taken from the information board
Arbeitskreis Archäologie im Bernburger Land e.V.:
Steinerne Hütte (Stone Hut)
Middle Neolithic period: approx. 4,100 – 2,700 BC
The Steinerne Hütte is a burial ground that was built in the middle Neolithic period (about 4,100 – 2,700 BC) by the people of the so-called funnel beaker culture (in our area so by representatives of the Baalberger and the Bernburg culture). Such giant’s grave (megalithic tombs) were widespread in large parts of western, northern and central Europe, with the known megalithic tombs in the Bernberg-Köthen area belong to the southernmost representatives.
The imposing construction of the megalithic tomb (length: approx. 8 m, width: approx. 2 m, height: approx. 1.5 m) was reconstructed in 1958 by the state museum of prehistory Halle / Saale. It was constructed from cut sandstone slabs. In addition to the 10 support stones and 5 cover plates, several upright limestone plates have been preserved in the northwestern part of the burial chamber as well as remains of a floor plaster.
The tomb was formerly probably covered by a hill. Unfortunately, its removal took place at a time when archaeological findings were neither observed nor documented, in the present case probably before the 19th century. A consideration is based here on a destruction of the hill in the Thirty Years’ War, when in the fall of 1644 around Latdorf a huge Swedish army camp was built, for whose fortifications one could use the soil well. In addition, in 1918, the improper opening of the excavated burial chamber was said to have occurred, with all finds lost.
As a result, in the present case, we have no information on the findings. Readings (pottery shards and flint tools), which were made in connection with security work and site inspections, however, date safely to the Neolithic period. Due to the characteristic construction and numerous comparable findings it can be assumed that the people of the above-mentioned Baalberger or the Bernburg culture were the builders of the megalithic grave, and probably also subsequent uses by later cultures, such as in the Bronze Age, took place.