Klebæk Høje / Bækkemonumentet

Facts

Burial mounds recycled in monument

By Thomas Roland, Forhistorisk arkæolog, cand. phil. (14 stories)

Klebæk Høje or Bækkemonumentet exemplifies the use of the same site in different prehistoric eras. The two burial mounds are the oldest, and are from the early Bronze Age. Projecting from the southern mound is a ship-shaped row of standing stones, constructed in the Viking Age, some 2,500 years later. The ancient mound was incorporated into the new burial site, perhaps to make it more imposing. But the Viking Age monument existed only for a short period. By the Middle Ages, the stone ship was demolished and a branch of Hærvejen – an old trackway – was led across it.

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Runic stone to assert rightful inheritance

Story written by Thomas Roland

Time / Periode 900 1000

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" The inscription on the runic stone in the Bække Monument reads: "Revne and Tobbe[?] made these monuments for their mother Vibrog [or Viborg?]". The lavish burial is thus in memory of a prominent woman from the Viking Age. These stately burial monuments were probably not erected solely out of respect for the deceased; they may have been a way of asserting ownership. The two sons may have cherished their mother, but more importantly, on her gravestone they were naming themselves as the rightful heirs of her assets and estate. In this way, the runic stone may be seen as a bequest, signed by the heirs themselves. "