"Over two hundred Iron Age graves crowned by towering standing stones along the Bohuslan coast"
Greby grave field
Grebbestad, Västra Götalands län, Sweden
On a coastal hillside north of Grebbestad, more than two hundred Iron Age graves spread across the Bohuslan landscape, their burial mounds crowned by standing stones that rise up to four and a half metres above the earth. This is the largest grave field in Bohuslan, dating to the Migration Period around 400-500 AD, where a prosperous trading community honored its dead with monumental stone markers visible from both land and sea.
Weather & Best Time
Plan Your Visit
Save this site and start planning your journey.
Quick Facts
Location
Grebbestad, Västra Götalands län, Sweden
Site Type
Coordinates
58.7008, 11.2611
Last Updated
Feb 17, 2026
Learn More
Bohuslan's largest Iron Age grave field, where a prosperous trading community buried its dead with standing stone markers during the Migration Period.
Origin Story
The Greby community buried its dead on this hillside during the Migration Period, roughly 400-500 AD. They cremated the deceased, placed the burnt bones in clay pots, and buried them beneath mounds of earth or within stone settings. For graves of particular importance, they erected standing stones, bautastenar, that rose above the burial mounds like declarations visible across the landscape and from the sea.
For generations, the local story was different. Legend held that Greby was the resting place of Scottish warriors who had invaded Tanum, raiding as far inland as Bullaren before the people of Bohuslan fought back and defeated them. The tall standing stones were read as warrior markers, fitting the narrative of a great battle and its aftermath.
In June 1873, Oscar Montelius arrived to excavate eleven of the graves. What he found overturned the legend entirely. No weapons. No shields. No evidence of warfare. Instead: glass pearls, bone combs, bronze fittings, pieces of clay urns containing cremated remains. The dead of Greby were traders, not warriors, connected by commerce to Norway, England, and Germany.
Key Figures
Oscar Montelius
Distinguished Swedish archaeologist who excavated eleven graves at Greby in June 1873, debunking the Scottish warrior legend
Spiritual Lineage
Greby belongs to the broader tradition of Iron Age monumental burial in Scandinavia, where standing stones and cairns marked the graves of significant community members. The site's location in the Tanum area places it within one of Scandinavia's richest archaeological landscapes, which includes the UNESCO World Heritage Bronze Age rock carvings at Vitlycke. The transition from the earlier Bronze Age rock art tradition to the Migration Period burial practices at Greby reflects the evolution of sacred landscape use across millennia on the Bohuslan coast.
Know a Sacred Site We Should Include?
Help us expand our collection of sacred sites. Share your knowledge and contribute to preserving the world's spiritual heritage.