Great stone graves near Wallwitz

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The megalithic graves near Wallwitz were nine megalithic Neolithic graves near Wallwitz , a district of Möckern in the district of Jerichower Land , Saxony-Anhalt . All of them were probably destroyed in the 18th or 19th century.

location

Grave 1 was near Wallwitz on the right side of an army path leading from Dalchau to Vehlitz . Some distance away on the left was grave 2. Also on the left was grave 3, near the intersection with the road from Wallwitz to Dannigkow . Grave 4 was on the way from Wallwitz to Dannigkow, on the right-hand side, near the Ziepra stream . Grave 5 was directly to the west of this. Graves 6 and 7 were also right next to each other on this path. To the north of this was 8. Grave 9 was between graves 5 and 8.

Research history

The facilities were documented for the first time by Joachim Gottwalt Abel , pastor in Möckern between 1755 and 1806 . He left only handwritten notes on this, which were published by Ernst Herms in 1928 . The graves themselves had already been completely cleared when Herms investigated.

description

Grave 1

Grave 1 had an east-west oriented mound bed with a length of 29 paces (about 22 m) and a width of 13 paces (about 10 m). Abel could still make out 16 stones from the enclosure, but a far larger number had already been removed. Six wall stones and a single capstone four feet long and 3.5 feet wide were preserved from the burial chamber . The type of grave can no longer be determined.

Grave 2

Grave 2 had an east-west oriented mound bed with a length of 32 paces (about 24 m) and a width of 12 paces (about 9 m). Abel could still make out 24 stones of the rectangular enclosure. The complex was probably a chamberless giant bed .

Grave 3

Grave 3 also had an east-west oriented barren bed, of which 24 stones, some of enormous size, were left. The complex seems to have had a burial chamber, but Abel could only make out a single stone buried deep in the earth. It is therefore not possible to determine the type of grave.

Grave 4

Grave 4 was already so badly destroyed when Abel took the picture that he could no longer describe its shape and could only identify twelve isolated stones. It is not possible to determine the type of grave.

Grave 5

Grave 5 had an east-west oriented barren bed. The enclosure consisted of 14 stones on the southern long side, 17 stones on the northern long side and three stones each on the narrow sides, with one on the east side clearly towering over the others. The complex had a burial chamber from which eight wall stones and a cap stone were still preserved. It should have been a large dolmen or a passage grave.

Grave 6

Grave 6 had an east-west oriented, triangular or trapezoidal barrow that tapered to the west. The entire complex still consisted of 23 stones, some of which apparently belonged to a burial chamber, which Abel did not describe in detail. It is therefore not possible to determine the type of grave.

Grave 7

At grave 7 Abel could not make out a barrow, but only a burial chamber. This still consisted of ten stones, including at least one capstone, which had fallen off the wall stones or was carried away. The complex is likely to have been a large dolmen or a passage grave.

Grave 8

Grave 8 was already so badly damaged that Abel could only make out 10 stones lying around, which apparently belonged to the enclosure of a barn bed. It was no longer possible to say anything about the presence of a burial chamber.

Grave 9

Grave 9 was already too badly damaged for a more precise description. The complex seems to have been quite small and still consisted of six stones.

literature

  • Hans-Jürgen Beier : The megalithic, submegalithic and pseudomegalithic buildings and the menhirs between the Baltic Sea and the Thuringian Forest (= contributions to the prehistory and early history of Central Europe. Volume 1). Wilkau-Haßlau 1991, p. 46.
  • Ernst Herms: The megalithic graves of the district of Jerichow I. In: Festschrift of the Magdeburg Museum for Natural and Local History for the 10th Conference on Prehistory. Magdeburg 1928, pp. 257-258.