Gratsch stone chamber grave

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The north-south oriented stone chamber grave of Gratsch was found in 1957 as part of construction work in Gratsch near Meran in South Tyrol ( Italy ) on the plot 191/2, north of today's Laurinstrasse 96.

It was an oval grave, which consisted of a stone wreath in which a large stone slab with a soul hole of 24 cm in diameter was inserted in the middle, on both long sides . The grave was damaged earlier, probably during the trench for viticulture, with the cover plates being removed and the upper parts of the pierced soul stones chipped off. After the grave had been recovered, the components were removed and initially rebuilt about 150 m north on the south wall of the Church of St. Magdalena, although the excavation documentation was not followed. Today the remains are in the South Tyrolean Archaeological Museum in Bolzano .

The chamber contained a poorly preserved skeleton lying on its back, bedded on lime mortar, its head facing north. Black sources of fire and the effects of fire on the stones were noticeable in the grave area. Except for a few charred pieces of wood, a few animal bones, a fragment of a horn pin and 2 boar teeth, the grave was empty.

The dating is problematic because of the lack of additions and the inconsistent construction. Stone slabs with a soul hole are connected with Neolithic gallery graves , the lime-mortar stone wreath with ancient grave forms. Gallery graves also had only one soul hole on the narrow gable side. This chamber tomb therefore probably dates from late antiquity. The perforated stones (presumably also the cover plates) are likely to come from two late Neolithic graves in the area. A Byzantine gold coin that came to light nearby underscores the chronological order.

literature

  • Matthias Ladurner-Parthanes , Georg Innerebner: Report on the discovery of an old grave site in Gratsch near Meran. In: Der Schlern 31, 1957, pp. 99-104.
  • Reimo Lunz: Prehistory of the Lagundo - Gratsch - Tirol area (= archaeological-historical research in Tirol. Volume 1). Athesia, Bozen 1977, pp. 27-30.
  • Matthias Ladurner-Parthanes: Gratsch the old village at the foot of Castle Tyrol. 1981, p. 25 ff.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ladurner, Gratsch p. 25.
  2. ↑ Ladurner, Gratsch p. 25.

Coordinates: 46 ° 41 ′ 21.6 ″  N , 11 ° 8 ′ 30.1 ″  E