Bronze Age Grave

A cairn at the burial ground in Jordbro. Supposedly the oldest grave here is said to date back to the Bronze Age. I have heard from several people that there is some sort of shaman lurking around here sometimes, singing and dancing and what have you, but I haven't seen him or her yet.

Burial Ground

I spotted a couple of young mothers picnicking while walking through the old Burial Ground in Jordbro earlier in the week. It was a nice spring day with the sun shining from a clear blue sky. As I'm typing this two days later we have seen some snow falling fom the sky.

Dead snake up a tree

Biking through the Bronze Age burial site in Jordbro I suddenly found myself eye to eye with a snake. I think it's Viper, and in this case a very dead Viper.

Bronze Age Grave

This is a cairn at the burial ground in Jordbro. Supposedly the oldest grave,it is said to date back to the Bronze Age. It is eleven meters wide. Walking through the forest/field you will find up to one thousand graves from around 500 BC to 500 AC. The weather of late have been horrible, at least if you are a biking photographer. Mostly rain and grey skies. That might change tomorrow, stay tuned!

Made For Lying

We have a word in Swedish that might be unique. The word is Ljugarbänk. It is a wooden bench (bänk), where you sit down and tell lies! Usually you will find a ljugarbänk outside the local meeting place/shopping centre in smaller towns or rural areas. This one is probably more for lying down, or just resting. I really like the design. And it is very comfy. I use it quite often. You will find it smack in the middle of the Iron Age burial ground that I have shown you a few times before. The area is also a part of a nature reserve, and is very popular with the locals. I pass by here most every day on my bike and will often stop and rest for a few minutes. This time of the year in mid-May is probably the best time if you want to visit the reserve as everything is turning green at the moment.

The old Burial Ground

I took a walk at the big Iron Age grave field in Jordbro earlier this week. It is the biggest such grave field in Sweden. It has around 660 graves in different formations, including tumulus, stone ships and stone circles. This is one of 22 Standing Stones at the field. Another name for this is a Menhir. The graves here are from between 500 BC to 500 AC. The people that lived here were hunters and fishers. A couple of thousand years ago this was the coast line. Today the coast is several kilometres away. For a better view I added a panorama that I shot here a few years ago. Today the field is part of a popular nature reserve, and the old Viking Era road that goes through the grave field is a popular path among the locals. I pass by here on my bike almost every day.


Taphophile Tragics.

Menhir Stones

Back at the Bronze Age burial ground in Jordbro. This is a formation of grave stones called Menhir. Also known as a Bautasten in Swedish. These stones are on the small side, they are roughly one meter high. There are many information boards like this one on the big grave field. Shot with the Nifty Fifty.

Stone Ship

I took a walk at the old burial ground in Jordbro yesterday. This is a stone ship, or Skeppssättning in Swedish. The grave field dates back to the Bronze Age, and it is the oldest in the greater Stockholm area. It was used between 600 BC and 400 AD. There are around 1000 graves here. It was forgotten for many centuries. When the railway line Nynäsbanan was constructed a little over a century ago no one knew that they were building it on an ancient burial ground. One of the guys that I see at the cafe every now and then is the archaeologist Roger Wikell. During his diggings at the grave field he found proof that people lived here 9000 years ago during the Stone Age. Something to think about when you walk there today.

The Meandering Path

I use this bike path on a daily basis. It is a shortcut between Jordbro and Västerhaninge. The road dates back to the Viking Era. It meanders through an old burial ground with 800 graves from 500 B.C, and a nature reserve called Gullringskärret. If you continue down the path you will see a horse farm.

The Mayor

This is Gilbert de Wendel, the Mayor of Haninge. He is retiring now after eight years as Mayor. But he told me that he will stay in politics for a few years as a lay judge. His big hobby is sailing so he will probably have more time for that now. We met at the Björklund horse farm on Saturday when I was heading home and Gilbert was out walking his dog. I asked him about a rumour I had heard about the new National harness racing track planned for Tungelsta, but the latest I had heard was that it had been moved to Kalvsvik. The Mayor claimed to have no knowledge about that.

Turbo&Tyson

It's tricky not to meet people at Gullringskärret in Jordbro. It's a popular nature reserve, and there's also a big ancient grave field here. I have shot quite a few portraits here. Both dog owners and horse back riders. And this time I met this quartet. This is Jossan and Sara. The dogs are called Turbo (Rottweiler/German Shepherd ), and Tyson (Amstaff). The dogs where probably more interested in the surroundings, and wanted the photo shoot to end as soon as possible. Tyson belongs to Sara's son. Sara and Jossan both live nearby in Jordbro and are friends through their respective families. Sara works in marketing, and also in day care. Jossan used to work in home care, but are now thinking about open a dog care centre, or Hunddagis as we like to call it in Swedish. After I uploaded this photo to flickr I met Micke again (The Family Man), and he told me that he knew Jossan, which isn't that surprising to me, as it really is a small world we live in.

Anna

There's often horseback riders at the ancient grave field in Jordbro and this was no exception. This is Anna and her horse Rose. Anna is from Haninge and has her horse at the Hässlingby stable (where I was chased by a few horses a couple of weeks ago). As Anna has a family, and a job to keep her busy, the horseback riding is the one hobby she has time for. Speaking of horses, there are more than 120 companies in Haninge involved in the horse industry. And more than 2000 horses. The municipality is planning a horse trail that will connect all parts of Haninge, which is good news for all horse lovers. And it looks like a new race track might be built near the Berga agricultural school in a few years time.

Resting at the grave field

This is Mikael, originally from Malung in Dalarna (up North a bit), but these days he lives in Jordbro. We have met a few times on the bike paths, and on this occasion I spotted him at the ancient grave field in Jordbro and we sat down and talked for a while. Mikael used to work in IT, and is currently looking for a new job. He is a keen fisher and likes the outdoors. As it happens we came to talk about flowers. Mikael was a bit exited. He has a Walking Iris in his kitchen window. That particular Brazilian flower only blooms one day every year, and it happened on the day we met and Mikael got a little crazy with the camera to document the event and showed me the result! Speaking of flowers, one of his relatives is Stig Dalström, a world famous artist, illustrator and orchid taxonomist who works at the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens in Florida, and who is currently making what seems to be a very interesting movie. After our chat I took a couple of portraits and that was that.

Linda & Evelina

At the ancient grave field I see two beautiful redheads approaching. I say hello and ask if I can take a photo. This is Linda and Evelina. They are sisters. Linda (to the left) lives in Haninge and her younger sister Evelina is visiting from Borås. Linda has done a few photography gigs. Her boyfriend works as a clothes designer for Blue Fox , the biggest punk and hard rock boutique in the country, and she has done some fashion shoots for them. And she has won a few internet photography competitions. Evelina who will be a ninth grader come the fall, is into acting. She has been in a local group for a few years now. Their next play will be A Christmas Carol by Dickens. I take a few shots and they tell me that as it's Sunday they are not really dressed in their normal fashion, we look way cooler in the week days. Both girls are at Bilddagboken, a Swedish photo community. Here is a link to Evelina's site. And here's Linda's site. We talk a little more and they we say goodbye.

This is my 53th photo for the 100 Strangers project. You can see the rest of my strangers in my Set.

The Bird Man

I'm on the bike and have to stop as two men are blocking the path at the ancient grave field in Jordbro, where their dogs are running up and down. And that's how I met my Stranger #28. Meet the Bird Man. Aspiring musician (guitarist and song writer), dad and dog owner. As we talk about the 100 Strangers project I mention some of the people I have met. He says that he knows who Gizzen is and that he knows Stacta. I then ask what kind of music he plays. Oh, you know, Pop, Rock and Soul. After a few more questions I realise that he sometimes plays with my brother! It's a small world. If you want to hear some of Bird Man's music check out his MySpace site. This is my 28th photo for the 100 Strangers project. You can see the rest of my strangers in my Set.

Horse Carriage Ride

Thomas from the horse farm at Björklunda out on a horse carriage ride at the ancient grave field in Jordbro. I told him that I had a few photos from the farm at flickr, but it turns out it was just two panoramas and two horse photos.

Burned-out car

Every week I find one or two stolen, crashed and vandalized car on my bike rides around Haninge. looks like it's a new sport among the young and stupid. This one can be seen at the ancient grave field in Jordbro.

At the Nature Reserve

The old Viking road at the ancient grave field in Jordbro. There's a nature reserve here called Gullringskärret that I enjoy walking around in. I took this shot just so that I can go back in a few weeks time for the summer version. Last summer I met a Hedgehog here.

A Bronze Age Promenade

One of my favorite places for a autumn promenade. Through the forest and over the grave field in Jordbro. The graves dates back to the Bronze Age. If you get tired there's a few benches and if you get hungry there are a few fire places that anyone can use. And come to think of it, It's not a bad place for a Spring promenade either,

Clones in Jordbro

It is Clones week at Haninge Daily Photos this week.

Amazing weather today. The clones suggested that we would go out and take some autumn photos. Here you can see three of them resting and/or posing on a bench at the ancient grave field in Jordbro.