The Damestenen ("Stone of the Ladies" in English), also referred as ''Hesselagerstenen'' ("Large stone of Hesselager"), is a

glacial erratic A glacial erratic is glacially deposited rock differing from the type of rock native to the area in which it rests. Erratics, which take their name from the Latin word ' ("to wander"), are carried by glacial ice, often over distances of hundred ...

located near Svendborg, in the south-east of Fionia, Denmark.

Geography

The boulder is the biggest glacial erratic in Denmark, followed by the

Tirslund Rock Tirslund Rock or Tirslundstenen is a glacial erratic in Denmark. Deposited during the Ice Age it lies 4 km west of Brørup. It is Jutland's largest granite boulder and the second largest in Denmark after the Damestenen. Its height is 3.5 me ...

. It stands close to the village of Hesselager, some 20 km northeast of Svendborg; located in a field, it can be reached by a country lane named ''Damestenensvej''.

Features

The Damestenen consists of a block of light grey

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

dating back to the last Last Glacial Period. Its height is 12 m, the circumference is 46 m, and its weight is 1000

ton Ton is the name of any one of several units of measure. It has a long history and has acquired several meanings and uses. Mainly it describes units of weight. Confusion can arise because ''ton'' can mean * the long ton, which is 2,240 pounds ...

History

The boulder is mentioned by the Danish theologian Erik Pontoppidan in his work titled ''Den Danske Atlas'' (1763–1781). In 1840, during

Christian VIII Christian VIII (18 September 1786 – 20 January 1848) was King of Denmark from 1839 to 1848 and, as Christian Frederick, King of Norway in 1814. Christian Frederick was the eldest son of Hereditary Prince Frederick, a younger son of King Frederi ...

's kingdom, the boulder was analysed by the geologist Johan Georg Forchhammer, who suggested to excavate around it in order to determine its size and to check if it was connected to the underground

bedrock In geology, bedrock is solid Rock (geology), rock that lies under loose material (regolith) within the crust (geology), crust of Earth or another terrestrial planet. Definition Bedrock is the solid rock that underlies looser surface mater ...

. In 1843 the Damestenen was actually excavated on its northeast side. A folk legend tells that it was thrown from the north of the Langeland island by a female giant aiming to destroy the

spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spires are ...

of Svindinge's church, but in spite of the giant's strength the stone felt midway.

References

External links

{{Commons category-inline, Dammestenen Glacial erratics of Denmark