Shadows of a Forgotten World

In many of Lviv's old buildings there is a carriage entrance way, a driveway which led from the street to the courtyard for carriages to pass through. Along the sides of the entranceway there is an elevated platform, the main purpose of which I believe is to act as a curb, for the carriage not to bump into the walls, holding a similar purpose as the guard stones , which often flank the doorways. Maybe it could have also been used as a carriage step . Most are stone, but I have come across a few wooden ones.

A sampling of Stockholm's various kinds of guard stones . Stone Cannon Pipes Finding these only confirmed that the cannon that I saw in Riga  were indeed used as guard stones Next to this cannon is a rune stone, which is 1,000 years old.  More info about it here . Metal