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If one had come to Jelling around 950 the church and the church yard
had not been there, the runic stones and the mounds had not been there
either,
but in stead there was the biggest boats in the world, build of gigantic
stones.
The stone ship had a length of 170 meter (2 football
pitches),
and at the north end of the ship was a mound from the bronze age. The south end
of the
ship was where Møllers Barbershop is to day.
This hole gigantic lay out had been finished about 950.
What was the use of this
great boat lay out?
Well, one could imagine that an important and below able person has
died in Jelling and this should be a worthy memory and stately funeral. It
might be Queen Thyra.
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Queen
Thyra
Gipsstatue
udført af H.W.Bissen 1853
Kan ses på museet Kongernes Jelling
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She has been buried somewhere in
the ship, perhaps right in the middle, and Gorms stone of memory over Thyra may have been standing in the bow of
the ship or by Queen Thyra´s grave.
A
little
later, when they were christened, the church yard was erected across the middle of the
ship, so if Queen
Thyra was buried there, then she was in consecrated earth now. As already
mentioned Gorm the Old was moved from his grave in the North Mound
to consecrated earth in the first wooden church.
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King
Gorm the Old’s runic stone |
Gorm becomes old and dies.
Harald Blåtand decides to build a place for a grave in the old mound
from the bronze age at the north end of the ship.
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They duck in the old mound and built a grave chamber made of 35
cm. thick oak beams, and there was build floor maid of oak planks.
The grave chamber is 6,75 meter long and 2,60 meter wide and is 1,45
meter high. The floor in the grave chamber is placed 1,75 meter above ground
level outside the mound.
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The grave chamber is placed east
- west.
When Gorm has been placed in the grave chamber, they place thick oak
beams as ceiling. Then 1500 large stones are placed overall above the mound
from the bronze age.
Above all that they build a much higher mound, the one we to day call
The North Mound, (Thyras Mound). There was only used grass turf, which
they planed from the fields around Jelling, and they were carried to The
North Mound. It must have taken some years to build the mound and the work
has probably been conducted by slaves.
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Thyra´s mound is 8,5 meter high
and 65 meter wide.
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Thyras
mound |
A
piece of wood with bark was placed in a ct-scanner and it showed
that the wood had been cut in the winter 958-959, so it must have been the time
of Gorms funeral. To day the grave chamber has fallen down totally.
A short time after that they build an even larger mound, The South
Mound (Gorm´s Mound).
They must be of the same height, and because the terrain falls 2 1/2
meter, they had to build the mound 2 ½ meter higher.
No trace is found in the grave chamber in the South Mound. It is 11
meter high and 80 meter wide.
Some of the wooden peaces found in the mound has been dated. They are
from the years 965 970. So The South Mound has been build some years after
The North Mound.
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Harald Blåtand was christened
after pressure from the German emperor , and (it is told) the clerk Popo carried red-hot iron in his hands without
being hurt to prove that the Christian belief is stronger than the heathen
belief.
It was the time of unrest and upheaval of religion in Denmark, and
smaller areas had already been christened. Over and over churches abroad had
sent their people to the Danish kings and the Danish people since
Willibrord in 720 visited Agantyr.
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About
965-70 Harald Blåtand
erected a gigantic stone in remembrance of his father and mother. It is carved with Christian symbols, Christ figures
and runic letters.
The weight of the stone is about 10 tons.
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About the same time Harald Blåtand builds the first christen church
in Jelling. It was build of wood just like the way they always build
houses at that time, and the wooden poles were dug into the wet clay in the
underground. The first wooden church was bigger than the present
church, and it was placed inside the stone ship, at the same place as the stone
church is situated to day.
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