Large stone grave in Osterode am Fallstein
| Large stone grave in Osterode am Fallstein | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
|||
| Coordinates | 52 ° 2 '15.6 " N , 10 ° 42' 2.7" E | ||
| place | Osterwieck OT Osterode am Fallstein , Saxony-Anhalt , Germany | ||
| Emergence | 3100 to 2650 BC Chr. | ||
The large stone grave Osterode am Fallstein was a large stone grave of the early Neolithic Bernburg culture near Osterode am Fallstein , a district of Osterwieck in the Harz district , Saxony-Anhalt, which was destroyed in the 19th century .
location
The grave was located north of the Fallstein between the two villages of Osterode and Veltheim am Fallstein . It was about 200 paces west of the stone mill on the slope of the Owl Mountain . Not far from its location is a desert called Steine or Stene or Stenem .
Research history
The grave sunk into the earth was discovered in 1867 by a farmer while plowing. In collaboration with the Müller Schmidt, the grave was uncovered and removed. The burial chamber was ransacked and the skeletons and grave goods smashed.
Shortly after the uncovering, the grave was visited by J. Grote, Reich Baron of Looking, who published a report on it. The following year it was visited by the Braunschweig cathedral preacher Thiele, who found the grave still partially preserved.
description
According to Grote's description, the grave was a recessed chamber grave oriented east-west . It had a length of 14 paces (approx. 11.20 m) and a width of 7 paces (approx. 5.60 m). It probably had five cap stones. The northern long side was found intact by Grote. It consisted of seven wall stones of four feet (approx. 1.14 m) high made of local rock. Thiele also referred to it as a double grave, which suggests a transverse wall in the chamber.
According to the miller Schmidt, 20 human skeletons were found in the burial chamber. These faced east and were in groups of three to six individuals. Several small ceramic vessels were found among the grave goods, as well as a larger vessel containing ashes. Another ceramic object was also found, probably a spindle whorl. When Grote examined the remains of the grave, all he found was broken human bones, shattered pottery and a horse's tooth.
Finds
The only preserved objects are three small ceramic vessels, which allow the grave to be assigned to the Bernburg culture. The first one was saved by the cantor Walkhof from Osterode and is now in the Harz Museum in Wernigerode . It has a height of 4.7 cm, a base diameter of 3.5 cm, a maximum diameter of 6.5 cm and a mouth diameter of 6.0 cm. The second was acquired by Thiele and is now in the State Museum in Braunschweig . It is two-part, has a break just above the ground, a conical neck and two opposing, vertically pierced eyes. It has a height of 7.6 cm, a bottom diameter of 7.0 cm and a mouth diameter of 5.8 cm. The decor is made in furrow stitches and filled with a white mass. It consists of a double row of stitches above the floor, a three-stitch zigzag band above it with two stitches in the upper corners, a six-stitch zigzag band with two stitches in the upper corners at the level of the eyelets and one horizontal and seven vertical lines each under the eyelets. Hans-Jürgen Beier also mentions a third vessel.
literature
- Hans-Jürgen Beier : The grave and burial customs of the Walternienburg and Bernburg culture. Halle (Saale) 1984, pp. 100-101.
- F. Bicker, S. Hummel, W. Lamp, W. Rabenow, G. Summer: The Walternienburg and Bernburg culture in the Halberstadt area. Annual work Halle (manuscript), o. P.
- J. Grote: Finding a stone grave near Osterode am Fallstein. In: Journal of the Harz Association for History and Antiquity. Volume 1, 1868, pp. 135-136 ( online ).
- Ulrich Fischer : The Stone Age graves in the Saale region. Studies on Neolithic and Early Bronze Age grave and burial forms in Saxony-Thuringia (= prehistoric research. Volume 15). De Gruyter, Berlin 1956, pp. 88, 96, 104-105.
- Paul Höfer : Stone box graves and house urns from Hoym. In: Journal of the Harz Association for History and Antiquity. Volume 31, 1898, p. 274 ( online ).
- Nils Niklasson : Studies on the Walternienburg-Bernburger culture 1 (= annual publication for Central German prehistory. Volume 13). Halle (Saale) 1925, p. 35 ( online ).
- Theodor Voges : Overview of the prehistory of the state of Braunschweig. Angermann, Wolfenbüttel 1906, p. 29ff.
- Theodor Voges: The burial chamber of Osterode am Fallstein. In: Annual publication for the prehistory of the Saxon-Thuringian countries. Volume 7, 1908, pp. 25-27 ( online ).
