Nordic megalithic architecture

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Nordic megalith architecture refers to the built of rough-hewn stone blocks or very little monuments ( megaliths ) of the megalithic culture in the northern half of Central Europe and in Scandinavia . It originated mainly between 3500 and 2800 BC. Chr. And is primarily a product of the funnel cup culture (TBK), but also the Wartberg and Walternienburg-Bernburg culture .

Among other things, Ewald Schuldt in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania excavated over 100 structures of different types ( original dolmen , extended dolmen , passage grave , large dolmen , megalithic beds without a chamber ) between 1964 and 1974 (no stone boxes ). There are also polygonal poles . At the edge of the TBK area there are megalithic systems of other types (e.g. the Central German Chamber ) in small numbers. Later grave boxes , cairn graves and marginal types (boat-shaped chamber from Bakenhus ) to roes were created .

The specific German nomenclature does not apply in Denmark and Scandinavia , where it is more broadly divided into dolmen ( Danish Dysser , Swedish Döser ), passage graves ( Swedish Gånggrifter , Danish Jættestuen ) and stone boxes ( Danish Hellekister , Swedish Hällkista ). According to conservative estimates, the TBK bearers built 30,000 barrows. Over 7,000 large stone graves are known in Denmark, of which about 2,800 have been preserved (in Germany there are about 900 of probably 5600).

One of the common theories about equipment manufacturing

context

Neolithic monuments are an expression of the culture and beliefs of Neolithic societies. Their origin and function are considered to be the hallmarks of social development. A religious movement was suspected early on behind the megalithic complexes. This split - Christianity also split several times in the past 2000 years - in the course of more than 8000 years into different sects ( Vere Gordon Childe 1947, p. 46).

The characteristics of the facilities are regionally determined ( Bornholm only knows passage graves), but was primarily dependent on resources . Structurally, all the essential elements are anticipated in the approximately 500 years older Breton megalithic tradition, but (contrary to earlier assumptions) there is nothing to suggest an architectural influence.

Construction crew theory

Nordic megalithic architecture and other artificial solutions of the period

One explanation for the different forms is - in addition to the basic requirement of the availability of resources and technical progress - the construction team theory advocated by Friedrich Laux and Ewald Schuldt (1914–1987). According to Friedrich Laux, there are different “building traditions” or “building schools” behind this widespread image: “If you also come across stone chambers in a very confined geographical area that have matching building elements, e.g. If, for example, similarly manufactured threshold stones have, even in some cases are almost identical in size, then one is inclined to think of construction crews who wandered around in the individual landscapes and carried out orders. Their job is likely to have included the procurement of the selected building material as well as the processing of the boulders themselves ”. And: Since the construction of such chambers with the inwardly inclined wall stones requires a certain knowledge of statics, you can always count on a responsible builder who was responsible for the management. On the basis of the technical design, Ewald Schuldt concluded in 1972 that the monuments were executed under the "guidance of a specialist or groups of specialists". Proof of this is z. B. Sk 49 Dolmen from Skabersjö sn RAÄ 3 a dolmen in Skåne with a triangular border that is typical for Poland and completely untypical for Scandinavia. In addition, there were and still are regionalist perspectives that assume an independent development of megalithic construction in the European areas, whereby one does not exclude the other.

elements

Ewald Schuldt divided the architectural elements into:

Chamber structure

Passage grave (cross-section) 1 = support stone, 2 = cap stone, 3 = mound, 4 = seal, 5 = wedge stones, 6 = access, 7 = threshold stone. 8 = floor slabs, 9 = sub-floor storage, 10 = intermediate masonry 11 = curb stones
Resident
Size pattern of the types
Bezel variants

There is a significant difference in the chamber structure between the systems whose cap stones are exclusively laid in three-point support and those whose cap stones are also or even mostly in yoke construction (two-point support). The boulders selected for the wall and ceiling construction had at least one relatively flat side in addition to the corresponding size. It was more rarely reshaped by splitting, presumably by blasting it with heating and quenching. On the narrow sides of large dolmen, instead of boulders, slabs made of red sandstone were used for the wall or partition structure, which also filled the gaps between the supporting stones of the chamber and corridor or between the curbs of the enclosure.

The supporting stones from the phase after the Urdolmen, which were only slightly sunk into the subsoil, were given the necessary support by means of base plates and wedge stones. The bearing stones of yoke systems were statically secured by a slight inward inclination and an outer rammed earth or stone packing, while the bearing stones of systems with three-point capstones are vertical.

Height extension

The height of the 106 plants excavated by Ewald Schuldt in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania was between 0.8 and 1.8 m as far as can be determined, whereby both limit values ​​are rare. In Denmark , some systems have a multi-layer (mostly two-layer) wall structure. The Rævehøj by Dalby on the Danish island of Zealand has a three- to four-layer wall structure, which increases the chamber height of the chambers in Denmark, which are usually less than 1.75 meters high, to over 2.5 meters. In one of the Neu Gaarz and Lancken-Granitz Mecklenburg plants , the wall structure is partially two-layered. In Liepen (Mecklenburg) and at some other places it is multi-layered in the area of ​​the 0.5 meter protruding “overhang”. The larger blocks that lie on top of the intermediate masonry are also called upstream . The wall structure of an Urdolmen from Neu-Gaarz is also partially multi-layered, although the “lower part” does not affect the height.

The capstones used rarely have a weight of more than 20 tons (t), on the other hand in the rest of the megalithic area in individual cases weights of over 100 t ( Browneshill Dolmen in County Carlow in Ireland ) are represented. The floor plan of the chambers is rarely square, but rather oval, polygonal, rectangular (also bulged), diamond or trapezoidal.

Intermediate masonry

While the wall stones of many smaller systems are close to one another, the gaps between the supporting stones in large dolmen and passage graves filled with intermediate masonry (called “seal” in Sweden) can even be over a meter wide. On Zealand , the chamber of a passage grave on “Dysselodden” (west of Ubby ) shows the exact opposite. Here larger-than-man-high bearing stones were fitted together so precisely that you couldn't get a sheet of paper into the joints.

Accesses

The megalithic systems investigated by Ewald Schuldt in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania had (as far as they were preserved) corridor lengths between 0.6 and 3.0 m, which is an average value in relation to the distribution area.

Floorboards, sub-floor area

Floorboards are mandatory for all chambers, which are usually separated from the normally unpaved corridor by the threshold stone. The antechambers of the large dolmen remained mostly without boarding. In some cases, hallways have been fitted with floorboards. In these cases, the original chamber space was expanded by means of a second threshold stone located further towards the entrance.

The soles of the grave are laid out as flat and horizontal surfaces in most of the chambers. A carefully prepared level and horizontal grave floor has been observed at one of the megalithic complexes in Bruges . The dolmen lay on gently sloping terrain. In order to maintain a level level, the grave floor on the southeast side was sunk about 0.3 m into the existing soil, on the northwest side, however, only about 0.17 m. The grave floor of the St. Michaelisdonn dolmen was deepened between 0.6 and 0.8 m. In Langwedel and Noer-Lindhöft, the pavement was not laid horizontally. In both chambers, the grave floor sloped down from the entrance to the opposite side. In the dolmen of Alt Duvenstedt, the grave floor in the western part of the chamber is 0.6 m wide, about 5–8 cm higher than in the eastern part.

Structure of the boards

The use of materials in the individual plants and their regional differences are revealing. Of the 96 large stone graves examined in Mecklenburg, 76 more or less complete findings on the board structure are available. Information about the structure in the individual system areas such as aisle, chamber, quarters, antechamber or vestibule are exceptional. They lead to the conclusion that the board structure of the same system mostly shows differences.

In more than half of the large stone graves recorded, the plank has two layers. In 12 cases, clay screed was encountered over red sandstone slabs. This is followed by the combinations of clay over rolling stones (6), clay over burnt flint (5), burnt flint over rolling stones (6) and clay over granite chippings (5). The 12 remaining cases are divided into 6 further two-layer sequences, of which flint over clay (4) and clay over slate (3) predominate.

Of the 76 boards examined, 23 are single-layer and consist of red sandstone (10), rolling stones (5) or clay (3). In three cases, a three- or four-shift rotation was encountered. Finally, in a six-layer sequence, a pavement was observed at the bottom, over which three z. Sometimes red-fired layers of clay with interposed plasters made of gneiss cuttings follow.

The idea of ​​the decrease in less resistant sedimentary rocks in the direction of movement of the inland ice agrees with the fact that in the north-eastern large stone graves (Schwingetal and Rügen) pavement pavement is completely absent and has been replaced by red sandstone or Paleozoic slate.

The thickness of the flooring layer varies between three and ten cm. A flooring in Sassen (Mecklenburg), where thin red sandstone slabs were laid vertically, is unique . The importance of the planks is shown by the fact that they were either removed and renewed by the subsequent users or covered with a higher plank (extended Dolmen of Serrahn - Spr. No. 384). Floorboards were divided into quarters , particularly in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Sweden .

Quarters or sections

Firing

The firing of megalithic systems is a TBK phenomenon that Schuldt describes in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in 17 (of 106 examined) extended dolmens and larger systems. The inclusion of the chambers in the cult of the dead can be proven by the screeds, which have been reddened by fire in some cases. In the enlarged Dolmen 2 of Serrahn, the screed was partially sintered and the sandy, gravelly floor under the paving had also taken on a red color. Obviously, ritual fires were lit on the floorboards during funerals. For a long time this took place on the entire floor area.

When quarters were built in, these areas were left out and perhaps there were already bones in the back when the fire in front burned down. The construction of quarters may also have arisen in this context. At least the scorched bones from normal (body) burials speak for this. Similar ritual processes must have taken place in large dolmen and passage graves, which originally had mostly continuous screeds on which fires were burned. Only those small systems that were built for one-time use (Urdolmen), i.e. not collective graves, were not fired.

After the well-thought-out division of the chamber floors into several quarters, a larger space was retained near the entrance for the cult of the dead. The fact that there were already different views on the use of the chambers and thus the cult of the dead before the quarters were installed can be seen, for example, in This can be demonstrated, for example, in the large dolmen built in the old districts of Grimmen, Demmin, Greifswald and Anklam, which were provided with an anteroom. In Schuldt's view, the chambers were also thoroughly cleaned in the context of clearings and fires were kindled in them.

The earth filling of the chambers

The chambers of over 100 dolmens and passage graves examined in the course of the excavations by Ewald Schuldt were without exception filled with soils of a similar structure. Since the fillings reached below the capstones in the case of undamaged or partially destroyed systems, the excavator assumes that those chambers that nowadays contain little soil were originally filled in after the end of their use. Even among the excavated ancient dolmen, the oldest structures in the north, there are several with completely preserved fillings. The findings in the Everstorfer Forest are revealing. The deepened Urdolmen underneath, which was open in the northern part, was so well closed that there was no possibility of the soil trickling in. The chamber was filled with layers of earth up to the capstone. Two arrowheads as additions to a reburial of the individual grave culture were located in the area of ​​the filling floor that had been mixed up by the intervention, so that the reburial took place in a chamber that had already been filled in.

Hill and border (megalithic bed)

hill

Length of the megalithic beds in Schleswig-Holstein
Typical dolmen in a round hill ( Tustrup burial ground )

The Neolithic hills above the megalithic systems consist mostly of earth. The material always comes from the local area and was often interspersed with stones. "Rollsteinhügel" are mounds of earth that were covered with a layer of rolling stones as a so-called stone mantle. Ewald Schuldt was able to detect such a cover in around 50% of the 106 systems he examined in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, and a few ( Kuchelmiß and Wilsen 1 ) show the complete (restored) pebble layer.

In the district of Cuxhaven there were plants overgrown by peat, which came to light when the water level fell. These megalithic systems have no hill. Some researchers take them as evidence that not all of the facilities were overrun. In the case of these systems, however, it is unclear whether the mound of earth did not fall victim to erosion soon after it was built.

Edging

The long rectangular edging of the hill made of more or less large kerbstones is common in Nordic megalithic architecture. It is called Hünenbett or Langbett (in the Netherlands hunebed ) in Germany . There are also round, D-shaped (Lübeck-Blankensee, Gowens / Plön), oval and double-oval, triangular (mostly in Poland), trapezoidal and occasionally irregular borders, 17 of which were excavated in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (with five different chamber types). Especially in Denmark there are round hills with round borders. The geometry of the enclosure is independent of the type or shape of the chamber that surrounds it. Only in Wötz (near Leetze) is a parallelism of a trapezoidal barrow and trapezoidal chamber a notable exception. The mound beds of Nieby and Philippstal are said to have been divided lengthwise into two halves by a row of stones. In the southern half of Nieby there was a chamber in Philippstal, there were three chambers in both halves.

The dolmens or passage graves lying in the barrows can be rectangular, trapezoidal ( Langdysser von Harreby ) or oval. They can be made lengthways (mostly with giant beds with ancient dolmen) or transversely (transversely, mostly with systems with corridors) or at an angle (e.g. Langdysser in Varnæs Tykke , Dolmen from Putlos , Urdolmen in Everstorfer Forest , large stone graves near Lonvitz , large stone graves near Lancken- Granitz , east field megalithic complex ) lie in the hill. One such example is the mounded beds of Grundoldendorf (municipality of Apensen, district of Stade ). There are also several dolmens and passage graves within one enclosure (Ellested on Fyn (5), Langdysse von Lønt, south of Haderslev Fjord (4), Waabs near Eckernförde (3)). Different types of systems also occur in the same giant bed. In Idstedt , a chamber was found in an abandoned round hill with a diameter of 10 meters, which was the starting point for the extension to a giant bed, which, however, could only be detected in traces.

Alignment

When it comes to the orientation of the Hünnen beds and the chambers, the north-south dominates in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania with 55 (about 40%), before the east-west with 50 (about 36%) cases. Northwest-southeast and northeast-southwest orientations are much rarer with 17 each (about 12% each).

Dimensions

Lindeskov on Funen , 168 meters long

The enclosures can surround the actual system very closely on all sides or z. B. as a 168 meter long and 4-5 meter wide border (Lindeskov on Fyn) surround a small Urdolmen. Lindeskov is Denmark's second longest megalithic bed (after Kardyb Dysse, between Tastum and Kobberup at 185 meters). These extraordinary lengths can already be found in the premegalithic monuments of the funnel beaker culture. Thus the system (No. 86) of Březno (dt. Letters) in northern Bohemia Louny (dt. Laun) a system of the "Niedźwiedź-type" (NTT), one end of which is indeterminate, at least 143.5 meters long. The 40 × 25 meter large Hünenbett Rokkestenen has a built-in area of ​​800 m² and is similar in size to the longer but narrower Lindeskov complex.

For comparison: the longest preserved German megalithic bed is in the Sachsenwald in Schleswig-Holstein and measures 154 meters. In Poland, the longest enclosure of a chamberless giant bed is 130 meters long. A 125-meter-long border, also for a giant bed without a chamber, is the longest in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania . At 104 meters, the Visbeker groom is the longest giant bed in Lower Saxony . The edging of Steinfeld , the longest edging in Saxony-Anhalt, is only 47 meters . Westphalian gallery graves also belong to Nordic megalithic architecture and are shorter (maximum 35 meters) due to the fact that they were also built by the supporters of the funnel cup culture.

Systems with round borders ( Runddysse Opferstein , Poskær Stenhus or Runddysse von Vielsted ) rarely reach a diameter of 20 meters.

Munkwolstrup 7, in Arnkielpark , is a north-west-south-east oriented trapezoidal barren bed with the Sprockhoff no. 31 of about 46.0 meters in length and 17 by 15.5 meters in width. The system is therefore considerably wider than all of the TBK giant beds, the width of which is mostly around 7.0 m.

See also

literature

  • Ute Bartelt : RiesenWerk. How much work does a large stone grave make? In: Archeology in Lower Saxony , 2007, pp. 22–26.
  • German Archaeological Institute - Madrid Department: Problems of megalithic grave research . Lectures on the 100th birthday of Vera Leisner . de Gruyter, New York / Berlin et al. 1990, ISBN 3-11-011966-8 ( Madrid research 16).
  • Seweryn Rzepecki: The roots of megalitism in the TRB culture. Instytut Archeologii Uniwersytetu Łódźkiego 2011, ISBN 978-83-933586-1-8 .
  • Ewald Schuldt: The Mecklenburg megalithic graves. Research on their architecture and function . Deutscher Verlag der Wissenschaften, Berlin 1972 ( contributions to the prehistory and early history of the districts of Rostock, Schwerin and Neubrandenburg . 6, ISSN  0138-4279 ).
  • Ernst Sprockhoff : Atlas of the megalithic tombs . 3 part. Rudolf Habelt Verlag, Bonn 1966–1975, ISBN 3-7749-1326-9 .
  • Ernst Sprockhoff: The Nordic megalithic culture. W. de Gruyter & Co., Berlin et al. 1938 ( Handbuch der Urgeschichte Deutschlands 3).
  • Märta Strömberg : The megalithic tombs of Hagestad. On the problem of grave structures and grave rites . Habelt, Bonn 1971, ISBN 3-7749-0195-3 ( Acta Archaeologica Lundensia . Series in 8 °. No. 9).
  • Jürgen E. Walkowitz: The megalithic syndrome. European cult sites of the Stone Age (= contributions to the prehistory and early history of Central Europe. Volume 36). Beier & Beran, Langenweißbach 2003, ISBN 3-930036-70-3 .
  • Bernd Zich: From tumulus to long bed. In: Archeology in Germany. 3, 1999, p. 52.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ J. Müller In: Varia neolithica. VI 2009, p. 15.
  2. ^ Johann Karl Wächter, Statistics of the pagan monuments existing in the Kingdom of Hanover, p. 9
  3. ↑ Friedrich Laux : The large stone graves in northern Lower Saxony. In: Heinz Schirnig (Hrsg.): Großsteingräber in Niedersachsen (= publications of the prehistoric collections of the State Museum in Hanover. 24). Lax, Hildesheim 1979, ISBN 3-7848-1224-4 , pp. 59-90
  4. ↑ "... made it possible to establish that the monuments were erected under the guidance of specialists or groups of specialists". E. Schuldt 1972, p. 106.
  5. ↑ Submerged systems largely bring with them those stabilizing elements that are preserved above-ground systems by stone packings and the like in a hill. You also do not need inward sloping bearing stones, but occasionally have them anyway for other reasons
  6. ^ Wiechers-Weidner: Great stone graves in Westphalia. 1985, p. 9.
  7. ↑ Based on a list by E. Schuldt, p. 70
  8. ↑ A giant bed in Albersdorf (Holstein) with 160 meters is often called the longest in Germany. This error is based on an incorrect statement in Ernst Sprockhoff's Atlas of Megalithic Tombs in Germany - Schleswig-Holstein . The megalithic bed is actually only 60 meters long, and is also recorded as LA53 in the state survey