In the area around Tidan you find lake Östen, which is a typical floodplain lake, nutricious and shallow. It is one of the most valuable bird lakes in the country, and a very important link in the chain of resting places for migratory birds. The beautiful landscape around the lake bears evidence from thousands of years of human activity, and here you can also find several ancient monuments and cultural sights. Lake Östen, together with the rivers Tidan and Ösan, has connected large parts of north and east Skaraborg. A lot of the findings that have been made in the area indicates a very rich district. On your visit here, do not miss the ancient monuments Kung Ranes hög and Askeberga ship cumulus, or the cultural reserve Vallby Sörgården.
Askeberga ship setting at Tidan is one of Västergötland’s most notable monuments. Since ancient times the site has been a gathering place for people in the district.
But is it really a ship setting? No one has so far presented a credible explanation for this gigantic stone monument, which is like no other in Sweden. Twenty-four gigantic stone blocks each 2m high and weighing about 30 tons are placed in a 53 metre long and 18 metre north-south oval. Sometimes the monument is referred to as a ship setting – in that case the second largest in Sweden after Ales stenar in Skåne, and sometimes as a stone circle, but neither term is correct. The prow stones characteristic for ship settings are missing, and stone circles are always considerably smaller.
Askeberga has not been systematically investigated. A minor excavation in 1928 was intended only to restore the area after potato growing. The lack of archaeological investigations means that we cannot say anything about the dating of the monument. The most common perception is that the stones were brought here during the Late Iron Age, that is, during the Vendel period or the Viking Age, but this is only an educated guess. Neither does anyone know where the stones were brought from. They are apparently erratic boulders. One hypothesis is that they were brought from a place a few hundred metres south-east of the stone ring, but it could also be a question of more distant transports from different areas in the neighbourhood.
In early mediaeval times the monument’s surroundings were characterised by prosperous agricultural parishes. There was a wading site across Tidan stream in the immediate vicinity, which gave its name to the mediaeval Vads Royal Demesne, a centre for Vadsbo district. This prosperity was reflected by the construction of stone churches. Sveneby, Vads, Götlunda and Flistad churches were all built in the 12th and 13th centuries. It is of particular interest that Flistad church was built beside an impressive burial mound from the Iron Age, popularly referred to as "King Rane’s Mound". This is possibly an example of cult continuity, that is to say Christian priests took over a pre-Christian cult site. Rane was one of many names for the god Odin, and it is said that the nearby Lake Östen was previously called Odin’s lake. Tradition has it that also Askeberga’s stone monument was called "Rane stones", but it is impossible to say how far back in time these names were used. It is probable that wealthy chieftains or minor kings were living here, in the middle of events. The number of finds and graves discovered in the area around Lake Östen indeed indicates a wealthy region which later in history lost its importance to other places, and whose monuments are therefore extremely difficult for present-day mankind to understand.
When was the stone ring raised? And why? We can assume that this was a prominent assembly site for people in the region, but we do not know whether it was a market, a Thing site or a religious cult. Nor do we know whether there is a connection between the monument, the ford and the mound at Flistad church. Askeberga is a mystery still waiting to be solved.