Comments on‘Heimdall's Stones at Vitemölla in SE Sweden and the Chronology and Stratigraphy of the Surroundings’byMörneret al. (2009)

Mörner, N.‐A. and Lind, B., 2011. Reply: Comments on ‘Heimdall's stones at Vitemölla in SE Sweden and the chronology and stratigraphy of the surroundings’ by Mörner et al. (2009). Geografiska Annaler: Series A, Physical Geography, 93, 197–199. DOI: 10.1111/j.1468‐0459.2011.00429.x     

PUBLICATIONS DE L'ASSOCIATION INTERNATIONALE DES SCIENCES HYDROLOGIQUES

ABSTRACT

The purpose of an hydrometric network is to obtain data giving answers to problems raised by the use of water. The methodology suggested in this paper is essentially based on the regional identification of the actual and potential uses of water, on the estimate of the intensity of their use and on the determination of the hydrological characteristics related to this demand.

The level of accuracy required for these characteristics is an important feature in the rationalization procedure.

The various types of stations are defined according to the purpose of their use and the network considered is on a dynamic basis depending on the evolution of uses. The major results obtained for Quebec by the application of this method are described.     

HEIMDALL'S STONES AT VITEMÖLLA IN SE SWEDEN AND THE CHRONOLOGY AND STRATIGRAPHY OF THE SURROUNDINGS

Heimdall's Stones at Vitemölla is an archaeological monument of stones arranged in circles and where sightlines can be identified of the sunrise and sunset at winter and summer solstices and spring and autumn equinoxes. Therefore, this stone monument is likely to have served as an archaeoastronomic observatory. It is founded in a fossil land surface now covered by half a metre of eolian sand. In order to date this sand drift, sediment coring was performed in the nearby Sandefloen bog. Seven levels were subjected to AMS C14 dating. The first sand drift, correlated with the sand drift covering Heimdall's Stones, was dated at 500–600 cal. bc . Consequently, the observatory has to date back to the Bronze Age, fitting well with its Sun cult and with the rock carvings recorded on the individual stones. At the seashore 500 m east of the observatory and the bog, we were able to reconstruct the sea-level changes. In conclusion, we combine the recorded sea-level changes with the C14-dated bog stratigraphy and the observed stratigraphy at Heimdall's Stones (covering an area of 500×500 m) into one unified picture. The chronostratigraphic position of Heimdall's Stones agrees well with the dating of the Kivik grave. The Vitemölla area is likely to have been an important cultural centre in the Bronze Age.     

Dislocated Quaternary deposits in southeastern Kattegat – a glacial or gravitational phenomenon?

The Quaternary deposits in the Store Middelgrund–Rørdebanke area midway between the island of Anholt and Hallandsåsen on the Swedish coast are described on the basis of reflection seismic profiles with a vertical resolution of 5–10 m. The Quaternary rests on Upper Cretaceous limestone, the surface of which is nearly horizontal. Three Quaternary sequences are defined and interpreted as: (1) Late Weichselian marine or lacustrine deposits, (2) Late Weichselian glaciogenic deposits, and (3) Late Saalian–Eemian and Early–Middle Weichselian deposits. Sequence 3 is probably comparable to the upwards-coarsening sequence known from Skaerumhede in Vendsyssel. The layers in sequence 3 are dislocated in the eastern part of the Store Middelgrund–Rødebanke area mainly by gentle folding, but other types of deformations occur. Folding could be the result of horizontal push from an ice sheet approaching from the east. Alternatively the folding is an effect of vertical, gravitational forces acting on the sediments due to an unstable density profile, as described by the Rayleigh–Taylor instability model. The zone of deformation is located close to the northern flank of the tectonically active Sorgenfrei–Tornquist Zone. It is suggested that the initiation of the folding process was facilitated by tremors from small earthquakes.