Domarringarna

The burial ground, with five or six large doom rings, is located on a flat, sandy area to the west of a double bend in the Nissan River and 1.5 km northeast of the central part of the community of Smålandsstenar. Villstads hembygdsgård is located next to the burial ground. The Domar rings consist of six to twenty standing, or now fallen, stones, while one of the rings has a block in its center. In the largest one, which contains twenty stones, the diameter is a full 20 m. There have probably been other graves where the stones have been removed to be included in other constructions. It was not until the beginning of the 19th century, when the priest Daniel Nordin pointed out that the area contained irreplaceable ancient monuments, that the public realized that it should be preserved. In the past, it was believed that this was an important meeting place between Smålanders, Hallonians and Västergötlanders, a notion that is now considered by the County Administrative Board to have no historical background.

However, the location along the Nissan and the ancient Nissastigen does not rule out that here was still a meeting place of importance, or a stop for all those who traveled by road and water. As for the name, it doesn't necessarily mean that it has to come from smale, a grazing place for goats and sheep. It could just as well be formed by small lands (bygder), which are part of the landscape of Småland. The first name Skäppekullen may come from the Old Swedish word skipa, meaning to do justice, organize, decide. In other words, the hill where decisions were made.