Great stone graves near Ballerstedt

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The megalithic tombs at Ballerstedt were a group of three megalithic grave sites of the Neolithic deep stab ceramic culture near to Osterburg (Altmark) belonging village Ballerstedt in the district of Stendal , Saxony-Anhalt . They were first described and illustrated in 1751 by Johann Christoph and Bernhard Ludwig Bekmann in their historical description of the Chur and Mark Brandenburg . Two graves were destroyed in the late 18th or early 19th centuries. Johann Friedrich Danneil was only able to find one thing in the 1840s. In the second half of the 19th century, the last remaining grave was also completely removed. Eduard Krause and Otto Schoetensack could not find any remains when they took up the Great Stone Graves in the Altmark in the 1890s.

description

Grave 1

The large stone grave Ballerstedt 1. Illustration from: Historical description of the Chur and Mark Brandenburg (1751)

The first grave was located directly on the border between the villages of Groß Ballerstedt and Grävenitz (today a district of Schorstedt ) on a parcel called "Krummenschlag". It was the only one of the three graves that still existed when Danneil was examined. It was oriented east-west and had a stone border with a length of 25 m and a width of 6.3 m. The burial chamber was located in it. When Danneil examined all the stones were still there.

Grave 2

The large stone graves Ballerstedt 2 and 3. Illustration from: Historical description of the Chur and Mark Brandenburg (1751)

Not far from grave 1 there was another grave on a parcel with the name “Hundesücken” or “Hundertrücken”. It had an oval border and, according to Bekmann, consisted of about twelve stones, which, however, does not correspond to the accompanying illustration. As early as the 18th century, the grave was no longer in its original condition, because, according to Bekmann's description, some of the stones were no longer in their original place.

Grave 3

In the immediate vicinity of grave 2, the third grave was on a parcel called "Hasenäcker". Like grave 2, it had an oval frame and was also no longer in its original condition. According to Bekmann, a stone had already been removed to make a millstone . The remaining stones were later used to build houses.

The megalithic graves near Ballerstedt in regional legends

There are several legends about the graves . The stones from one of the graves (probably grave 2) are said to have thrown giants with slingshots from Schorstedt to Grävenitz. According to another legend, a giant king is said to be buried in this tomb.

There is a legend about grave 3 that Wends who fell in the battle between Margraves Albert and Hoder were buried here. In fact, this legend is based on various historical events: The plot revolves around the dispute between Albrecht the Bear (Albert) and Udo von Freckleben (Hoder) over the rule in the Nordmark in the 20s and 30s of the 12th century. In 1130 Udo von Freckleben fell in a battle with Albrecht, but not in Ballerstedt, but in the similar-sounding Ballenstedt am Harz . Albrecht did not gain the margrave dignity over the Nordmark immediately after the death of his competitor, but only in 1134. He also did not receive the entire mark, but had to leave areas east of the Elbe to the Slavic ruler Pribislaw . In narrative terms, Margrave Udo and Pribislaw were mixed up to form a Slavic opponent of Albrecht. The Slav uprising of 983 may also have played a role here.

Furthermore, local farmers said that ghosts could be seen and screaming could be heard near the graves both day and night .

The tradition of a miller who removed a stone from grave 3 in order to make a millstone from it also bears legendary traits. This brought him no luck, because the grain could not be ground with the stone, but remained lying under him as if crushed.

literature

Web links

Commons : Great stone graves near Ballerstedt  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Noon: Legendary Stones. 2006, pp. 8-9, 51-52.