Passage graves in Sweden
The passage graves in Sweden ( Swedish gang handle ) originated between 3500 and 2800 BC. BC as plants of the funnel cup culture (TBK). They are particularly found in the provinces ( Swedish landskap ) Bohuslän , Halland , Schonen and Västergötland . The passage grave is a form of Neolithic megalithic systems, which consists of a chamber and a structurally separated, lateral passage. This form is primarily found in Denmark, Germany and Scandinavia, as well as occasionally in France and the Netherlands.
Concerning the distribution of this type of megalithic complexes from the Neolithic , the country with its 380 systems (excluding the approximately 75 dolmens , the more than 2000 stone boxes and the roos ) is a peripheral area of Nordic megalithic architecture . Neolithic monuments are an expression of the culture and ideology of Neolithic societies. Their origin and function are considered to be the hallmarks of social development.
nomenclature
In order to adapt the stock of gangways to the nomenclature used in Denmark , Germany , Poland and the Netherlands , definitions based on uniform principles would be necessary. At the symposium on megalithic research at Moesgård in Denmark in 1969 it was considered an important task to coordinate the terminology on an objectified basis. This would reduce the number of passage graves in Sweden in favor of dolmens.
Swedish nomenclature
- 230 in Västergötland
- 45 in Skåne,
- 30 Bohuslän
- six in Halland
These systems are divided into:
- A. round chamber with passage
- B. polygonal chamber with passage
- C. Irregular rectangular chamber with passage
(C. with corridors in extension of the chamber).
- D. oval chamber with passage
- E. rectangular chamber with aisle.
There is little difference among the type A-C systems, which are classified outside of Sweden in the dolmen group . Usually they are small systems. The deviations primarily refer to the type of material, changing conceptions during construction and the degree of preservation. They are only common in Bohuslän, Halland and Skåne.
Corridor systems according to multinational nomenclature
As for the corridors (D + E), there are rectangular, rhombic, oval ( Hagestad megalithic systems ) and hybrid chambers , as in the rest of the Nordic area .
- Oval chambers (D) have e.g. B. the corridors at Berg , Glumslövs backar and Örenäs, Glumslöv municipality, Lackalänga No. 10, Lackalänga municipality and Särslöv No. 4, Södervidinge municipality.
- Rectangular chambers (E) have z. B. the corridors Gillhög , Barsebäck and Gröstorp community no. 7, Gladsaxa community, Hög no. 7, Hög community, Rössberga Valtorp and Annehill community, Kävlinge community.
- The Carlshögen chamber with straight gable and curved long sides is not an unusual hybrid shape. Often at least one of the long sides is bulged. In Skåne, this applies to the systems at Norrgärda, municipality of Hammenhög and Tågarp No. 5, municipality of Ö. Tommarp.
- Passage graves
Klövagården, Karleby Municipality - Floor plan of a passage grave
Skår in Stenkyrka according to the Danish-German terminology z. B. no passage grave
According to the Danish-German terminology, Tyfta in Svenneby would e.g. B. a passage grave
Passage grave of Töntorp in Brastad
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If you disregard the small chambers Gladsax 2 , and 18 and other exceptions, the inner length of the chambers in Skåne varies between 3.0 and 6.5 m. The Gillhög and Storegården plants in Barsebäck municipality are the largest.
Gentle
In 2006, a buried passage grave was discovered on Skälshög near Odarslöv, north of Lund .
- Group A includes: Åsahögen from Kvistofta and Ingelstorp No. 25, Ingelstorp Municipality. In addition to another five circular chambers, they can also be addressed as polygonal pillars.
- Group B includes: Gladsax No. 18, Gladsax Parish. It is a small chamber of only 1.8 × 2 m with a single, mighty capstone (of roughly the same dimensions as the dolmen at Hofterup No. 6, municipality of Hofterup). However, due to the long corridors (here about 3.85 m), these systems were viewed in Sweden as an intermediate form between the polygonal pole and the corridor system.
- Group C includes: The Stora Kungsdösen (Great King's Dolmen), selected as a sample of this form , in the municipality of Östra Torp, is one of only three double-aisle graves (Swedish Dubbelgånggrifter) in Sweden.
- Only the forms (D + E), (Storegården), the passage of which starts (approximately) from the middle of the long side of the chamber, are also understood as passage systems outside of Sweden.
The five variants are spread over Skåne. The plants also occur mainly in the coastal areas, where they are located in groups. A specialty of Skåne, parallel to Mecklenburg , is the high number of quarters (called sections in Sweden) within the passage graves.
Sweden's only three double- aisle graves are found in Skåne, Snarring , Stenhögen (or Kävlinge 1: 1) and Stora Kungsdösen .
Västergötland
The number in the other parts of the country with megalithic systems is remarkably low compared to the 230 systems in Västergötland. Västergötland's facilities are not distributed across the province, but are concentrated in an area of only 40 × 25 km, the Falbygden between Vänern and Vättern (e.g. Kyrkerör in Ort and Firse Sten , Kung Björns Grav , Luttra 1 and 2 and Vårkumla 1 and 2 ) around Falköping . The Västergötland group was formerly considered a late branch of the megalithic culture. But above all the results of the investigation of Rössberga , municipality of Valtorp indicated a comparable age as that of the other plants in the area of the funnel beaker culture. Your connection with Bohuslän , which was emphasized earlier, is not tenable, as there are finds in Västergötland that show connections to Skåne and Denmark. Västergötland's facilities ( Ekornavallen burial ground ) mostly have rectangular chambers, which are often considerably longer than in the rest of the country. They reach lengths of up to 16.0 m and are therefore larger than the Danish systems. As in the rest of the country, their width is usually 2.0 to 3.0 m. The largest passage grave in Scandinavia is located near Karleby (Ravarehögen) or Ragnvald's grave has a chamber length of 16.0 m and a passage length of 11.0 meters. It is interesting in Karleby that 13 passage graves were built here parallel to each other.
Bohuslan
The approximately 30 passage graves in Bohuslän have, apart from the fact that rectangular shapes rarely occur in Bohuslän, have the same shapes as the Skåne ( passage grave of Tyfta ). A peculiarity of the province are polygonal ( Gullhögen ) and rhombic ( Lunden ) chambers, which are missing in Skåne. They are widespread on the islands of Orust and Tjörn .
The passage graves in Bohuslän are usually built from boulders and not from split blocks, like the dolmens there. According to the shape, four chamber floor plans can be distinguished:
- Type 1 is polygonal
- Type 2 is rhombic
- Type 3 is oval (the long sides of the chamber lying across the passage bulge slightly, the narrow sides are rounded)
- Type 4 is exactly rectangular
The chambers of type 1 and 2 are relatively small at 2.0–2.5 m. As a rule, they are covered with a single capstone. In relation to the chamber, the passage is often long (2–6 m) and narrow (0.50 m). Usually it was also covered with capstones, exceptionally also with a wooden roof. The latter was the result of the investigation of the untouched and invisible passage grave "Gullhögen" on Tjörn, which was invisible in the hill, and whose passage was uncovered. There are similar examples from Denmark; probably also in Mecklenburg.
In some of the group's passage graves, the shape of the chamber access is of interest. It is usually rectangular and usually as wide as the end of the aisle. In addition, triangular openings of the type appear in Bohuslän, as they occur in the local dolmens. The access stones were appropriately selected or slammed. In Sweden triangular entrances only occur in Bohuslän, so there must be a formal and temporal connection between the dolmens and passage graves.
The passage graves of the third type with oval chambers are usually larger than those of types 1 and 2. The chamber length varies between 2.5 and 6.0 m, the width between 1.5 and 2.5 m. The corridor connects at right angles to the chambers, which are only closed with a single capstone, so that the corridor grave has a T-shaped floor plan. Occasionally, the aisle starts off-center or crooked, as in type 2.
The fourth type follows type 3 in every detail, apart from the rectangular chamber floor plan.
In all types the corridor points to the south-east, rarely to the west, but never to the north-east, as occurs exceptionally in Denmark. All passage graves lie in more or less round, high hills, so that only the tops of the capstones are visible. The hills usually only contain a passage grave.
In contrast to Denmark, Bohuslän does not have megalithic beds . The passage grave mounds are always larger and higher than the dolmen mounds and usually have a round, not very high curb made of closely spaced field stones. As in Skåne, they meet the corridor in an arched or straight line, whereby the stones increase in size in the direction of the corridor and can form an exedra . This feature is, as it appears from the older literature, "characteristic of Nordic passage graves.
The spread of the megalithic graves in Bohuslän shows a certain group-wise occurrence, however, separated into dolmen and passage graves. Whether this is due to a chronological or other difference cannot be decided on the basis of the attachments. The dolmens did not provide any early Neolithic finds.
Halland
There are only 6 passage graves in Halland, three of them in the northern and three in the southern part of the province. The shape of the chamber is rectangular except in Tolarp , Snöstorp municipality, where the gables form angles. With regard to the early ceramics from the damaged corridor in Vessinge, municipality of Veinge, the found material can be assigned to the same point in time as in Skåne.
See also
- List of large stone graves in Sweden
- Nordic megalithic architecture
- Dolmen in Sweden
- Construction crew theory
- Access to megalithic sites
literature
- Lars Bägerfeldt: Megalitgravarna i Sverige. Type, tid, rum och social miljö. 2a, reviderade upplagan. Arkeo Förlaget, Gamleby 1992, ISBN 91-86742-45-0 ( Also : Stockholm, University, dissertation, 1989).
- Edring is different: Gånggriften i Odarslöv. En nyupptäckt megalitgrav. Arkeologisk slutundersökning, 2006. RAÄ 15. Odarslöv socken, 1077, Lunds kommun, Skåne län (= Regionmuseet Kristianstad. Landsantikvarien i Skåne. Rapport. 2007, 12, ISSN 1651-0933 ). Medrag av Magnus Andersson. Regionmuseet Kristianstad - Landsantikvarien i Skåne, Kristianstad 2007.
- Lili Kaelas: Dolmen and passage graves in Sweden. In: Offa . 15, 1956, pp. 5-24.
- Märta Strömberg : The megalithic tombs of Hagestad. On the problem of grave structures and grave rites (= Acta archaeologica Lundensia. Series in octavo. 9). Habelt et al., Bonn 1971, ISBN 3-7749-0195-3 .
- Christopher Tilley: The Dolmens and Passage Graves of Sweden. An Introduction and Guide. Institute of Archeology - University College London, London 1999, ISBN 0-905853-36-9 .
- Jürgen E. Walkowitz: The megalithic syndrome. European cult sites of the Stone Age (= contributions to the prehistory and early history of Central Europe. Vol. 36). Beier & Beran, Langenweißbach 2003, ISBN 3-930036-70-3 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Johannes Müller : Neolithic Monuments and Neolithic Societies. In: Hans-Jürgen Beier , Erich Claßen, Thomas Doppler, Britta Ramminger (eds.): Neolithic monuments and neolithic societies. Contributions from the meeting of the Neolithic Working Group during the annual meeting of the North-West German Association for Ancient Research in Schleswig, 9. – 10. October 2007 (= Varia neolithica. 6 = contributions to the prehistory and early history of Central Europe. 56). Beier & Beran, Langenweißbach 2009, ISBN 978-3-941171-28-2 ; Pp. 7–16, here p. 15.