There were once many more graves in Old Uppsala than
are visible today. Many were ploughed over when the old burial grounds were put
into use for farming.Others have been used as gravel pits.
Estimations of how
many people were laid to rest here run into thousands.
About 1400 years ago the three royal mounds were
raised; The West Mound, The Middle Mound and the East Mound.
They were built on the terminal moraine, or esker, and
to make them loom even higher the areas between them was dug out.
The kings of the Ynglinga line
According to the Ynglinga saga the kings Aun, Egil and
Adils were buried in Old Uppsala. One interpretation is that these are buried
in the three great mounds.
They belonged to the Ynglinga line which, if the
Icelandic sagas are to be believed, was established in Old Uppsala in the late
The term “The Ynglinga line” is derived from the
fertility god Freyr, also known as Yngve-Freyr. The kings meant they were
descended from him. That three kings were buried in the royal mounds has never
Read on about The east mound