The Alunda moose or the Alunda axe is a

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several p ...

stone axe c.2000 B.C.that was found during the excavation of a ditch in Norrlövsta i Alunda parish,

Östhammar Municipality Östhammar Municipality (''Östhammars kommun'') is a municipality in Uppsala County in east central Sweden. Its seat is located in the city of Östhammar. The present municipality was created during the local government reform in the late sixti ...

Uppland Uppland () is a historical province or ' on the eastern coast of Sweden, just north of Stockholm, the capital. It borders Södermanland, Västmanland and Gästrikland. It is also bounded by lake Mälaren and the Baltic Sea. On the small uninhab ...

in 1920. The Alunda moose is considered one of the most beautiful animal

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable ...

s of the Nordic

neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several p ...

and is a 21 cm. ceremonial axe carved from greenish black

diorite Diorite ( ) is an intrusive igneous rock formed by the slow cooling underground of magma (molten rock) that has a moderate content of silica and a relatively low content of alkali metals. It is intermediate in composition between low-sili ...

. One side is shaped like a

moose The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult ma ...

head. The sculpture was realized in a naturalistic and elegant manner. The axe has a shaft hole but only had a symbolic function since the hole is not completely bored through and the axe hasn't been used in battle. The axe may originate from Karelia where similar animal depictions are known. It is displayed in the Swedish History Museum.

References

Marius Iršėnas,2000 Elk figurines in the Stone Age art of the Baltic area ''Acta Academiae Arti um Vilnnensis'' pdf

External links

Swedish History Museum database
Sculptures in Sweden Animal sculptures Neolithic Stone sculptures Deer in art {{Sculpture-stub

See also

References

External links