As soon as we installed ourselves in Skövde, we drove up here after a day long drive down from Bollnäs. Just in time for the sunset. Last warm rays of sunlight made the grass turn copper; swarms of flies became fairy dust. As I was walking around the meadow a pair of birds kept me company and followed me wherever I went. Even though I couldn’t identify them, I was grateful for their company for the evening, as it sometimes gets lonely among the graves. Soon after we left to catch Amundstorp in the last moments of the golden hour.

Ekornavallen is an ancient burial ground in the Falköping Municipality in Sweden. Situated in Slafsan River valley, it contains a variety of ancient monuments dating from the Stone, Bronze and Iron Ages.

What’s unusual, there were no settlements in the area until the 18th century. As of the late 19th century the area was plowed up, which sadly destroyed many of the precious remains.

Today Ekornavallen contains four passage graves and a gallery grave from the Neolithic period, as well as cairns from the Bronze Age, stone circles, twelve standing stones (bautastenar) – marking the Iron Age burials, eight round stone settings and one triangular stone setting. Many stones are adorned with cup marks too. It is estimated that the field was in use for over a six to seven thousand-year period.

The largest, and best known, grave on a meadow is the Neolithic passage grave Girommen. According to historians the name translates to the giant woman’s oven. It could be a resting place of many individuals, possibly an entire family. The burial chamber is thirteen meters long and two meters wide. It stands on a barely recognizable stone setting that is 37 meters in diameter. All boulders are made of sandstone except for the granite roof stone; probably a glacial erratic from Närke. The grave was restored in the 1940s and some burial offerings such as amber beads, pottery shards and a flint chisel have been found. In recent years the walls has been filled to prevent the passage grave from further collapse.

Sources (access Nov 2021):
1. www.sfv.se/fastigheter/sok/sverige/vastra-gotalands-lan/ekornavallen
2. www.vastsverige.com/en/falkoping/produkter/ekornavallen
3. www.lansstyrelsen.se/vastra-gotaland/besoksmal/kulturmiljoer/ekornavallen.html