Skalunda is a village in Västergötland

Västergötland

', English exonym: West Gothland, is one of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden , situated in the southwest of Sweden. In older English literature one may also encounter the Latinized version Westrogothia....

, Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 and the site of Skalunda Barrow (Swedish: Skalunda hög), a historic burial mound

Tumulus

A tumulus is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, Hügelgrab or kurgans, and can be found throughout much of the world. A tumulus composed largely or entirely of stones is usually referred to as a cairn...

. Hög, from the Old Norse

Old Norse

Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....

 word haugr, means mound or barrow. The modern English cognate, still in use, is "howe", "how", or "hoo", as in Sutton Hoo.

At the church, there are two runestones and to the west of the church there is the Barrow of Skalunda which is the largest one in Västergötland. Skalunda Barrow is one of the larger barrows in Scandinavia. It measures 65 metres across and it is 7 metres high. Next to the barrow there is a stone circle

Stone circle (Iron Age)

The stone circles of the Iron Age were a characteristic burial custom of southern Scandinavia, especially on Gotland and in Götaland during the Pre-Roman Iron Age and the Roman Iron Age. In Sweden, they are called Domarringar , Domkretsar or Domarsäten...

. This suggests that Skalunda was an important location dating to the Iron Age

Iron Age

The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...

.

Skalunda was one of the eight royal estates of early medieval Västergötland (cf. Uppsala öd

Uppsala öd

Uppsala öd, Old Norse: Uppsala auðr or Uppsala øðr was the name given to the collection of estates which was the property of the Swedish Crown in medieval Sweden. Its purpose was to finance the Swedish king, originally the "king of Uppsala", and they supported the king and his retinue while he...

). Moreoever, the names of two homesteads, Lagmansgården and Lagmanstorp, in the neighbourhood show that the Geat

Geat

Geats , and sometimes Goths) were a North Germanic tribe inhabiting what is now Götaland in modern Sweden...

ish lawspeaker

Lawspeaker

A lawspeaker is a unique Scandinavian legal office. It has its basis in a common Germanic oral tradition, where wise men were asked to recite the law, but it was only in Scandinavia that the function evolved into an office...

s used to reside at Skalunda.

History

Birger Nerman

Birger Nerman

Birger Nerman was a Swedish archaeologist, professor, and author.-Background:Birger Nerman belonged to a bourgeois family Nerman from Vimmerby. He was the son of Janne Nerman , the bookseller in Norrköping, and his wife Anna Ida Nordberg...

, a Swedish archaeology professor and director of the Swedish Museum of National Antiquities

Swedish Museum of National Antiquities

Swedish Museum of National Antiquities is a museum located in Stockholm, Sweden that covers Swedish cultural history and art from the Stone Age to the 16th century...

, considered the Barrow of Skalunda to be the most likely burial site of the hero Beowulf

Beowulf (hero)

Beowulf is a legendary Geatish hero and later turned king in the epic poem named after him, one of the oldest surviving pieces of literature in the English language.-Etymology and origins of the character:...

, a legendary Geatish king. Skalunda is not far from a place called Årnäs, which is the same name as Earnaness

Earnaness

Earnanæs , Aranæs and Årnäs is the name of at least two locations, in what is today southern Sweden, which are known from history and legend...

 where the hero died in the epic Beowulf

Beowulf

Beowulf , but modern scholars agree in naming it after the hero whose life is its subject." of an Old English heroic epic poem consisting of 3182 alliterative long lines, set in Scandinavia, commonly cited as one of the most important works of Anglo-Saxon literature.It survives in a single...

, and it is located on a major promontory and near a minor one. The barrow has not yet been excavated.

Other sources

• The article Skalunda on the site of the Museum of Foteviken. Retrieved May 29, 2007.