Great stone graves near Altenmedingen
| Great stone graves near Altenmedingen Royal tombs | |||
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| Coordinates | 53 ° 7 '33.3 " N , 10 ° 37' 21.9" E | ||
| place | Altenmedingen , Lower Saxony , Germany | ||
| Emergence | 3500 to 2800 BC Chr. | ||
| Sprockhoff no. | 752-757 | ||
The megalithic graves near Altenmedingen (officially, but not historically, also known as royal graves ) are a group of three surviving megalithic graves from the Neolithic funnel cup culture near the municipality of Altenmedingen in the Uelzen district ( Lower Saxony ). The three large stone graves were originally part of an extensive necropolis that included at least 24 graves in the area of the municipality of Altenmedingen and 18 more in the adjacent Niendorf I (a district of Römstedt ). The facilities were first recorded in the 1840s by Georg Otto Carl von Estorff . In his Atlas of Germany's Megalithic Tombs, Ernst Sprockhoff assigned the numbers 752–754 to the graves still in existence and three destroyed but numbered 755–757 graves that were described in detail by Estorff.
location
The graves documented in Altenmedingen were divided into three groups: The first and largest group originally comprised 28 large stone graves and numerous burial mounds . The systems stretched in a dense row from Niendorf I over the Haaßel residential area to the outskirts of Altenmedingen. 15 of these large stone graves were in the area of Niendorf I (see also large stone graves near Niendorf I ), the remaining 13 in the area of Altenmedingen. Three of them still exist today, about halfway between Niendorf I and Altenmedingen. The second group consisted of six graves and was located about a kilometer southeast of the center of the Haaßel residential area, which belongs to Altenmedingen. Among these graves there were at least the enclosures numbered 755 and 756 by Sprockhoff. The exact location of grave no. 757 is somewhat unclear. Another group of five graves was located west of Altenmedingen.
description
Preserved graves
Grave 1
Grave 1 is a north-west-south-east oriented barren bed with a pile of mounds and a stone enclosure, which, however, has many gaps and damage. The total length of the plant is 52 m. The maximum width at the northwest end is 6 m. Towards the central burial chamber, the enclosure tapers to 4 m and from there becomes wider again to the southeast end. The original appearance of the burial chamber can hardly be reconstructed, since most of the wall stones are missing. Only the wall stone on the south-eastern narrow side and one on the north-eastern long side are preserved. The affiliation of a third stone is unclear. Two of the original three capstones are still in situ . The dimensions of the chamber are approximately 3 m × 1.5 m.
Grave 2
This grave was excavated and reconstructed in 1932 by Karl Hermann Jacob-Friesen . It is also oriented northwest-southeast and has a weak trapezoidal barn bed that tapers to the southeast. The enclosure showed severe disturbances, but the overturned stones were straightened up again in the course of the restoration. The burial chamber, which is an enlarged dolmen , is located in the center of the megalithic bed . All wall stones and the capstone are still there. The north-western pair of wall stones on the long sides is smaller than the south-eastern one. The capstone originally lay lengthways on the wall stones, but was laid across by Jacob-Friesen in the course of the reconstruction. The dimensions of the chamber are 3.2 m × 1 m.
Grave 3
The third grave is only very incomplete. It has the same orientation as the other two systems. The southeast half has been almost completely destroyed. The mound bed is still preserved up to the burial chamber, of the other half only three surrounding stones southwest of the burial chamber have been preserved. The width of the barren bed is about 4.5 to 5 m. The burial chamber itself is also badly damaged. The north-western end stone and a pair of wall stones on the long sides are still in situ. In addition, three more wall stones on the eastern long side have been preserved. Of the latter, two are significantly smaller than the third. The width of the chamber is 1 m, the length is estimated to be around 3 m.
Destroyed graves
Grave 4
The grave with the number 755 was an east-west oriented barren bed with a length of 55 m and a width of 4 m. It had two burial chambers located at the ends of the bed. When von Estorff took the picture, the enclosure was still relatively completely intact, but the grave chambers were already missing all capstones and most of the wall stones. Estorff also noticed two special spots, each 6 m from the burial chambers to the center of the complex: They both consisted of a single central stone, which was surrounded by a wall of smaller stones.
Grave 5
Grave no. 756 had only one burial chamber facing north-south. When von Estorff's photo was taken, all the wall stones were still there: one on the narrow sides and three on the long sides. The capstones were already missing. The chamber measured approximately 3 m by 1.2 m.
Grave 6
Grave no. 757 had a north-south oriented barren bed only 8 m long and 3 m wide. The enclosure consisted of six stones on the long sides and one stone on one narrow side and two on the opposite; possibly a third was originally present here. The burial chamber consisted of six pairs of wall stones on the long sides and one stone each on the narrow sides. It was therefore a large dolmen . Only two of the capstones were left. The dimensions of the chamber were 5 m × 1 m.
literature
- Georg Otto Carl von Estorff : Pagan antiquities of the area of Uelzen in the former Bardengaue (Kingdom of Hanover). Hahn'sche Hof bookstore, Hanover 1846.
- Karl Hermann Jacob : The megalithic graves of the district of Ülzen and the protection of the prehistoric monuments. In: News sheet for Lower Saxony's prehistory. Volume 1, 1920, pp. 1ff.
- Ernst Sprockhoff : Atlas of the megalithic tombs of Germany. Part 3: Lower Saxony - Westphalia. Rudolf-Habelt Verlag, Bonn 1975, ISBN 3-7749-1326-9 , pp. 58-60, 74.
- Friedrich Tewes : The stone graves of the province of Hanover. An introduction to your customers and the main types and forms. Hanover 1898.
