Simple dolmen
The simple dolmen (
Neolithic monuments are an expression of the culture and ideology of neolithic communities. Their emergence and function serve as indicators of social development.[2]
Distinction between simple dolmens and stone cists
In many cases there is no clear distinction between simple dolmens and stone cists.
Evolution
The smallest simple dolmens occur on the
You can follow the evolution of simple dolmens, which for the early builders was a learning process, and how, step by step, they met the demands placed on them at the time by producing ever more mature (and larger) solutions. This also applies to the development of simple dolmens into extended dolmens (also called rectangular dolmens), to its round variant, the polygonal dolmen, and to the great dolmens.
Block cists
The prototype of the simple dolmen is the so-called
On the island of
Access
Initial progress - in terms of multiple use - was achieved by the creation of an
This development path was abandoned in favour of options using other axes of entry. The simple dolmen was now buried less deeply and the upper half of one of the ends was used as access. This form can be found e.g. in the
The always parallel-sided open simple dolmens are 2.2 to 2.6 metres long and 1.0 to 1.8 metres wide and slightly larger than the closed examples. For Schleswig-Holstein, the small chamber at
Subsequently, the first rectangular dolmens (Grammdorf in the municipality of Wangels) and passage graves (Deinste) were built, still sunk in pits. In the next step, the neolithic builders understood how to lay the foundation of the three or more supporting stones (which in simple dolmens were always placed on their longest sides) in such a way that their base of the structure could be closer to the surface of the ground. This higher positioning allowed a passage to be added that led into the chamber at ground level (below right). Now, however, a threshold stone was required that separated the chamber and the profane or secular passage (symbolically) from one another.
The effort was made to reduce the size of the slab covering the opening of the re-usable simple dolmen to one that could be manhandled by the settlement community. The simple dolmen with a passage evolved into the "extended dolmens", which are generally longer, usually have more than one capstone and - apart from the transitional types at Neu Gaarz, Bad Doberan county - have orthostats that stand on one of their two smallest faces, thus allowing the roof of the chamber to be higher.
Simple dolmens once lay within stone enclosures or under circular mounds, but many of these have been removed. The simple dolmen at Lindeskov on
See also
- Rock shelter – Shallow cave-like opening at the base of a bluff or cliff
References
- ^ Bakker, JA (1992). The Dutch Hunebedden, University of Michigan.
- ^ J. Müller In: Varia neolithica VI 2009 p. 15
- ^ Ewald Schuldt: Die Nekropole von Wollschow Kreis Pasewalk und das Problem der neolithischen Steinkisten in Mecklenburg In: Jahrbuch der Bodendenkmalpflege in Mecklenburg 1974 (1975) pp. 77–144
- ^ This detailed classification of dolmens into subtypes is only common in Germany. In the Netherlands and Poland these types do not occur. In Denmark and Sweden a distinction is only made between dolmens (Dysse, Döse) and passage graves. In Denmark the type of mound is used to distinguish dolmens in the nomenclature (Runddysse and Langdysse)
- ^ Salvatore Piccolo, Ancient Stones, op. cit., pp. 4 and 32.
- ^ Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde und Vorgeschichte Oldenburg J. A. Artymowski: Zur Ur- und Frühgeschichte Polens In: Altertümer aus Polen p. 11
Literature
- Mamoun Fansa: Großsteingräber zwischen Weser und Ems. 3rd revised edition. Isensee, Oldenburg, 2000, ISBN 3-89598-741-7(Archäologische Mitteilungen aus Nordwestdeutschland. Beiheft 33).
- Salvatore Piccolo: Ancient Stones. The Prehistoric Dolmens of Sicily. Brazen Head Publishing, Thornham (UK), 2013, ISBN 978-0-9565106-2-4.
- Michael Schmidt: Die alten Steine. Reisen zur Megalithkultur in Mitteleuropa. Hinstorff, Rostock, 1998, ISBN 3-356-00796-3.
- Jürgen E. Walkowitz: Das Megalithsyndrom. Europäische Kultplätze der Steinzeit. Beier & Beran, Langenweißbach, 2003, ISBN 3-930036-70-3(Beiträge zur Ur- und Frühgeschichte Mitteleuropas. 36).