Stone box from Köchstedt
| Stone box from Köchstedt | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
|||
| Coordinates | 51 ° 28 '28 " N , 11 ° 47' 48.4" E | ||
| place | Teutschenthal , Saxony-Anhalt , Germany | ||
| Emergence | Neolithic | ||
The stone box from Köchstedt was a presumed Neolithic stone box grave near Köchstedt , a district of Teutschenthal in the Saalekreis ( Saxony-Anhalt ). It was discovered in 1925 while plowing and poorly documented archaeologically . The stones were used to build a war memorial in 1934 .
location
The stone box was discovered in a field north of Köchstedt. The stones were set up in 1934 west of the village, about 1.1 km southwest of the site, on the southeast corner of what was then a barracks area.
Research history
On October 21, 1925, several large stones were discovered while steam plowing . Thanks to the immediate notification by the landowner Hans Ernst Koch to the Provincial Museum Halle , his employee Nils Niklasson was able to carry out an investigation of the site on the same day. He interpreted the finding as a possible stone box grave. Niklasson wrote a report for the local record , but not a scientific publication. The stones were kept by Koch. In 1934 they were used for the construction of a war memorial, which was erected at ground level on a slight hill and was supposed to remind of a dolmen . In 2014, Niklasson's report and the correspondence between Hans Ernst Koch and the Museum Halle were scientifically evaluated by Mike Leske as part of a bachelor thesis.
description
The box was located on the northeast slope of a high plateau and was oriented east-west. It was at a depth of 0.5 m and consisted of six stones, which were probably four smaller wall stones and two larger cap stones. The stones were made of quartzite sandstone . The western capstone was 1.5 m long, 1.5 m wide and 0.7 m thick. According to Niklasson's sketch, it rested on four wall stones, while the eastern capstone with a length of 1.0 m, a width of 1.5 m and a thickness of 0.7 m lay directly on the sandy soil. The height of the chamber was 1.3 m.
Since neither burial remains nor grave goods were found and the interior of the chamber was extremely small, Niklasson initially interpreted the complex as a cenotaph . However, it is not clear whether the Niklasson stones were found in their original location or had already been relocated by the plow. The lack of bones and additions could also be explained by animal consumption, unfavorable conservation conditions or robbery. Leske therefore believes it can also be used as a grave, in which a dead person could have been laid down in an extreme stoop position.
A cultural classification of the stone box is difficult due to the lack of finds. A shallow grave was discovered just north of the site in 1934 , which can probably be assigned to the Baalberg culture . In addition, ceramic finds of the Baalberg culture were made west of Köchstedt in Wansleben am See . An assignment to this culture therefore appears plausible.
literature
- Mike Leske: A megalithic grave near Köchstedt? Re-interpretation of the finding and its ideological transfiguration. Bachelor thesis, Teutschenthal 2014.
Web links
- Mike Leske: November: A megalithic grave near Köchstedt?
- Saalekreis in the picture: First World War (Köchstedt, barracks)