Boitin stone dance
| Boitin stone dance | |||
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 Bridal drawer |
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| Coordinates | 53 ° 46 '19 " N , 11 ° 57' 18" E | ||
| place | Tarnow , Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania , Germany | ||
| Emergence | Iron age | ||
The Boitiner stone dance is a prehistoric cult and burial place between the Tarnow district Boitin and Dreetz near Bützow in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania . Today a signposted path leads to the monument, first mentioned in 1765.
The complex, popularly known as the stone dance, consists of three neighboring stone circles and the 4th stone circle about 150 m away, with a total of 30 menhirs up to 1.6 m high that stand in clearings in the forest. The main stone of the large circle, the so-called “Bride's Ark”, has 13 (11 of them visible) square holes on the inside, which are of modern origin. The circles have diameters of 8.0 m, 11.5 m, 13.2 m and 13.6 m. A fifth circle with a diameter of 6 m and 10 stones is said to have existed earlier. The age of the complex can only be estimated; finds from the Iron Age can point to subsequent burials.
legend
There is a legend about the origin of the stone circles. A long time ago a splendid farmer's wedding took place in the village of Dreetz. Everyone present was hilarious and funny and the celebration was in full swing. In their exuberance, some farmers had the idea of bowling with food such as bread, cakes and sausages. A ghost in the form of an old man who suddenly appeared at the feast urged them to stop this outrage . The peasants mocked the old man and did not listen to him. As a punishment, all participants of the festival were turned into stones (big stone dance). The bride's treasure (bride's chest) was not spared from the transformation either.
A shepherd and his dog were tending a flock of sheep nearby. He had watched the action, but had not taken part in the bowling. The old man told him to flee immediately with his sheep and not look back. The shepherd took the advice. When he was a bit away from the fairground, he became too curious. To avoid breaking the ban, he didn't turn around, but bent down and looked between his legs. At that moment he, his dog and the herd also turned to stones (Little Stone Dance).
In the St. John's Night (June 24) the bride charging should hang out a red thread from the 13th hole. A youth brave enough to pull out the thread can use it to redeem everyone and keep the treasure of the bride's ark.
Stone calendar
The circles I, II and III together form the "Great Stone Dance". District IV, the “Little Stone Dance”, is 140 meters southeast of it. One stone of circle III is split in the middle, both halves are close together and yet far enough to move from the center of circle I (there was probably an observation point in circle I as in circles II and III) over the middle of circle III looking away to the middle of circle IV. Besides the three midpoints there are at least four stones with the "visor stone" of III in this direction, which forms the exact angle 133 ° 11 '29 "with the north. The sunrise point for the winter solstice is determined here and thus The age-old New Year's Day. The 28 days of the month were counted in the “Great Stone Dance.” The 13 months (= lunar revolutions) of the year were noted on the 13 stones of the “Small Stone Dance.” An additional stone outside the circles counted the 365th day of the Year, ie New Year's Day (28 days × 13 months + 1 New Year's day = 365 days). Every 4 years the sun rose one day later. At circle IV a correction was made with 4 stones around the circle are arranged. Every 4th year the winter solstice was celebrated one day later or the celebration was extended by one day. This observation was recorded and counted through the arrangement of the additional stones. This compensated for the 1/4 day and the year was fixed by observation at 365 1/4 days per year.
literature
- Johannes Groht: Menhirs in Germany. State Office for Monument Preservation and Archeology Saxony-Anhalt, Halle (Saale) 2013, ISBN 978-3-943904-18-5 , pp. 183–186.
Web links
- Stone dance at Bützow based on Werner Timm and RJ Gorsleben
- Boitiner stone dance with basic plan
- Grosssteingraeber.de The stone dance Boitin near Bützow.