Sun stones and the darkened sun: Neolithic miniature art from the island of Bornholm, Denmark

Rune Iversen*, Poul Otto Nielsen, Lasse Vilien Sørensen, Anders Svensson, Jørgen Peder Steffensen, Alexander Land, Michael S. Thorsen, Finn Ole Sonne Nielsen

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

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Abstract

The discovery of more than 600 whole and fragmentary engraved stone plaques in the early third millennium BC infill from the ditches of a causewayed enclosure at Vasagård, on the Danish island of Bornholm, represents a unique find in Neolithic miniature art. Termed ‘sun stones’ in reference to the rayed images that characterise many of the plaques, the stones were deposited en masse over a short period. This article offers a fundamental classification of the rich imagery captured in the engravings and examines its potential function at a time of possible climatic crisis that impacted not just Bornholm but the wider northern hemisphere.
Original languageEnglish
JournalAntiquity
VolumeFirstView
Pages (from-to)1-17
ISSN0003-598X
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 16 Jan 2025

Keywords

  • Faculty of Humanities
  • North-west Europe
  • Funnel Beaker
  • Neolithic art
  • Typology
  • Sun stones
  • Volcanic eruptions
  • Climate change
  • Neolithic Europe
  • Bornholm

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