having an astrological function. During midsummer the sun sets across the northwest tip of the ship setting and in midwinter the sun rises over the opposite tip adding to this theory that the stones may have been constructed to calculate the time of year. To this day the stones remain a mystery attracting over 300,000 visitors every year to their formation.
For more information on the Ale Stones or other sites of interest check out Sweden’s National Heritage Board online at: http://www.rra.se/ click “In English” on the upper right hand corner and explore.
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