Rough Stone Monuments and Their BuildersPeet, T. Eric (Thomas Eric)
History
Rough Stone Monuments and Their Builders
Peet, T. Eric (Thomas Eric)
Megalithic monuments; Prehistoric peoples
The late type in which the corridor leads out of one of the narrow ends
of the chamber is represented in both Sweden and Denmark. From this may
be derived the rather unusual types in which the corridor has become
indistinguishable from the chamber or forms a sort of antechamber to it.
An example of the former type at Knyttkaerr in Sweden is wider at one end
than at the other, and has an outer coating of stone slabs. It resembles
very closely the wedge-shaped tombs of Munster (cf. Fig. 7):
In Germany megalithic monuments are not infrequent, but they are
practically confined to the northern part of the country. They extend as
far east as Koenigsberg and as far west as the borders of Holland. They
are very frequent in Holstein, Mecklenburg, and Hanover. There are even
examples in Prussian Saxony, but in South Germany they cease entirely.
Keller in one edition of his _Lake Dwellings_ figures two supposed
dolmens north of Lake Pfaeffikon in Switzerland, but we have no details
with regard to them.
The true dolmen is extremely rare in Germany, and only occurs in small
groups in particular localities. The corridor-tomb with a distinct
chamber is also very exceptional, especially east of the Elbe. The most
usual type of megalithic tomb is that known as the _Huenenbett_ or
_Riesenbett_. The latter name means Giants' Bed, and it seems probable
that the former should be similarly translated, despite the suggested
connection with the Huns, for a word _Huenen_ has been in use in North
Germany for several centuries with the meaning of giants. A _Huenenbett_
consists of a rectangular (rarely oval or round) hill of earth covering
a megalithic tomb. This is a simple elongated rectangle in shape, made
of upright blocks and roofed with two or more cover-slabs. The great
_Huenenbett_ or Grewismuehlen in Mecklenburg has a mound measuring 150
feet by 36 with a height of 5 feet. On the edge of the mound are
arranged forty-eight tall upright blocks of stone.
The _Huenenbetter_ of the Altmark are among the best known and explored.
Here the corridors are usually about 20 feet long, though in rare cases
they reach a length of 40 feet. Each is filled with clean sand up to
two-thirds of its height, and on this lie the bodies and their funeral
deposit. The bodies must have been laid flat, though not necessarily in
an extended position, as there was not room above the sand for them to
have been seated upright. Various implements of flint have been found in
the tombs together with stone hammers and vases of pottery. There is no
certain instance of the finding of metal.
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