In between Skara and Skövde you find Varnhem which is a popular destination. The location is part of an ancient cultural area that has been cultivated and inhabited for thousands of years. In the scenic environment around the church and monastery ruins, you can take advantage of a great story. The surrounding area a fairytale meadow flora thrives, and in the garden next to the church, you can find medicinal plants from the medieval times. Close to the monestary church, archeologists have found the ruins from one of Sweden’s oldest churches – built already during the Viking era! The exciting findings that have been made have led to the history of Västergötland being partially rewritten.
The burial ground at Amundtorp consists of a well-preserved ship setting, stone circles and various types of stone setting. The graves probably originate from the era of the Great Migrations, i.e. the Early Iron Age, AD 400-500. The burial ground is situated in beautiful countryside on the western slope of Billingen, with views of Lake Hornborga.
In the Iron Age (c. 500 BC - 1050 AD) home burial grounds emerged in the increasingly established farming district.
The dead were usually cremated before burial and the cremated bones were placed in an urn which was then buried in the ground. The grave goods were also burnt in the flames. These were mostly everyday items such as buckles and implements, but those who belong to a higher social stratum could be given elaborate sets of weaponry, jewellery and other precious gifts. It was also common that the dead person was given food as well as favourite pets, and the burnt bones of dogs have been found in most graves. The grave chambers were covered by different structures of stone or earth. They could be cairns, mounds, stone settings of various forms, erect stones, stone circles, deltoid graves or stone settings in the shape of ships.
The different forms of the graves are certainly expressions of the importance or personality of the person buried. This system of symbols however is lost for ever and we do not understand its message over the millennia.
The burial ground comprises eight visible graves in different forms and appearances – one ship setting, two round stone settings, one rectangular stone setting, one quadratic stone circle and three other stone circles. In 1938 an archaeological investigation of the burial ground was carried out, and inside a quadratic stone circle a pit was discovered that contained black earth and scattered burnt bones as well as pieces of a clay urn. Here lay also two bronze needles, several glass beads, some metal fittings and two combs. The finds can be dated to the Great Migrations (400 - 550 AD). The two needles indicate that it was a woman who was buried. It was earlier thought that round stone circles were Thing sites. The investigation at Amundtorp contributed to a change this perception.
Archaeologist realised that they must be graves, having found bones and grave goods. The most imposing structure on the burial ground is the ship setting. The erect stones form the shape of a ship, and the ship may symbolically transport the dead person to the afterlife.