Swedish viking geocoin - Holmfast's wolf

The idea for this coin was to make a rather simple design and turn it to get different sceneries: a forest, a field, a campfire and the sea. On top of the sceneries are prints of different petroglyphs from my area. The backside is from a gilded clasp fro the 8th century found of Gotland, showing characteristic animal ornaments. 

This version, Holmfast's wolf, is a part of a larger rune carving just a few hundred meters from where I live.The carving has three parts, two of them are more like classical rune carvings with text

The first says (approximately) "Holmfast cleared this road to honor Ingegärd his good mother"

The second says "Holmfast cleared this road and built a bridge after Gamal his father, who lived in Näsby. God save his soul. Östen (carved these runes)"

The third carving is the wolf itself.

The road Holmfast built was probably a precursor of "Göta Landsväg", a famous medieval main road from Stockholm to the south parts of the country. The road is still in use today and bears Holmfasts name. The carving is dated to about 1000 AD, it's quite possible that remnants of Holmfsts bridge and road is still to be found underneath it. I find it quite fascinating that we still travel the same roads 1000 years later.

There is a cache at the carving, Holmfast (GC19VEP) You can see some photos of the stone in the logs. 

 

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