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Rune stone

Runstenen vid Anundshögen.

The Anundshög runestone

"Folkvid raised all these stones after Heden, Anund’s brother. Vred carved the runes."

Folkvid was a powerful man in Badelunda at the beginning of the 11th century. He paid for the road past Anundshög and marked it with a row of standing stones. Folkvid also paid for the impressive rune stone to tell the world for all time about his son, his road and himself.

It is certain that it is not Anund who was buried in the large mound. The name Anund was very common during the 9th and 10th centuries and the mound is probably from the 6th to 8th century. Heden and Anund were probably brothers in arms. Vred both knew the runes and was skillful at carving them and he produced this remarkable rune stone. He has carved the runes around a picture which is unique among Swedish rune stones.

We do not know how the picture should be interpreted, but it could perhaps be the forms of a woman and a man which are intertwined with each other. The people of the Viking era would have understood what Vred intended with his pictures.

Standing stones – 'the rune stone road'

Within the grave-field area there are many standing stones. A number of these form the so-called ‘rune stone road’. The majority however, mark graves. Perhaps the graves marked by stones are somewhat simpler than those concealed under the large mounds. Graves with raised stones are usually dated to the first centuries AD. None of the graves of this type has been excavated within the Anundshög area.