Langdysse from Vasagård

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Langdysse from within

The Langdysse of Vasagård is located about two kilometers southwest of Aakirkeby in the far northwest of the Danish island of Bornholm . The megalithic system of the funnel beaker culture (TBK) was created between 3500 and 2800 BC. 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.

At the eastern end of the north-north-west-south-south-east oriented Langdysse there is a dolmen , at the western end a passage grave , a not very common combination. The dolmen is probably older than the passage grave. Both large stone graves were used for secondary burials. The youngest, in the passage grave, date from the final phase of the Bronze Age (1100–500 BC).

description

  • The 2.5 to 3.5 m high long hill is unusually wide at 20 m and 35 m long.
  • The relatively small passage grave is about 3.2 m long, 1.8 m wide and 1.25 m high. There is a paved forecourt in front of the corridor on the east side. The chamber consists of seven bearing stones and three cap stones.
  • The dolmen, built from seven bearing stones, is about 1.05 m high, 2.0 m long and 1.15 m wide. The capstone measures 2.35 × 1.85 × 0.9 m. He carries six bowls and rock carvings that represent ships.

During the restoration carried out in 2008, the archaeologists discovered that the Neolithic users locked the chamber of the passage grave and carried out the burials and rituals in front of the complex. They concluded that the passage grave had lost its religious significance and thus its original function and that a reformation comparable to the transition from Catholicism to Protestantism had taken place.

The Vasagård facility

Immediately by Vasagård there is a very unusual earthwork of the funnel beaker culture (called Vasagårdanlæg in Denmark, analogous to the first similar structures discovered on Fyn ( earthworks from Sarup )). The facility is said to have been built or used at the same time as the megalithic facility. It is unusual that the oval structures - Vasagård West and East - accompanied by younger section walls with palisades - are separated by a 150 m wide river valley. Traces of a simultaneous settlement have been discovered west of the rift system. There is no completely similar structure in Northern Europe, but eight kilometers east of Vasagård, on Rispebjerg, an even larger palisade has been found. Systems of this type, which are reminiscent of the British Woodhenge and are called Vasagård-anlæg in Denmark , have meanwhile been found in several places in Skåne and on Zealand .

Sunstones

In 2017, more "sun stones " ( Solsten in Danish ) were discovered in Vasagård . The small stones covered with motifs were carved by Stone Age people 5000 years ago. The approximately 300 stones and fragments found on the island get their name from their round shape and the round carvings on their surface that seem to radiate out from the center. There are also square stones decorated with other patterns. Some are decorated with cobwebs. A number of sunstones have been found over the years. The first was found in 1995 at Rispebjerg about 8.0 km east of Vasagård.

See also

literature

  • Flemming Kaul, Finn Ole Nielsen, Poul Otto Nielsen: Vasagård og Rispebjerg. To indhegnede bopladser from yngre stenalder on Bornholm. In: National Museum Arbejdsmark. 2002, ISSN  0084-9308 , pp. 119-138.
  • Ingrid Falktoft Anderson: Vejviser til Danmarks oldtid . 1994, ISBN 87-89531-10-8 p. 341

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Johannes Müller : Neolithic Monuments and Neolithic Societies. In: Hans-Jürgen Beier , Erich Claßen, Thomas Doppler, Britta Ramminger (eds.): Varia neolithica VI. Neolithic Monuments and Neolithic Societies. Contributions from the meeting of the Neolithic Working Group during the annual meeting of the North-West German Association for Ancient Research in Schleswig, 9. – 10. October 2007 (= contributions to the prehistory and early history of Central Europe. Vol. 56). Beier & Beran, Langenweißbach 2009, ISBN 978-3-941171-28-2 , pp. 7-16, here p. 15.
  2. ↑ Langdysse is the name commonly used in Denmark for dolmens that lie in a rectangular or trapezoidal barn, in contrast to round dolmens or round dysers are those dolmens that lie in a round hill
  3. ↑ http://www.kulturarv.dk/1001fortaellinger/en_GB/vasagaard

Web links

Commons : Vasagaard  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 55 ° 3 ′ 19.9 ″  N , 14 ° 53 ′ 6.6 ″  E