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Helmstedt
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9 posts
Helmstedt 1 Passage Grave |
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Helmstedt 2 Passage Grave |
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The Lübbensteinen are two passage graves whose origin dates back to around 3500 BC. Both sites are oriented in north-south direction. They are the southernmost megalithic tombs in northern Germany and were built from local lignite quartzite. The two megalithic tombs are located west of Helmstedt on the main road 1 in the direction of Königslutter on the St. Annenberg. The tombs are a bit off on a raised plateau with a parking lot. The northern tomb was completely reconstructed, the southern tomb only incomplete, since half of the stones were missing. Unfortunately, during my visit on Good Friday 2019, three larger groups of people celebrated on the grounds. Children clambered on the stones and adults sat on the capstones. On my pictures, I tried to depict the people as far as possible, or I removed them afterwards from the pictures as well as possible. Visited April 2019 |
Posted by Nucleus27th April 2019ce |
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taken from the information board: The Lübbensteine 4000 BC Landmarks of archeology in the Brunswick region The records of the two impressive prehistoric grave monuments on St. Annenberg in front of Helmstedt reach back to the 17th century (Figs.1 and 2). The tombs themselves are much older and were built in the middle of the 4th millennium BC. It is due to the intervention of professors of the University of Helmstedt that the Lübbensteine escaped the fate of other megalithic tombs in the region, which were smashed or blown up because they disturbed the farming of the fields and the stones could be used well as building material. Today, the Lübbenstein are designated as cultural and historical monuments. In the 19th century, the Lübbensteine were much worse preserved than the viewer suspects today. In 1935/36 both tombs were examined by the archaeologists Hofmeister and Thaerigen. More than half of the stones were missing from the southern tomb (near your location), most notably the capstones of the chamber, of which only one was left. Much better preserved was the tomb to the north (Fig. 3), which was also the model for the reconstruction of the second site. Here 40 of the originally 45 stones of the enclosure were preserved. There were also all five capstones, but two of them were broken. Time had caused damage on the in 1936 restored tombs (figs 4 and 5), so that in 2001 there was an acute danger of collapse. With the help of the Brunswick United Monastery and Study Fund and the city of Helmstedt, a damage assessment was carried out in 2002, which was completed in 2003 with a refurbishment and securing of the sites. In addition, the interior of the two grave chambers, originally paved with stone slabs, was laid with gravel to convey an authentic spatial impression (Figs. 4 and 6). At the southern grave, the monochromatic capstone erected hitherto in a distorted, stele-like manner has been restored to its original function over a newly added supporting stone (Figs. 5 and 6). Both graves are megalithic or large stone tombs, built from local lignite quartzites. The actual burial chambers are formed by yokes from two supporting and one capstone each. The chambers of both tombs today consist of five such yokes, although it is not entirely certain that this was the original state of the southern grave. From the east, a corridor flanked by two vertically placed stones, which is only preserved at the northern tomb, leads into the burial chamber. Further out, a rectangular stone enclosure of vertically placed stones runs. The gaps between the individual stones of the chamber and those of the enclosure were closed with dry-stone-like small stones. The area between the chamber and the enclosure was filled with soil, so that only the capstones of the chamber and the enclosure could be seen from the outside. The grave resembled in its original appearance with it one of the typical Neolithic wooden houses. The excavations on the Lübbensteinen have brought almost no finds. Old excavations that have been handed down since the 18th century had ravaged the entire area. Such megalithic tombs have been visited for generations as burial places, and in well-preserved tombs remains of more than a hundred skeletons were often salvaged in the chambers. The dead were equipped with vessels (probably containers for food on the way to the afterlife), jewelry and equipment and weapons made of stone. The Lübbensteine are the southernmost megalithic tombs in northern Germany. Further comparable graves are known from Groß Steinum, Süpplingenburg and the Marienborner Forst. In Groß Steinum, the archaeological park "Baustelle Großsteingrab" (construction site megalithic tomb) provides detailed information about the construction and interpretation of the megalithic tombs. In the south following low mountain range landscapes suitable large stones were missing as building material. Here comparable grave sites were built from stone walls, from stone slabs or also from wood. The reconstruction of a wall chamber grave excavated can be visited at Remlingen on the southern edge of the Asse. |
Posted by Nucleus 27th April 2019ce Edited 27th April 2019ce |
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Helmstedt 2 (Passage Grave) — Images (click to view fullsize) |
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Posted by Nucleus 27th April 2019ce |
Helmstedt 1 (Passage Grave) — Images |
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Posted by Nucleus 27th April 2019ce |
Helmstedt 2 (Passage Grave) — Images |
      
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Posted by Nucleus 26th April 2019ce |
Helmstedt 1 (Passage Grave) — Images |
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Posted by Nucleus 26th April 2019ce |
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