Miekka kivessä – Suomen alueen miekanhiontakivien uudelleenarviointi

The paper discusses the seven so called sword sharpening stones (Fi. miekanhiontakivi) or groove stones – stones with polished grooves and polishing surfaces known in Finland. These stones have been traditionally been considered to date from the Iron Age (500 BCE – 1200 CE) and to have been part of Iron Age rituals. The ritual function must be seen as unfounded, as all the features of these stones can be explained with processing polishes stone tools either in the Stone Age or in the Iron Age. This is supported by international parallels, like morphologically identical Neolithic polisseur stones in France. The exact dating of Finnish groove stones must be left open. They are certainly prehistoric, but otherwise archaeological excavation would be needed to assess the dating more precisely.