Mjeltehaugen
The Mjeltehaugen in Giskegjerdet on the southeast coast of the island of Giske is one of the special burial mounds in Norway . The 6.0 to 9.0 m high hill from the Bronze Age (1300–1100 BC) is the northernmost of its kind and has a diameter of around 30.0 m. It contains a chamber made of stone slabs covered with petroglyphs , which have their closest parallels in Kivik (in Bredarör) and in Sagaholm near Jönköping , both in Sweden . There are only 12 Neolithic stone boxes ( Norwegian Hellekiste or Hellegraver ) in Norway, while they are particularly common in Sweden and come from the Funnel Beaker Culture (TBK).
description
The burial mound in Fylke Møre og Romsdal is the elevation of a natural mound near the sea. The chamber, which is no longer complete, was presumably made of eight large, decorated slabs in the middle of the hill. The plates are made of a rock that does not appear on Giske. It must come from Trondheim or an island in the south. The burial box was probably 4.5 m long, 1.2 m wide and 0.6 m high. Despite its size, the megalithic complex covered with earth was built for a single burial. The species is typical of the Bronze Age .
The plates were decorated with boat and line decorations. The decor can also be found in East German stone boxes. Despite the great distance, the connection is very clear. The boat figures from Mjeltehaugen are simple lines that mark the railing and keel. The decorations consist of parallel herringbone patterns, wavy ribbons and zigzag patterns . The decor is reminiscent of textiles. In particular, the fringes on the lower edge give the impression that woven carpets have been imitated.
The gifts in the grave indicate a person who must have had a high status. Given the strategic location of Giske, it seems obvious to combine the culture that built this complex with the sea and seafaring, especially since several islands with large tombs can be connected to form a row. However, there is no evidence of such an early sea voyage over longer distances. The oldest ships in Scandinavia (350–400 AD) were found in Kongshaugen on Valderøy.
Later a woman was buried in the upper part of the hill. Her grave lay over the old layer of gravel that covered the stone box. Two rod-shaped bronze buckles with silver coating were found in the grave, which are dated to the Iron Age around 200 AD.
On Vigra stands the Blimshaugen, about 36 meters wide and five meters high. Several stone boxes from the Neolithic Age have been found here. The finds from the excavations are exhibited in the Godøytun Museum.
Around 2000 years after Mjeltehaugen was built, Giskeætta on the island of Giske was a medieval center of power in Norway. Giskeætta owned lands and estates across the country and was related to most of the Norwegian kings and leading families in the country.
See also
literature
- Joakim Goldhahn: Om döda och efterlevande med exempel från Bredrör, Skelhøj, Sagaholm och Mjeltehaugen , Bergen, Norway: "Arkeologiske Skrifter" 2006 pp. 283–303
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Fetts fk.nr. 1 Mjeltehaugen - Gravminne. (No longer available online.) Riksantikvaren , May 21, 2012, formerly in the original ; Retrieved September 11, 2013 (Norwegian, brief description with location information). ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
Coordinates: 62 ° 30 ′ 6 ″ N , 6 ° 3 ′ 44 ″ E