The builder's bridge: Gliastenen

In the suburbs of Stockholm, a 1000-year-old runestone tells the tale of a road that was built over marshland - a road named for the man who paid for it, perhaps. This narrative evokes the mysteries of how ancient roads came to be.

The 1000-year-old Gliastenen or Glia runestone stands in the Stockholm suburb of Riksby at a place called Kvarnbacksvägen, beside Linta Gravfält or tombfield to the English. The stone was moved from Glia Gravfält, where it once stood near a gate along the region's ancient Gliavägen. However, the runes on the stone read that it was dedicated by Thialfi and his companions, to a man who presumably built a 'bro' (a bridge) over marshland and not the old Gliavägen itself. It is notable that the builders of the runestone were Christian.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons

The builder's bridge: Gliastenen

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