The King's Grave

The King's Grave
	Kiviksgrave burial site near Kivik, Sweden
	Shown within Sweden
Location	Scania,Sweden
Coordinates	55°41′N14°14′E/ 55.683°N 14.233°E
Site notes
Condition	In ruins

TheKing's Grave(Kungagraven i Kivik, Kiviksgraven) is an archaeological site. It is situated nearKivikin the southeastern portion ofScania,Sweden. The site is what remains of an unusually grandNordic Bronze Agedouble burial dating from circa the 15th century BC.^[1]^[2] ^[3]

Site

The site is located about 320 metres (1,000 ft) from the shore of the eastern coast ofScania. These two burials are unique. In both construction and in size—it is a circular site measuring 75 metres (250 ft) in diameter—this tomb differs from mostEuropeanburials from theBronze Age.Most importantly, thecistsare adorned withpetroglyphs.The images carved into the stones depict people, animals (including birds and fish), ships,lursbeing played, symbols and achariotdrawn by two horses and having four-spoked wheels.^[4]

History

Reconstructed entrance to the tomb

The site was used as a quarry for construction materials until 1748, when two farmers discovered a 3.25 metres (11 ft)tomb,with a north–south orientation, constructed with ten slabs of stone. Still, the quarrying continued and some of the stones disappeared. In 1756 the site was analyzed by antiquarian and archaeologist Nils Wessman (1712–1763). Wessman had undertaken extensive trips to Scania in the 1740s and 1750s for archaeological investigations.^[5]

The site was excavated by archaeologistGustaf Hallström(1880–1962) starting in 1931. From 1925 until his retirement in 1945, Hallström worked as an antiquarian at theSwedish National Heritage Board(Riksantikvarieämbetet). Between 1931 and 1933, a thorough excavation was undertaken and the remains of aStone Agesettlement was found under the massivecairn,including a great deal offlintstoneshards. Only teeth, fragments ofbronze,and some pieces of bone were found, dating from the Bronze Age.^[6] ^[7]

The mound contained twocists.On the left side of the cist's southern end, there were raised slabs of stone from a 1.2 metres (3.9 ft) long and 0.65 metres (2.1 ft) wide cist. It was named the King's Grave due to its size, long before it was known to contain two burials. Since the site has been subject to numerous lootings, there are no reliable finds, but it is believed that the two graves were built at the same time.^{[citation needed]}

After the excavation, the tomb was restored, but no one knows whether it looks similar to its original state. A comparison with other contemporaneous graves suggests that the site might have been three times higher than the 3.5 metres (11 ft) as restored. The restoration was based onetchingsfrom the 18th century and conjecture. A new chamber was constructed out of concrete and a tunnel extended into the cists. Today, it is possible for visitors to the site to enter the tomb and to see the engraved stones.^[8]