Large dolmen

Large dolmen types

The large dolmen is a megalithic system of the funnel beaker culture (TBK), which is found in the Nordic megalithic architecture , primarily in the east of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania , with two different types of access but also in Poland ( megalithic system from Złotowo ) and in Denmark ( Danish Stordysse ), structurally somewhat different Form occurs. The dolmens were built between 3500 and 2800 BC. Chr.

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.

definition

In Germany dolmens with more than two (to seven) cap stones are called large dolmens and differentiate (only here) into:

Large dolmen with anteroom;
Large dolmen with vestibule; as a mostly coaxial, rarely axial approach.

The wind trap dolmen has its main distribution on the island of Rügen and the mainland opposite the island. The focal point of the anteroom is southeast of it, between Demmin and the island of Usedom as far as Saxony-Anhalt . Some different but very rare designs are reminiscent of extended dolmens or polygonal solutions. There are 146 large dolmen in Mecklenburg, of which Ewald Schuldt examined 44.

2 had a short corridor
3 had access through gaps in the wall
4 were indeterminate
6 had a threshold stone and a door panel
13 had an anteroom
16 had a vestibule

Outside Mecklenburg there are two large dolmen in Schleswig-Holstein ( Großsteingrab Wees , Flensburg district), a few in Lower Saxony and Denmark, but several in Saxony-Anhalt (e.g. Lüdelsen 4 + 5 ).

Großdolmen von Schwinge in the oval giant bed; without recognizable access

Since the width of Nordic megalithic systems is limited due to the raw material, the extension of the length became an essential design goal in the endeavor to enlarge the chambers. Large dolmen with an average of 14 m³ of interior space reach a length of up to 11 m ( large stone grave Kläden in Saxony-Anhalt), which is otherwise only reached by gallery and passage graves . With the large dolmen there are up to seven cap stones on the eight to 18 bearing stones. Some large dolms were built using a wide intermediate masonry on which u. U. also the capstones were placed, extended.

In addition to passage graves, large dolms are a form of construction, the middle capstones of which were sometimes laid in yoke construction (see picture). While there were initially only ceiling structures that derive their statics from the load-bearing capacity of a three-point support, in the later yoke construction two stones (one yoke ) are built into a unit like a trilith . Since the uneven capstone only rests on two points, but the two-point support is very unstable for unprocessed natural stones ( boulders ), on the one hand the two bearing stones were inclined slightly inward. In addition, the ceiling of yokes support one another in the longitudinal direction of the system. Both ends of a row of cap stones created in this way always consist of stable three-point supports, as these give the entire construction the support.

The 44 large dolmen investigated were located in rectangular (5) and tropezoid barn beds (8) as well as under round hills (4), but particularly often under hills covered with boulders (26). Without any knowledge of the type of (removed) hill, only one of the type of installations examined by Schuldt remained. The trapezoidal borders (e.g. Dwasieden , Lancken-Granitz I , Kruckow , Nadelitz, Pöglitz , Poggendorfer Forst ) have guard stones ( sometimes on both sides) . The large dolmen of Gaarzerhof, which initially lay in a very short rectangular barren bed, was finally covered with a round hill.

Systems with anteroom

The systems with anteroom have 6 or more bearing stones, at least 3 cap stones and 2 keystones, whereby the keystone on the access side is usually a plate-like block about half the chamber width, which forms the outer closure at right angles to the long side, coaxially. A threshold stone connects to a frame stone on the other long side.

The ground plan of this type of dolmen is almost always rectangular. The average 0.8 m wide coaxial outer access gap was extended to the outside by half-stones as high as a beam, so that a corridor up to 0.8 m wide and high was created, the length of which rarely exceeds 1.0 m.

The dolmens of this construction are divided into a chamber and an anteroom. The latter is at the end of the access and, with a length between 1.2 and 2.0 m, takes up a third to a quarter of the total area. The antechamber and chamber are separated by a transverse red sandstone slab, which is roughly the same size as the outer end slab and extends below the capstone. It is placed against a supporting stone on the long side or connected to it by dry masonry . In the direction of the entrance, this creates a gap of up to 1.0 m wide as a passage into the chamber, which was provided with threshold and frame stones and could be closed by means of a door panel.

Denmark

Stordysser is the Danish name for large dolmen there, which have a longer chamber and whose axial passage mostly reaches the curbs of the hillside. The Stordyssers , which are more common in the southern half of Denmark , rarely have more than 4 m long chambers. The usual width was 2–2.5 m. Two capstones, often across the direction of the southeast facing corridor, were usually used. In Germany, dolmens with three or more cap stones are considered large dolmens. The research term stordysse used in Scandinavia follows a different definition. L. Bolmquist does not use the term stordysse in his definition of the types of dolmen . It was originally assumed that their appearance marked the transition from a dolmen to a passage grave and to collective burial. This sequence is now considered refuted.

literature

German Archaeological Institute - Madrid Department: Problems of megalithic grave research . Lectures on the 100th birthday of Vera Leisner . (= Madrid researches. 16). de Gruyter, New York / Berlin et al. 1990, ISBN 3-11-011966-8 .
Michael Schmidt: The old stones. Travel to the megalithic culture in Central Europe. Hinstorff, Rostock 1998, ISBN 3-356-00796-3 .
Ewald Schuldt : The Mecklenburg megalithic graves. Research on their architecture and function. (= Contributions to the prehistory and early history of the Rostock, Schwerin and Neubrandenburg districts . 6). Deutscher Verlag der Wissenschaften, Berlin 1972, DNB 740092189 .
Märta Strömberg : Swedish megalithic tombs - monuments of various interpretation. In: KW Beinhauer (Ed.): Studies on megalithics. 1999, ISBN 3-930036-36-3 .
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

↑ J. Müller In: Varia neolithica. VI, 2009, p. 15.

[1] J. Müller In: Varia neolithica. VI, 2009, p. 15.