hbct.edu.sa Portal
Atlas Obscura - Latest • Feb. 6, 2026, 9:15 p.m.
Luss Hogback Stone in Luss, Scotland
In the shadow of a Victorian church lies an 11th-century Norse grave marker, the last tangible whisper of Viking raiders who once terrorised the bonnie banks. Tucked among the weathered headstones of Luss Parish Church, this peculiar hump-backed boulder is easy to mistake for an eroded rock or forgotten grave.
But look closer at its curved silhouette and you're gazing at a miniature Viking longhouse, a stone "hall for the dead" carved to guide a Norse soul to Valhalla. Hogback stones are an enigma of the Dark Ages.
These Anglo-Scandinavian grave markers appear nowhere in Scandinavia itself. They exist only in Britain, concentrated in areas of Viking settlement along the trading routes that once connected York to Dublin.
But look closer at its curved silhouette and you're gazing at a miniature Viking longhouse, a stone "hall for the dead" carved to guide a Norse soul to Valhalla. Hogback stones are an enigma of the Dark Ages.
These Anglo-Scandinavian grave markers appear nowhere in Scandinavia itself. They exist only in Britain, concentrated in areas of Viking settlement along the trading routes that once connected York to Dublin.
Related
