Excursion!

2017-09-24T19:59:44Z

Last Tuesday was a fun day. One of our professors had recently retired, and as sort of a leaving present, a whole bunch of us at the department and lots of other people (ex-colleagues etc) went on an excursion to several sites that had been important to her in her career. Admittedly, this being archaeology, a lot of sites were passed by on the road as there is not much point in standing in the middle of a field looking at nothing. Prehistoric settlement sites in Scandinavia aren't really famous for visible above ground remains.

But we stopped the bus at two Bronze Age burial mounds, and at a peninsula with several Stone Age caves. One mound had to my knowledge not been excavated, but the other one had been and the burial chamber and entrance way had been recently restored. If I had brought a torch I would have been tempted to sneak in.

The Ålabodarna Bronze Age burial mound in its landscape, between sea and farmstead. (Click to embiggen.)

The very narrow entrance to the burial mound. (Click to embiggen.)

View from the top of the burial mound toward the sea. Denmark's coast is on the horizon. (Click to embiggen.)

The Stone Age caves (well, obviously formed in an geological age and not the Stone Age, but they were used in the Stone Age for temporary occupation) were the highlight. I had never been to one before, but now I want to go back and explore that area more. Scania is said to be flat as a pancake, but the Kullaberg peninsula is one of the not flat parts. Lots of people come here for rock climbing.

It was a long steep path down to the stony beach. Thankfully there were stairs (wood or natural stone, nothing fancy or easily walked), but my legs didn’t appreciate it as much as my eyes did. The beach was gorgeous, with lots of photo opportunities if you liked rock formations. There were several caves accessible from those stairs. The main one is at the beach itself, and you could get to another one at next beach along by stairs up a rocky formation and then a narrow path down the other side. The caves are all tiny, so they can only have been used for temporary shelter (annual seal hunts or sea bird egg collections?).

First part of the path. We're still in a lovely decidious wood. (Click to embiggen.)

The first stairs. Now you can (just about) see the beach! (Click to embiggen.)

A part without stairs, just a stony path. Still a long way to go until we're down on the beach. (Click to embiggen.)

The beach! Cliffs to the right...(Click to embiggen.)

... and more cliffs to the left. (Click to embiggen.)

The beach "next door". (Click to embiggen.)

A funny little plant growing on the cliffside. If you know what it is, please let me know. (Click to embiggen.)

Windswept heather growing on the cliffside. I wonder how old that plant is? (Click to embiggen.)

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Excursion!