Large stone graves near Wallhöfen

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Large stone graves near Wallhöfen Large stone graves near Vollersode
Capstone (?) Of the preserved grave

Capstone (?) Of the preserved grave
Great stone graves near Wallhöfen (Lower Saxony)
Red pog.svg
Coordinates 53 ° 19 '58.6 "  N , 8 ° 52' 44.2"  E Coordinates: 53 ° 19 '58.6 "  N , 8 ° 52' 44.2"  E
place Vollersode , Lower Saxony , Germany
Emergence 3500 to 2800 BC Chr.

The megalithic graves near Wallhöfen (also megalithic graves near Vollersode ) were several megalithic tombs of the Neolithic funnel cup culture near Wallhöfen , a district of Vollersode in the Osterholz district ( Lower Saxony ). Today only one grave remains, seven or eight more were destroyed in the 19th century. It is not clear whether the preserved grave is identical to one of those listed as destroyed, or whether it is a further complex. More precise information is available only for three destroyed graves.

location

Three graves destroyed in the 19th century were in the heather north of the route from Wallhöfen to Hambergen . The remaining graves were also in the heather. In the forest north of Wallhöfen there is a grave that has been preserved in remains. About 3 km to the south was the large stone grave Hambergen , which was also destroyed in the 19th century, and 3 km to the north are the preserved large stone graves near Steden .

description

The preserved grave

At the location of the preserved grave, only a single large boulder can be seen , which, however , is recorded as a large stone grave on the official topographic map . It may be a capstone. No further information is available on the original appearance and type of the grave.

Destroyed graves

Grave 1

Drawing of the destroyed grave 1 from 1833

Grave 1 was a rectangular barn bed 124 feet in circumference ; Ernst Sprockhoff , however, gives a length of about 25 m and a width of about 9 m. According to Johann Karl Wächter , around 1841 there were still 25 large enclosing stones that were between 6 and 9 feet (approx. 1.8–2.6 m) high. In the megalithic bed there was a burial chamber , which consisted of four pairs of wall stones, each with an associated capstone and a closing stone on one narrow side. According to this description, it should have been a large dolmen . Wächter mistakenly interpreted each yoke as a separate burial chamber. The first capstone was 22 feet (6.4 m) in circumference and 7–8 feet (2.0–2.3 m) thick, and the second capstone was 23 feet (approx. 6.7 m), the third by 19 feet (about 5.5 m) and the fourth by 18 feet (about 5.3 m). All of the wall stones protruded 2-3 feet (about 0.6-0.9 m) from the ground. One of the girders already had cleft holes around 1841, which Wächter mistakenly attributed to the builders.

Grave 2

Grave 2 also had a rectangular barren bed. This had a circumference of 140 feet (about 40.9 m). Around 1841 there were still 16 stones left of the enclosure. The burial chamber consisted of eleven wall stones and three cap stones, which Wächter erroneously interpreted as three separate burial chambers. The first capstone was 18 feet (about 5.3 m) in circumference, the second was 17 feet (about 5.0 m), and the third was 12 feet (about 3.5 m). The wall stones protruded 2-3 feet (about 0.6-0.9 m) from the ground. This grave was probably also a large dolmen.

Grave 3

Grave 3 also had a rectangular barren bed. It was 72 feet in circumference and in 1841 still had 17 enclosing stones. The burial chamber still had four cap stones and eight wall stones. An outer capstone rested on four wall stones, the two middle ones on two each. The fourth capstone was on the floor, the corresponding wall stones were already missing. Here, too, Wächter erroneously assumed four burial chambers. The first capstone was 20 feet (about 5.8 m) in circumference, the second and third were 18 feet (about 5.3 m) each, and the fourth was 16 feet (about 4.7 m), the The thickness of all capstones was 5 feet. This grave was probably also a large dolmen.

More graves

In addition to the three described in more detail, four or five other stone graves are said to have been destroyed in the 19th century. In these allegedly ceramic vessels, weapons and jewelry, some of them made of precious metal , were found. Possibly it was also a Bronze Age burial mound .

literature

Web links

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