5. Silverflickans grav

The Silver Girl’s grave

Roughly 100 metres to the northeast, there are the minor remains of a grave from the Iron Age. The grave was excavated in 1949 and contained the remains of a young woman and her grave gifts. The grave was in sand and was covered by two large limestone slabs and many small boulders. The woman had probably been buried in a wooden coffin, but there were only vague traces left. She had been buried with a decorated clay vessel, two fibulas in bronze and two in silver, 21 glass beads, a bone comb, and a needle holder made of bone.
The clay vessel is so similar to one found in Simris, further down the Tommarp stream, that it is clear that the farmers in Gårdlösa and Simris must have been in touch with each other.
One of the silver fibulas contains the runic inscription EKUNWODR. The inscription originates from the third century, which makes it one of Sweden’s oldest runic inscriptions. The contents of the grave are in the Museum of National Antiquities in Stockholm. The surrounding cultivated arable land contains the remains of several stone circles from the Iron Age, including a square stone circle and some judges’ rings.As the land round about is cultivated, you may not set foot on it without the landowner’s permission.