Stone circle in the donkey stable
| Stone circle in the donkey stable | |||
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| Coordinates | 51 ° 47 '31.7 " N , 11 ° 5' 31.5" E | ||
| place | Quedlinburg , Saxony-Anhalt , Germany | ||
| Emergence | Neolithic ? | ||
The stone circle in the donkey stable was a large prehistoric , probably Neolithic , stone circle near Quedlinburg in the Harz district in Saxony-Anhalt . It was destroyed in the middle of the 19th century.
location
The stone circle was located west of Quedlinburg halfway to Westerhausen in what is now a wooded valley. The name "Eselstall" is used today for the forest, but before the area was reforested it referred to the valley and perhaps goes back directly to the stone circle.
Other menhirs are known from the vicinity. These include the menhir from Westerhausen and the possible menhir from Quedlinburg , which was built into a memorial for a prisoner of war camp .
description
The stone circle was first described in 1867 by Ernst Ferdinand Yxem . According to Yxem, the stone circle was still preserved around 1852 and was probably destroyed shortly afterwards. It was oval in shape and was 500 feet long and 350 feet wide. It was the largest stone circle in central Germany . Large sandstone blocks were arranged around a central block at intervals of 30–50 feet (approx. 9–16 m) . Whether the circle stones were lying or standing stones ( menhirs ) is not clear from Yxem's report. The central stone was irregular in shape and between 10 and 12 feet (about 3–4 m) in height. Its east side was evidently smoothed and had an inscription made of indecipherable characters. The time of origin of these signs is unclear.
According to Yxem, numerous grave goods were discovered in the hills around the stone circle, mainly ceramic vessels and stone axes . In the district itself, however, only flint tools were found.
Some of the stones of the circle may still be preserved. Several stones were found to the east on the edge of the field, one of which stood out because its appearance is reminiscent of a human face in profile. This stone was erected again in 2001 near where it was found. More stones are to the west of the no longer preserved excursion restaurant. An oak was planted in the place of the central stone , which stands out in the otherwise pine forest.
literature
- Adolf Brinkmann : Descriptive representation of the older architectural and art monuments of the district of Quedlinburg. First part (= descriptive representation of the older architectural and art monuments of the province of Saxony. Volume 33/1). Hendel, Halle 1922, p. 3 ( online ).
- Burghard Sinna: The donkey stable. epubli, 2015, ISBN 978-3737571067 .
- Ernst Ferdinand Yxem : Antiquarian messages from Quedlinburg and Nordhausen. In: New communications from the field of historical-antiquarian research. Volume 11, 1867, pp. 504-505 ( online ).
Web links
- The Megalithic Portal: Stone Circle donkey stable
- KLEKs Online: Stone circle donkey stable
- Cult-Ur-Ort-Harz: The donkey stable near Westerhausen
- westerhausen-info.de: The myth of the donkey stable