Burial mound royal tomb
The Bronze Age grave mound Königsgrab is located on the "Hohekamp", northeast of Harsefeld in the Stade district in Lower Saxony . There are 22 more burial mounds here. The royal grave mound was at the highest point and was the largest with a diameter of about 25.0 m and a height of four meters. The hill, also known as Osterberg, was dug through by the owner in 1910/11.
During the follow-up examination carried out by the amateur archaeologist Hans Müller-Brauel , it was found that the core of the hill consisted of heaped stones and was surrounded by an earth's mantle. At the center there was a 1.0 × 0.7 m stone box made of seven wall stones, one floor stone and one cap stone. It contained piled corpse burns, a clay vessel, and a richly decorated knife and razor (with a ship depiction) made of bronze .
The royal tomb is an example of cremation that began in the late Bronze Age . The mound and the burial chamber represent traditional elements, the cremation a new element in the custom of the dead.
literature
- Hans-Jürgen Häßler (Ed.): Prehistory and early history in Lower Saxony . Theiss, Stuttgart 1991, ISBN 3-8062-0495-0 , p. 437