The Sjellebro Stone

Facts

A Viking troll

By Maria Panum Baastrup, Mag.art. i forhistorisk arkæologi, København Universitet (17 stories)

The mysterious stone of Sjellebro lay unnoticed for centuries on a meadow but hit the national headlines in 1951. The owner of the meadow, Åge Sørensen, noticed some carvings on it and called in the National Museum of Denmark. The stone was examined and gave up its secret: it had been decorated with a mask in about the year 1000 – the Viking era. The mask has big empty eyes, a pointed chin and plaited beard, and might depict a troll or bogeyman. The Sjellebro stone still stands in a grassy field on the north side of the stream and is visible from the road.

Public place

Selected entry

Guarding the road?

Story written by Maria Panum Baastrup

Time / Periode 1000

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The mask stone triggered an archaeological excavation that revealed it stood by a total of four prehistoric roads on top of each other, and the remains of a bridge. The roads were never in use at the same time, but replaced each other. The bottom two roads were covered with stones, whereas the subsequent roads were surfaced with planks. The mask stone probably dates back to the youngest road on top. It stood on the verge where travellers could see it. Perhaps it was meant to remind them of the bogeyman" who according to a fairly recent legend is said to have lived in the stream. This bogeyman demanded a new human sacrifice every few years. Or perhaps the Vikings already knew this bogeyman way back and erected the stone to scare him away? "