<< Our Photo Pages >> Vang gravfelt - Barrow Cemetery in Norway in Sør-Trøndelag
Submitted by kenntha88 on Monday, 17 August 2009 Page Views: 7003
Neolithic and Bronze AgeSite Name: Vang gravfelt Alternative Name: VangsliaCountry: Norway Fylke: Sør-Trøndelag Type: Barrow Cemetery
Nearest Town: Trondheim Nearest Village: Oppdal
Latitude: 62.604617N Longitude: 9.633465E
Condition:
| 5 | Perfect |
| 4 | Almost Perfect |
| 3 | Reasonable but with some damage |
| 2 | Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site |
| 1 | Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks |
| 0 | No data. |
| -1 | Completely destroyed |
| 5 | Superb |
| 4 | Good |
| 3 | Ordinary |
| 2 | Not Good |
| 1 | Awful |
| 0 | No data. |
| 5 | Can be driven to, probably with disabled access |
| 4 | Short walk on a footpath |
| 3 | Requiring a bit more of a walk |
| 2 | A long walk |
| 1 | In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find |
| 0 | No data. |
| 5 | co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates |
| 4 | co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map |
| 3 | co-ordinates scaled from a bad map |
| 2 | co-ordinates of the nearest village |
| 1 | co-ordinates of the nearest town |
| 0 | no data |
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The burial site at Vang in Oppdal is the second largest known iron age burial site in Norway (possibly the largest), only rivaled by the burial site at Einang in Oppland. It is also one of the largest known in Scandinavia.
It has probably been in use for more than 500 years, until Christianity were introduced in the early 1000 AD.
It contains about 750 to 800 known burial mounds, and possibly countless flat-terrain burials without any grave markings. The burial mounds range from large to small, from between 15-17 meters in diameter to less than 3 meters across. And from 2-3 meters tall to lower than a half meter.
The area has been cleared of forest and the area has been made possible for tourists to explore and watch. In fact, its almost impossible to walk more than 3 metres without stepping on a burial mound! The burial mounds are easy to see as the small bushes and trees have been cleared and the mounds are covered in short grass. As you walk trough this site, it is impossible to think of how many people were actually living in this are in the iron age, and how their lives were like...
The common among iron age burials in Scandinavia is that each farm seems to have had their own burial site close to the farm. But this is possible a "public" burial site for all the farms that once were in the valley.
The location of the burial site is at Vang, and its a location where 3 valleys meet; Sunndalen valley from the west, Drivdalen valley from the south and Oppdal from North-east. Also three major rivers meet at this location, so the settlement(s) in Vang has had easy access to the sea, and also outside Scandinavia to the rest of Europe. It is also remains of a ancient road leading north-south along the cemetery, so any traveler would see that the valley had a old and rich population.
This area has clearly had a very rich iron age population. Excavations of some of the numerous burial mounds have shown a population that surely were not living in isolation, there have been found many christian artifacts and jewelry probably made in continental Europe and the British Isles, and also a number of very intricate swords and other weapons probably been made in South Europe. Were they traded or plundered? We will probably never know, but the dating of most of the burials is in the viking age, so both possibilities are probably correct.
I hope any visitor to Norway with a interest for history would visit this site! It is well-worth a visit!
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Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
7.1km S 179° Losvollen* Barrow Cemetery
29.7km NNE 29° Tjønnmoen Settlement* Ancient Village or Settlement
30.4km NNE 21° Hovengan Standing Stone* Standing Stone (Menhir)
30.4km NE 34° Skjepphaugen Settlement* Ancient Village or Settlement
48.2km W 277° Løykja Cemetery* Barrow Cemetery
49.2km N 5° Grotte Mound* Round Barrow(s)
49.6km N 4° Krosshaugen Round Mound* Round Barrow(s)
57.8km N 359° Vahaugen Cemetery* Barrow Cemetery
63.1km NNE 28° Kalvhåggåhaugen* Round Barrow(s)
64.2km NNE 29° Foss Carvings* Carving
67.8km NNE 23° Jutulsteinbakken* Barrow Cemetery
67.8km NNE 28° Horg the Chieftain's grave* Chambered Tomb
68.2km NE 54° Singsås Gravfelt* Standing Stone (Menhir)
69.1km NNE 29° Litlstenen* Hillfort
71.7km WSW 256° Sæter Burial Cairns* Barrow Cemetery
73.2km WNW 296° Røttingsnes* Barrow Cemetery
73.9km N 7° Grøtte Standing Stone* Standing Stone (Menhir)
75.8km W 259° Oppigård Standing Stone* Standing Stone (Menhir)
76.7km NNE 16° Steinsåsen* Hillfort
80.2km WNW 291° Honnhammarneset* Rock Art
80.7km WNW 281° Boggestranda* Carving
81.1km WSW 240° Einbu Bautastein* Standing Stone (Menhir)
83.3km NNE 15° Jyssan* Barrow Cemetery
83.4km NNE 15° Børsa Standing Stones* Standing Stones
84.8km S 187° Steinberget Hillfort* Hillfort
View more nearby sites and additional images
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Wir möchten mehr über diese Stätte erfahren. Bitte zögern Sie nicht, eine kurze Beschreibung und relevante Informationen in Deutsch hinzuzufügen.
Nous aimerions en savoir encore un peu sur les lieux. S'il vous plaît n'hesitez pas à ajouter une courte description et tous les renseignements pertinents dans votre propre langue.
Quisieramos informarnos un poco más de las lugares. No dude en añadir una breve descripción y otros datos relevantes en su propio idioma.