Runstenen och skeppet : Platser med runsten och skeppssättning i Södermanland under sen vikingatid

Sammanfattning: The purpose of this thesis is to get more knolwledge on a detailed level about places with runestones in close connection with a stone ship in the province of Södermanland. The knowledge touches upon questions how these places were created but also questions about why they were created through the theoretical perspective of cognitive archeology. The thesis starts with dicussing a possibly new discovery of an original stone setting for the runestone from Sannerby, Årdala parish SÖ 319, that was moved from Sannerby in the 18´th century. The thesis will argue that this original stone setting is possibly, by the author, a discovered stone ship. Further twelve places have been investigated in the landscape with or/that have had a runstone in close connection to a stone ship. One main result in the investigation is that almost all these places are in connection with a grave field and two places are also by tradition named as a local ting. These last mentioned two places have also erected flat stones while the other stone ships are built with low rounded stones.  The thesis further shows how and why these places were built, on a cognitive map with symbols in three different themes. The theme of symbols of religion will show that people were much affected by the change of religion from pagan religion to Christianity, and this could express a conflict in the society. The second theme is symbols that express social hierarchy and statements of power, and it expresses high social and economic status with aristocratic farmers who could afford to travel abroad. And the possible importance of language on a high level in the material of the poetic type of runestone texts. The third and final theme is symbols that expresses the marking of a place, one's territory, and the theses suggest that some of these places were created to express the runestones sponsors right to their inheritance, even if the deceased died abroad. But because there was a conflict of religion in the society the close connection to a stone ship could possibly mean that the sponsors of the runestone maybe needed the authority of an older type of monument to prove their right to inheritance. Because not everyone in their local society would accept a Christian runestone as a legal act.