Galgenberg (Vahlberg)
The Galgenberg is a large burial mound in Klein Vahlberg in Lower Saxony , which was archaeologically examined in 1907 . In the Middle Ages and early modern times , the hill served as a place of execution with a gallows . The elevation is made of an oak and is protected as a natural monument .
location
The Galgenberg is located in a spur position on a slight hill which offers a wide view over the Braunschweiger Land . The burial mound with a diameter of about 20 meters belongs to a group of burial mounds between Elm and Asse , which are considered to be princely graves. These include the four-meter-high Meescheberg with a diameter of 45 meters south of Klein Vahlberg; the Evessen tumulus , the partially destroyed Muspott near Eilum , as well as two other mounds near Evessen that were excavated in the 18th century and have since been removed . The tombs dominated the landscape due to their location on the hilltops. There is a line of sight between Galgenberg and Meescheberg.
Hill construction
According to the archaeological excavations of 1907, which were carried out according to today's scientific standards, the Galgenberg was built around 1800 BC. Between the Late Neolithic and the Early Bronze Age . At first he was a little hill that over two crouched burials and grave goods loose body funeral was created. Around the late Bronze Age , the hill was heaped up to half its current height and there was another body burial on a stone packing. Then the hill was filled up to its present height. In the first half of the 7th century, an elderly woman was buried inside the hill. The grave was 1.4 meters above the stone packing and 2.2 meters below the surface of the hill. The buried was 1.57 meters tall and of graceful stature. Her grave was provided with a number of grave goods , some of which are now lost. In the 7th or 8th century, there was another burial on the hilltop by burning corpses .
Grave goods
The gifts of the woman, who was buried in the first half of the 7th century, include a vaulted-wall pot with a standing base and an almost old wooden vessel with rim fittings made of sheet bronze. This includes two further fittings made of gold-plated bronze sheet, decorated with braided ribbons.
In the grave there were blue and yellow glass beads, an oval iron buckle bracket and chain link-like iron objects as well as a hook wrench as a possible part of a belt hanger . In addition, two shield buckles with rectangular fittings and a solidly cast strap tongue with an animal-style ornament made of gold-plated bronze were recovered . They belonged to a calf tie set for fixing trousers in place that were worn by wealthy Franconian and Alemannic women. The finds indicate contacts in the southern German cultural area.
Due to the burial site in an exposed location, the construction of a large burial mound, the form of burial and the quality of the grave goods, archaeologists suspect that the buried person belonged to the upper class of the local population. The buried person could have been an Alemannic woman who brought jewelry from her home country while she was still alive.
literature
- Michael Geschwinde : Klein Vahlberg, Tumuli Meescheberg and Galgenberg. In: Wolf-Dieter Steinmetz (editor): The Braunschweiger Land. Guide to the archaeological monuments in Germany 34, 1997, pp. 308-310
- Lutz Grundwald: The early medieval burial in the Galgenberg. In: Wolf-Dieter Steinmetz (editor): The Braunschweiger Land. Guide to the archaeological monuments in Germany 34, 1997, pp. 310-314
- Babette Ludowici: Monument with a view: the grave mound of Klein-Vahlberg. In: Babette Ludowici (Ed.): Saxones , Theiss, Darmstadt 2019, pp. 246-251
Web links
- The tumulus in Evessen. In: denkmalpflege.braunschweigischelandschaft.de. (Cross section through the Galgenberg).
- Carsten Schröder: Galgenberg. In: fotocommunity.de. April 12, 2008 (photo).
- Jürgen Mewes: Klein Vahlberg. In: braunschweig-touren.de. May 4, 2007 .
Coordinates: 52 ° 7 '39.9 " N , 10 ° 43' 8.3" E