"Alter Hau" giant beds
The “Alter Hau” giant beds are eight preserved giant beds without a chamber with the Sprockhoff numbers. 289–295 (one is unnumbered). They are located in the Sachsenwald , near Sachsenwaldau im Jagen 289 and 290 near the Bille . Other, but destroyed, giant beds are in the Saupark nearby. The Sachsenwald is located east of Hamburg in the southwest of the Duchy of Lauenburg and is one of the two unincorporated areas of Schleswig-Holstein . The plants were built between 3500 and 2800 BC. And are megalithic systems of the funnel beaker culture (TBK).
In the area of the TBK, chamberless systems were classified in the megalithic category , as their mostly flat hills, which are mainly located on the lower reaches of the Elbe , Oder and Vistula , often had a border of about 1 m high, medium-sized boulders , which, however, due to their missing dimensions were unsuitable for building chambers, so that there are no stone chambers. “Neolithic monuments are an expression of the culture and ideology of Neolithic societies. Their origin and function are considered to be the hallmarks of social development ”.
Sprockhoff no. 289
Alter Hau 1 is by far the best preserved complex. It is a north-west-south-east oriented, rectangular barren bed. With the dimensions of 154 × 8.5 m, it is extremely long. The earth dam, which is around 0.5 m high, can still be seen. The curbs of the megalithic bed have largely been preserved. The long sides are very clearly visible. The facility was not excavated.
Sprockhoff no. 290
As with the neighboring facility 289, Alter Hau 2 is a north-west-south-east oriented, rectangular barren bed. Sprockhoff assumes a size of 75 × 4.0 m. The earth dam is up to about 0.5 m high and has been partially preserved. When taking the picture in 1936, Sprockhoff found 34 stones on the north-eastern and 29 stones on the south-western long side. The facility was not excavated.
Sprockhoff no. 291
The giant bed without a chamber is 50 m long, 3.25 m wide and, depending on the orientation, 0.75 m high in SSW 0.75 in NNE. The edge or edging stones were partly still in situ on the long sides . The southeast side was better preserved. The boulders were between 0.75 and 0.90 m high, about 0.50 m wide and thick, they were wedged into the stand holes with small stones. According to Ernst Sprockhoff , who examined the facility in 1954, the stones were not buried, but sunk into the ground by their own weight (about 0.2 m deep).
Finds
At the south-west end the mound contained scattered shards and flint implements. Several discolorations and concentrations of finds were observed on the old surface. A bronze bracelet lay about as deep in the mound.
Pits
- A cauldron-shaped pit was sunk about three meters from the southwest end. Their upper diameter was one meter, their depth 0.3 m.
The gray pit filling stood out clearly from the ground. It was hard in places, interspersed with bits of charcoal and remains of calcined bones. The pit contained a few shards, including that from a beaker from the Funnel Beaker Culture . On the filling of the pit and in the surrounding area, at the level of the old surface, there were numerous shards of funnel-shaped and conical-necked vessels as well as a thick circular scraper. Some of the shards on the surface belonged to the funnel beaker from the pit, which Sprockhoff interpreted as a grave pit.
- About in the middle of the long bed, parallel to its longitudinal axis, there was a rectangular pit - 1.5 × 0.75 m; about 0.30 m deep with dark filling.
- Close to this, near the edge of the long bed, there was also an oval pit (1.7 × 0.7 m; max. 0.4 m deep) - with gray filling.
- In an area between 16 and 18 m (north of the southwest end), two pits sunk into the old surface were located close together.
It could be the pits of body burials.
Soil discoloration
- About eight meters from the southwest end a long oval gray discoloration (no pit) was observed (about 1.5 × 0.75 m), on which some undecorated shards were found.
- About 11 m from the southwest end, there was an oval area about one meter in diameter on the old surface. Here the ground was burnt brick red to a depth of 0.10 m and interspersed with charcoal residues. It was marbled under the layer of fire. However, the area showed no finds and is, according to Sprockhoff, a cremation site.
- About 14 m from the southwest end there was a long oval black-gray marbled discoloration (1.25 × 0.75 m). It was up to 0.20 m thick. There were some particles of charcoal and a few chunks of burnt clay in the soil.
- The shards of a funnel neck vessel were found 35 to 36 m away at a depth of 0.4 m, approximately in the middle of the hill. They were located in the area of a blurred, black-gray shaded area about one meter in diameter (no pit). The vessel had apparently been smashed on the spot.
Sprockhoff no. 292
The approximately 30 × 6.0 m (originally 4.0 m) wide barren bed excavated by Sprockhoff lies on the old surface. The bed was bordered by large boulders , which had been set up at a distance of 0.2–0.5 m with the smooth sides facing outwards. The stones were sunk 0.1-0.2 m and wedged with small blocks. The largest boulders stood at the ends of the enclosure. Some stones were almost in situ . Some were missing, but their wedge stone marks were preserved. Most of them had fallen outward.
The hill was made up of the local, slightly loamy yellow sand. In the embankment there were overhead stones with no recognizable order. Some unprocessed flint fragments and mostly undecorated shards come from the mound.
Finds
In the western half of the megalithic bed was a black-gray area nearly three meters long, 1.25–1.75 m wide, parallel to the long bed. The 0.1 m thick discoloration on the old surface was mostly clearly distinguishable from its surroundings. The large area was surrounded by small, gray-black discolorations. Much charcoal was found in small lumps within the discoloration. The ground beneath the surface was red-brown, hard and like a network of fine sand bands to a depth of 0.1 m. In the northeast part of the area there was a bowl-shaped pit with an upper diameter of 0.4-0.5 m, which was about the same depth. The top of the pit filling was dark brown and deeply rooted. In the lower area up to 0.2–0.25 m light gray like the large discoloration and free of roots. In its upper region cremated remains were found (parts of long bones) and fragments of at least six vessels by E. Sprockhoff zerscherbt had reached the pit. On the old surface, especially in the western and central area of the long bed, there were numerous shards of vessels and a blade scratch. E. Sprockhoff interpreted the gray area as a place of cremation, the pit as a grave with a corpse burn and additions.
Sprockhoff no. 293
The approximately 40 m long, northwest-southeast oriented system, the southeast end of which could not be recorded (estimated at 145 m in length) is about 4.5 m wide and 0.5 m high.
Finds
A cluster of stones the size of a head was observed about 10 m from the northwest end. At the north-west end there were some undecorated fragments from undefined vessels. In the south-west there was an east-west directed light oval discoloration (1.50 × 0.50 m). It merged into the loam at a depth of 0.2–0.4 m without an exact boundary.
Sprockhoff no. 294
The giant bed without a chamber examined by Sprockhoff in 1952 is about 25 m long, 5 m wide and 0.3 m high. Some of the relatively large curb or border stones were still in situ in the southeast . On the long sides there are scuff marks with wedge stones. The outer stones on the north-western narrow side are particularly large and protrude over the long sides. They could be so-called guardian stones .
Finds
Pit 1: Approximately in the middle of the system there is a rectified rectangular pit (2.0 × 0.6 m in planum; 0.5 m wide in profile), sunk into the old surface. Its lower end was formed by a band of cast stones 1 to 2 cm thick. The contents of the pit were brown in the upper area and gradually turned gray towards the bottom. No finds.
Pit 2: About 0.5 m north-west of pit 1, a circular, kettle-shaped sunk pit (top diameter 0.75 m; depth 0.40 m). A pierced stone pendant lay in the gray filling.
In the southern part of the hill, a flat quartzite disk was found, the edge of which appears to have been worked.
See also
literature
- Ernst Sprockhoff : Atlas of the megalithic tombs of Germany. Part 1: Schleswig-Holstein. Rudolf Habelt Verlag, Bonn 1966, pp. 79-80.
- Ernst Sprockhoff: Hune beds in the Sachsenwald. In: Germania. Volume 31, 1953, pp. 233-234 ( online ).
- Ernst Sprockhoff: Chamberless giant beds in the Sachsenwald . In: Offa 13, 1954, pp. 1-16.
- Ernst Sprockhoff, Claus Ahrens: Chamberless giant stone graves in the Sachsenwald. In: Guide to Prehistoric and Protohistoric Monuments. Volume 7. Hamburg-Harburg, Sachsenwald, northern Lüneburg Heath. Verlag Philipp von Zabern, Mainz 1967, pp. 92-94.
Individual evidence
- ↑ J. Müller In: Varia neolithica VI 2009 p. 15
Web links
Coordinates: 53 ° 32'53 " N , 10 ° 18'38.3" E