Swedish Ruins May Be Oldest Temple
V A S T E R H A N I N G E, Aug. 22 -- A site thought tobe Sweden’s first pre-Christian temple or crematorium was openedto the public on Sunday.
A pentagon-shaped building excavated near a known burialsite at Vasterhaninge 30 kms (18 miles) south of Stockholm isbelieved to date back to the early iron age in Sweden.
“This is a very exciting discovery. It is believed to be thefirst of its kind discovered in Sweden and throws new light onthe ritual ceremonies and religious architecture of the age,”said Lindsay Lloyd-Smith, a British archaeologist at the site.
Thousands of visitors took part in guided tours round thedig which lies directly below the ancient Aby burial site where200 graves from the late bronze and early iron ages werediscovered earlier.
Lloyd-Smith, a British field archaeologist who isresponsible for the newly-discovered temple site, said two sidesof the pentagon had been constructed wide to form a broadentrance over a stone-laid threshold facing the graveyard.
“This is the first evidence of religious architecture ofthis sort in Sweden,” said Lloyd-Smith, who has worked for threeyears on Swedish archaeological digs.
Funeral Pyre?
Arkeologikonsult, a private consultancy which is conductingthe dig under licence from Stockholm county authorities, said ina statement it was tempting to compare the elaborate geometricaldesign with the classical temples of ancient Greece and theRoman Empire.
The dig will continue through September, and samples of thebones and ceramics found in the sandy soil will be sent toUppsala University for carbon dating.
The archaeologists’ next task is to unearth a round stonecircle in the centre of the five-sided building which theybelieve could be a funeral pyre or an important person’s grave.
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