"The Venus from Svinesund"

A fertility symbol from the stone age

"The Venus from Svinesund", an extraordinary find from the stoneage it is, about 7.000 years old. It is most likely a fertility symbol as it is shaped as the lower part of a woman's body. Size is about 25 mm.

It is extraordinary, because it was made from a mussle fossil, there are no parallells. However, it is quite common to find unprepared animal teeth, snail shells, etc. used for decoration or an amulet with magic powers,  some probably being female fertility symbols.

During a motorway construction across Svinesund on the southern border between Norway and Sweden, the artifact was found during the archaeological excavations preceding the building of the road.

Replicas of the original are made as key rings.