Wiera tumulus
The barrow of Wiera is an archaeological site from the Middle Bronze Age (1700–1200 BC). It is one of the most important sites from this time in Northern Hesse . The excavated barrow is of archaeological importance, especially due to the rare stone pillar circles. So far, similar finds can only be found in Hesse and Westphalia .
location
The barrow of Wiera is located just under a kilometer southeast of the Schwalmstadt district of Wiera on the wooded southwest slope of Heidelberg .
construction
When building barrows, loose stones were piled up or individual larger stones or slabs were used for the barrow. Post circles or circular ditches as they are otherwise common in Westphalia are very rare . The excavation of the soil monument office in 1932 laid a grave building from the 14th century BC. With a diameter of eleven meters free. The hill area was delimited by a carefully constructed circle of curb stones. Such stone circles belong in the north and east Hessian Kasseler - Schwalmstadt area in the Bronze Age to the characteristics of the barrows. The particularly careful execution is striking. Standing stones 1.2 m high are found at regular intervals. The gaps were filled with stacked, smaller plates. These modifications had the function of stabilizing the hill.
In the center of the circle, the dead person was buried in a tree coffin at ground level . Then a stone pack about four meters in diameter was poured over the tree coffin. The mound of earth was finally heaped up at some time after the burial. The mound of earth could reach great heights. From the archaeological find history, more precise dimensions can no longer be determined, since the heaped earth eroded over time , but a height of two to three meters is assumed. The mound of earth reached with its foot to the inner edge of the stone circle.
Finds
Traces of a skeleton and a simple, inconspicuous clay pot were found in the middle stone layer . The finds are kept in the Hessian State Museum in Kassel .
restoration
The municipality of Wiera decided to ensure the precise and permanent preservation of the tomb by grouting the mortar after the stone structures of the hill were rebuilt after the excavation.
literature
- D. Vorlauf and C. Dobiat: burial mounds with stone pillar circles in the area around Marburg . Archaeological monuments in Hesse 88
Web links
Coordinates: 50 ° 52 ′ 21.3 " N , 9 ° 8 ′ 46.8" E