Lyssna
Labyrinths and other ancient remains
You can find many different sorts of remains on the islands in the Archipelago, the most common being sites of fishing villages, fishing net drying mounds and labyrinths.
The numerous labyrinths are perhaps the most exciting remains left by the original dwellers on the islands.
Already 3,000 years ago this pattern was recorded on clay tablets and in other documents from the area around the Mediterranean Sea. The custom of laying out labyrinths most probably came to Scandinavia a few hundred years B.C. In the beginning they were most likely used for magic and fertility rites. It is quite possible that when Christianity was established in Sweden the use of these labyrinths was changed somewhat and they were then used in the hope of bringing about good weather and successful fishing.
The custom of laying out labyrinths in the Norrbotten coastal areas was most probably established during the 14th century. It was around this time that Sweden, as it existed then, began colonizing the Norrbotten coast and northern Norrland. It is likely that seasonal fishermen followed in the footsteps of the colonizers and brought the idea of the labyrinth with them.
The Archipelago dwellers continued to lay out labyrinths, and as a result over a hundred of them, from different periods, can be found on the islands in Norrbotten´s archipelagos.
The concentration of labyrinths in the Norrbotten archipelagos is the largest in the world. Of the approximately 300 known labyrinths in Sweden, around 100 are to be found on these islands.
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