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| Keywords: Remarkable Stone in Larkoul (JW Edy plate 63).jpg Artwork Creator John William Edy en Remarkable Stone in Larkoul No LXIII A REMARKABLE STONE Throughout the northern nations Norway Sweden Denmark and even England are to be seen singular stones of uncommon size and exhibiting indications of art; they are held in traditional reverence by the natives in their vicinity and afford even to the learned abundant matter for research and speculation By the vulgar they are dignified with superstitious attributes and fabulous stories ; in Sweden they are even worshipped That they were collected and used by the ancients in the earliest ages of the world and either placed singly or arranged in regular order for some unknown purpose is unquestionable as appears from our Stone-henge and similar circles called druidical monuments or temples in various parts of Great Britain and in other northern countries Yet with regard to their original uses and the period of their erection all research is baffled and terminates only in conjecture Whether the single specimens or circular ranges are of the earliest date is a question which I will leave to be solved by the antiquary; and by what unknown powers the stones were removed to distant parts from their native beds or placed in their present position it is for the mechanist to demonstrate The large stone which is the subject of this view has nearly the form of an egg ; it is 26 feet long 15 high and 8 broad; it is perfectly isolated from the ground and appears to have once stood erect; in its fall it was probably broken at the end which seems to have been its base The substance is a blue green granite the only specimen of that species in the island ; it freely strikes fire with steel and has a compact smooth flinty appearance in the broken part; a sandy or gritty consistence in other parts with a sprinkle of black spots Its position is nearly N and S on a small plain enclosed with trees in the volcanic island described in plate 62 not far from the marines' burial ground which is partly in sight From its very secluded situation there can be little temerity in conjecturing it to have been placed there in early times to point out the sepulchre of some Runic chief; and perhaps some Runic characters may yet exist on its smooth face next the ground At present it is little regarded by casual observers who do not enquire if it has been wrought by hand dropped from the moon or ejected by a volcano All information on the subject as may be expected is so involved in the absurdity of superstition as not to be worthy of the least notice except as an example of the credulity and implicit faith in oral traditions which characterize the lower classes in almost all nations On the summit of many Norwegian mountains which have an horizontal or table-like appearance and are perfectly bare on their tops is frequently to be found a solitary stone of immense size which is visible for miles around Some of these stones have fantastic shapes and there is scarcely one of remarkable magnitude without a name In the woods near Mos there is one 50 feet long 20 broad and 20 high this also appears broken ; and having been evidently wrested round from its original base seems to be by some unknown means placed in an opposite direction Many smaller ones are to be seen on the rocks designated in this work Those met with on the plains are generally associated with one or two tall ones curved a little on the tops which incline toward the centre of the circle or area within a well-known instance of which may be seen in Sweden near the road from Swinesund to Gothenburg Collapse bottom http //urn nb no/URN NBN no-nb_digibok_2011072910001 Boydell's picturesque scenery of Norway London 1820 Plate no 63 p 325 in scanned copy no-nb_digibok_2011072910001 PD-Art-100 John William Edy Boydell's picturesque scenery of Norway Larkollen | ||||
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