Runsa stone ship, Archaeological site in Eds socken, Sweden.
Runsa stone ship is an archaeological site where large stones form the shape of a vessel, creating a megalithic monument in the Uppland region. The site includes a grave field arranged in this distinctive ship shape.
The grave field at Runsa dates to the Germanic Iron Age, around 400–500 AD, and holds 33 round stone settings alongside the ship. The 56-metre ship is laid out with 28 lump-shaped stones and a tall bow stone to the northeast. A smaller ship setting lies close by. One theory links the burials to the nearby Runsa hillfort, whose inhabitants may have used the ground as a cemetery.
The name skeppssättning refers to stones laid out as a ship's hull, and here 28 low, lump-shaped stones form the outline rather than standing upright as in most Swedish ship settings. The grave field also holds 33 round stone settings dated to 400–500 CE, and one theory links the burials to the nearby Runsa fornborg, whose inhabitants may have used the ground as a cemetery.
The stone ship lies in a grassy field in Eds socken, Upplands Väsby kommun, with the smaller ship setting and the 33 round stone settings of the grave field close by. The surrounding ground is short grass, so the stones are easy to walk among; the larger boulders sit along the left edge and the tall bow stone at the upper right. Runsa fornborg is a short distance away.
The ship's 28 stones lie flat rather than standing upright, and the tallest is a bow stone at the northeast end, about 2 m long and 0.9 m high. A smaller ship setting once stood close by but has since disappeared. The grave field also holds 33 round stone settings from 400–500 CE.
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