– Do you remember where all the stones should lie?
– Yes absolutely. We know that by heart, it comes quickly and surely from Torleif Oftedal.
Together with Per Inge Ruud, he eagerly tells about the work that has been going on at Domsteinane this week. The ancient stone formation near Hestabekken has seen better days.
– Since the place was rebuilt and opened in 2008, nothing has been done. But now it will be great here again, says Per Inge Ruud.
– Could have been better known
Both are associated with the Sola Historielag, which in its time rebuilt the stone ring. But with time, things grow again, and the volunteers have made sure to keep the attraction accessible to people. Today, loads of bark are placed in the ring, which a little while ago was covered with grass and weeds. The stones have been brushed off and are being put back in place, just as they were.
The domsteinane consists of 24 upright stones placed regularly in a large ring. Starting from them, smaller stones the size of a head lie in straight lines towards the center of the ring. There are eight such lines. In the middle there is a large stone slab. The task force in the history team expects to finish the job this day. They learn that there are many people who use the place to go for a walk, have a picnic or something else. Tourists also come here by buses steadily.
– It is a place that is well visited, but it could be visited even more. We learn that it is often by chance that tourists hear about Domsteinane. It would have been nice if it was better known, says Per Inge Ruud.
Gives people roots
He says that the history team works to give people in Sola roots; identity through knowledge of the place and its history. The active history team has written many articles about Domsteinane.
So what are Domsteinane? In short, nobody knows. It is speculated whether the stone ring symbolizes the wheel of life, the celestial directions, or a place where one could talk to the gods. Perhaps it was a district court place, a theory that has been linked to Erling Skjalgsson. His wedge stones in an almost straight line from Jåsund to Sømme point towards Domsteinane.
A firebrand who never gave up
It is assumed that the stone ring is from the earlier Iron Age, and it is today protected by law. Domsteinane is located in a clearing in the pine forest just under a kilometer from the airport, close to the golf course and on the border between Sola and Ølberg. Some believe it is the Sun’s answer to Stonehenge. For close to 10 years, Sola Historielag worked to bring out and reconstruct this symbol from a distant time.
The stone ring was in the process of disappearing completely. Stones disappeared, when farmers in the area used them as marker stones. In fact, the disappearance of the stones was reported to the police at the time, and it was investigated for a year, according to the history team. But the stones were eventually found. The credit for the Domsteinane being rebuilt is given to the history team’s Kåre Myklebust, who for years worked to reforest the area so that the square came into view.
– Myklebust has probably prevented an exciting cultural monument from being lost forever, Solabladet thought in a leading position in 2007, when the reconstruction was in full swing.
The history team had gone to great lengths to find the stones, and in 2008 the then mayor Håkon Rege was able to declare the mysterious ancient monument reopened with over 150 people present.
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Map the rare Domstones
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