Central German Chamber

The Central German Chamber (also known as the sunken chamber or gallery grave) is one of the rare forms of megalithic complexes and is an eastern variant of the Hessian-Westphalian gallery grave represented in Germany with around 40 complexes, which also occurs in southern Lower Saxony. The distribution of the "Central German Chamber" is limited to the Middle Elbe-Saale area, the eastern Harz foreland and Mecklenburg (1 enclosure).

The rectangular, recessed chambers, originally traced back to the French Allée couverte , are up to 20.0 m long, mostly with axial access via a short anteroom. Lateral access is available in exceptional cases. Especially in the eastern half of the Hercynian area , smaller, usually only up to five meters long, but largely sunken chambers with axial access can be found as derivatives.

In total, only nine chambers belong to the main group. One of these is in Mecklenburg and Lower Saxony, the rest in Saxony-Anhalt . There are also six systems that are to be classified as transitional forms (e.g. Oebles-Schlechtewitz, ( Bad Dürrenberg ) and Gotha-Ostheim, in Thuringia ).

Gallery tomb scheme

• Bebertal (Saxony-Anhalt - 4 systems)
• Gotha-Ostheim (Thuringia)
• Guestrow (Mecklenburg)
• Hundisburg (Saxony-Anhalt)
• Langeneichstädt (Saxony-Anhalt)
• Megalithic complex on the Hillah , Central German Chamber of Liebenburg (in Lower Saxony)
• Oebles-Schlechtewitz large stone grave (Saxony-Anhalt)
• Osterode am Fallstein (Saxony-Anhalt)
• Large stone grave Warnstedt (Saxony-Anhalt)
• Large stone grave in Zscherben (Saxony-Anhalt)

See also

• Nordic megalithic architecture
• Gallery grave

literature

• Hans-Jürgen Beier : The megalithic, submegalithic and pseudomegalithic buildings as well as the menhirs between the Baltic Sea and the Thuringian Forest . Beier & Beran, Wilkau-Hasslau 1991 ( Contributions to the prehistory and early history of Central Europe . 1), (At the same time: Halle-Wittenberg, Univ., Habil.-Schr., 1991: The megalithic, submegalithic and pseudomegalithic buildings as well as the menhirs in the five new East German federal states (formerly GDR) .)