4 April 2006 From the NE
Image credit: Tim Clark
Images
4 April 2006 From the SE
Image credit: Tim Clark
4 April 2006 Preparing to squeeze into the smaller passage (& chamber)
Image credit: Jane Tomlinson
4 April 2006 The smaller passage isn’t as spacious as this makes it look – see pic with me standing outside!
Image credit: Tim Clark
4 April 2006 Inside the smaller chamber
Image credit: Tim Clark
Image credit: Moth Clark
Image credit: Jane Tomlinson
Moth emerges from the larger(!) chamber & passage
Image credit: Jane Tomlinson
Articles
Access: Area to park right next to the monument and fairly even, flat grassed area around the monument.
Visited 4 April 2006
Amazing! This should be a showcase site – it’s probably the ‘best’ long barrow I’ve ever seen, anywhere. It’s long, high and virtually complete, has 2 chambers with access and a truly spectacular retaining kerb with stones up to 3 metres tall!
One chamber is larger than the other (I can’t remember which!) and is a bit easier to get into, though the squeeze through the passage is fairly tight even for a 5’ 8"er. Once inside though, the chamber is, I think, around 2 metres high (in places at least). Unfortunately, I don’t have photos of this one, as Jane was using the camera.
The passage to the smaller chamber is a real ‘crawler’, as you may be able to see from one of our photographs, but is just as rewarding as the larger one.
The langdysse was ‘partially excavated’ in 1960 and I wonder if it was restored at the same time, as it is so pristine. The tiny amount of information I was able to find online in English was very brief. The only other thing it said was that finds of middle-neolithic pottery and flint knives are in the Danish National Museum (Copenhagen).
A short walk from here to Rishøj which I’m afraid is not in such good condition, but well worth a look.
Between Hobro and Mariager on route 555 at Katbjerg, you find one of the most imposing Danish long barrows.
Moth couldn’t find any printed information about the monuments at Katbjerg at all which is almost criminal, because the long barrow is the finest long barrow we had ever seen. Yes, seriously!
This monument was untrashed and probably not much restored. It was long – perhaps 25 metres and rectangular with a continuous line of big kerbstones. And tall, too some up to 3ms high! The mound billowed upwards along the entire length of the monument, completely undenuded. Down one side are two low passageways, each leading to a large intact chamberof grand proportions, one of them has uprights of more than 2m high!
No fancy horned forecourts here though; instead just really whopping stones at each end. Oooh! Oooh! OOOOH! This place blew our minds.
It was partly excavated in 1960. The finds, fine pottery from the middle Neolithic period and flintstone knives, are in the National Museum.
