Gryet, some west of

Nexø Nexø, sometimes spelled Neksø ( sv, Nexö), is a town on the east coast of the Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages *Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Pruss ...

and just north of Bodilsker on the

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

island of Bornholm, is a site with one of Denmark's largest collections of

megalith A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. There are over 35,000 in Europe alone, located widely from Sweden to the Mediterranean sea. The ...

s with tall upright stones standing among the trees in a little wood.

The site

Gryet is on high ground which was once surrounded by water or marshes. In the

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...

, those living in the area found it to be an ideal site for their graves. There were once over 60 stones but several have been removed and many have now fallen to the ground. The highest, once standing on the mound at the southern side of the wood, was removed in the 17th century to be used as a gravestone. The megaliths, which bear no inscription, stand over graves where the remains of burnt bones are buried. In the early

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...

and late

(1100 BC), it appears to have been common practice to set megaliths over graves of this kind. The stones stand alone or in small groups. As the site has not been archeologically investigated, it is not known why the stones were raised there. Another important megalithic site on Bornholm is

Louisenlund Stiftung Louisenlund is a privately run boarding school for boys and girls in Güby, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. History The school's main building is in Louisenlund Castle, which was built by Hermann von Motz between 1772 and 1776 for Prince C ...

near

Østermarie Østermarie is a village on the Danish island of Bornholm, west of Svaneke. Founded ca. 1880, its old church ('' Østermarie Church''), now a ruin, dates back to the 12th century.

."Louisenlund bei Østermarie auf Bornholm"
''Bornholmerguiden''. Retrieved 14 November 2012.Martin Stoltze, "Sten for de døde"
Kulturarv.dk. Retrieved 14 November 2012.

Preservation

It was thanks to

Emil Vedel Emil or Emile may refer to: Literature *'' Emile, or On Education'' (1762), a treatise on education by Jean-Jacques Rousseau * ''Émile'' (novel) (1827), an autobiographical novel based on Émile de Girardin's early life *'' Emil and the Detecti ...

, governor of Bornholm from 1866, that the site has been preserved. In 1870, he noticed that some of the stones were being broken up and removed. By 1875 he had managed to have the site listed, saving it from further damage.

References

{{coord, 55, 04, 17, N, 15, 04, 06, E, display=title Bornholm Megalithic monuments in Denmark