The mystery of the brooding hen stones

The upallated block, known colloquially as the trefotssten, the stenpall, the flygande sten, the liggande höna, the höna på ägg or the ruvande ripa, typically consists of a large block sitting on three smaller stones. It can be likened to a brooding hen or a capon. These stone formations are found worldwide in various shapes and forms. In the typical environment, the stones are found in hilly or sloping boulder fields where the support stones always lie on solid rock and have not sunk into the ground.

In the local tradition, the stones are often associated with stories of being used as sacrificial stones during blots or similar ritual ceremonies, or as dwellings for supernatural beings. Some upallated blocks are equipped with cup marks, known as "älvkvarnar," which may date from the older Iron Age or older. They are frequently found near burial fields or hillforts, and some have even been identified as graves. Similarly, in Sámi belief, the blocks have been used in rituals and surrounded by similar traditions.

Most researchers agree that many of these blocks are a work of nature. In the Nordic area, the common explanation is that ice ages transported erratic blocks that were released onto a layer of sand, gravel, and smaller stones. Over time, sea waves during land uplift or meltwater from remaining glaciers washed away the finer material, leaving behind only the stones that remained trapped under the block. Sometimes there are only one or two support stones, meaning the block has one or two points of support directly on the rock.

However, a small number of occurrences associated with Iron Age burial fields show a different history, as they were clearly placed by human hands. This applies to several burial fields on Öland, Gotland's Trullhalsar, and some burial fields near Nässjö in Småland. Unlike the presumably naturally formed stones, these human-made constructions are of a more modest scale, approximately one meter in size, and often appear as parts of judgment rings or corner blocks in rectangular stone settings.

Controversial theories from new age believers suggest that even the stones not on Iron Age burial fields are megalithic monuments made by human hands. Some of these blocks, many of which resemble stone dolmens, are claimed to have been propped up in the late Stone Age. The tradition is also said to have had a resurgence during a period in the 6th century AD.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons