Stone box on the Hartberg
The stone box on the Hartberg is located on the western steep slope of the Hartberg, northeast of Schankweiler near Bitburg , near the border with Luxembourg in Rhineland-Palatinate . It is located on an outcrop that supplied the building material and consists of three sandstone slabs that, together with an outcropping stone, form an approximately 2.0 m long and 1.2 m wide rectangular stone box that was excavated in 1966. Stone boxes or gallery graves of this type were found in the Neolithic around 2800 BC. Built in BC.
The plate of the northern end wall is broken in the middle and has half a round hole about 70 cm in diameter. This so-called soul hole is a completely unusual access opening for stone boxes, which is otherwise only found again in systems of other types in France and Hesse , which is why the system is also classified as "Allée couverte". Thanks to the lockable access, new burials could be deposited over and over again. The ceiling plate and the upper half of the front plate with the soul hole were removed during the Hallstatt period , when building material was extracted here and on the surrounding rocks. Originally the stone box was covered by a mound of earth. The information board shows a portal in front of the soul hole. The Schankweiler stone box is the only Neolithic collective grave in Rhineland-Palatinate.
Knives and arrowheads made of flint and broken vessels were found among grave goods . There was also a small cup with so-called barbed wire decoration from the early Bronze Age , which indicates a long use of the facility.
See also
literature
- Jürgen E. Walkowitz: The megalithic syndrome. European cult sites of the Stone Age (= contributions to the prehistory and early history of Central Europe. Vol. 36). Beier & Beran, Langenweißbach 2003, ISBN 3-930036-70-3 .
Web links
Coordinates: 49 ° 54 '18.3 " N , 6 ° 23' 23.5" E