Gillhög

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Gillhög entrance
Gillhög with entrance
Scheme of passage grave (cross-section) 1 = support stone, 2 = cap stone, 3 = mound, 4 = seal, 5 = wedge stones, 6 = access, 7 = threshold stone. 8 = floor slabs, 9 = sub-floor depots, 10 = intermediate masonry 11 = curb stones

The Gillhög is a megalithic complex near Barsebäk (RAÄ-Nr. Barsebäck 12: 1) in the municipality of Kävlinge in Skåne in Sweden . It contains the best preserved passage grave ( Swedish Gånggrift ). The passage grave was created between 3500 and 2800 BC. As a megalithic system of the funnel beaker culture (TBK) and 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. 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.

The hill lies on the Öresund and has always been the landmark for seafarers on the borderline between Lomma Bay and Lundåkra Bay. According to tradition, it was named after the Viking chief Erik Gille.

description

The chamber from the Swedish Neolithic period examined by Otto Rydberg in 1931/32 is located in a cairn covered with earth, about 25.0 m in diameter and 2.5 m high. The walls of the chamber consist of twelve supporting stones. The ceiling consists of three boulders , the largest of which weighs 15 tons . The six meter long, 2.2 m wide and 2.1 m high oval chamber can be reached through the six meter long corridor made of four pairs of bearing stones, which is 0.5 m higher at the chamber transition than at the beginning. It was covered by four capstones and faces east. Skulls and skeletal parts as well as arrowheads , axes and jewelry were found in the corridor of the Gillhög, some of which date from the end of the Neolithic and belonged to subsequent burials .

During excavations, thousands of decorated ceramic shards mixed with fist-sized stones were found in an area about five by six meters in front of the corridor . Similar finds come from the neighboring Storegården passage grave and from the Skåne dolmen on Dösabacken and Örenäsgånggriften .

Two secondary graves, two stone boxes , in the north-eastern area of ​​the Gillhög provided information about end-Neolithic Skåne stone boxes. The medium-sized boxes, closed on all sides, are between 2.5 and 2.75 m long and 80 cm wide. One of the boxes was covered by three large boulders. The floor was paved with pebbles . Despite its size, it contained only a skeleton, stretched out on its back. The grave goods , a dagger , a triangular arrowhead made of flint and a small, undecorated clay vessel lay on the head.

Nearby lies passage grave Manhögarna and the Dolmen Hofterupsdösen .

See also

literature

  • 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 .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Johannes Müller : Neolithic Monuments and Neolithic Societies . In: Varia neolithica, Vol. 6 . Verlag Beier & Beran, Langenweissbach 2009, p. 15, ISBN 978-3-941171-28-2 (total p. 7-16).

Web links

Commons : Gillhög  - collection of images, videos and audio files


Coordinates: 55 ° 45 ′ 44 ″  N , 12 ° 56 ′ 45 ″  E