Schmeersteine — Varnhorn

Also known as:
Sprockhoff Nr. 977
Latitude:
52° 52' 43.5 N
Longitude:
8° 19' 46.49 E
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Images

Image of Schmeersteine – Varnhorn (Chambered Tomb) by Nucleus

No drill holes found, so this capstones seems to be broken naturally
Visited July 2018

Image credit: Uwe Häberle 07/2018
Nucleus
Nucleus Nov 4, 2018

Articles

Schmeersteine — Varnhorn

Nucleus
Nucleus Nov 4, 2018

The megalithic tomb Schmeersteine lies north of Varnhorn, pretty much in the middle between the tombs Thölstedt in the northeast and Mühlensteine, Varnhorn in the southwest. I combined my visit with the tomb Mühlensteine, Varnhorn, so I parked at N52 52 19.5 E8 19 20.5 and used the farm track which leads northeast. From the start of the farm track it is a 850m walk, before a signposted beaten track leads left off to the tomb, which lies about 120m in the wood.

The tomb is about 8 x 1,8m, of the three surviving capstones, two are broken.

Visited July 2018

Schmeersteine — Varnhorn

Nucleus
Nucleus Nov 4, 2018

taken from the “Faszination Archäologie” information board:

“Schmeersteine”
Neolithic megalithic tomb
Dimensions: about 8 x 1.8 m

The original layout of the megalithic tomb is still relatively well recognizable, although some boulders are not preserved in their original position. The strange name “Schmeersteine” is based on the traditional misbelief that fat and butter (in Low German: “Schmeer”) were sacrificed here some time ago.

Testimony of sedentary life
Megalithic tombs like “Schmeersteine” are considered the oldest surviving structures of northern Central Europe. Until the fourth millennium BC only hunters and gatherers lived in the Wildeshauser Geest. Only the “funnel beaker culture” (about 3500 – 2700 BC) settled down permanently.

They bred cattle, planted grain and lived in post constructions. Presumably, they believed in an otherworldly life and therefore built their deceased sometimes monumental graves of boulders. Those megalithic graves or megalithic tombs (Greek: mega = large, lithos = stone) were erected not for individuals, but for groups and used over many generations.

Sites within 20km of Schmeersteine — Varnhorn

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