Nucleus

On the right-hand side of the road from Linden to Heide there is a restored passage grave from the middle Neolithic (approx. 3,000 BC). The grave complex was discovered in 1879 and belonged to a group of nine burial mounds.

The megalithic tomb is a so-called passage grave. These structures are usually larger than the simple dolmens and are usually accessible from one long side. Passage graves were created with a rectangular, round or oval floor plan. Rectangular chambers occur mainly in the south of Schleswig-Holstein and are therefore also referred to as “Holstein chambers”. In contrast, tombs with a polygonal floor plan are mainly found in the north of the country and are less common south of the river Eider.

During the restoration in 1980, remains of the original chamber floor and the former stone circle around the mound were documented. In the course of the restoration, large parts of the dry stone masonry, which had now fallen, had to be rebuilt. In addition, one of the supporting stones was broken. This was supplemented with concrete. The mound around the chamber was raised again according to the old dimensions. For security reasons, it was decided to slope down the access to the burial chamber and wall it up with modern natural paving stones.

Despite these concessions, the reconstructed megalithic tomb in Linden-Pahlkrug gives a very good impression of the Middle Neolithic monumental architecture. It is also the only reconstructed and accessible passage grave in southern Schleswig-Holstein.

The tomb is north of the road from Heide to Pahlen, between the Linden bypass and Pahlkrug. The monument is signposted and there is a small parking lot for visitors. It is only around 70 m from the parking lot to the grave complex. Highly recommended.

Visited June 2020

taken from the on-site HISTOUR-Ditmarschen information board:

Burial chamber Linden-Pahlkrug

The passage grave, discovered in 1879 and at that time improperly excavated, is considered by some archaeologists to be the “Nordic passage grave” type, which is common in southern Scandinavia, despite its unusually short passage due to its more or less oval shape.
It was built shortly before or around 3000 BC by early Stone Age farmers. During its restoration in 1981, a light shaft was installed and most of the dry masonry was added between the supporting stones. For safety reasons, a swelling stone was built under the entrance.
The burial mound was filled up again in the dimensions handed down from 1879. The large chamber stones and a large part of the infill masonry are in their original position, the capstone above the corridor probably no longer.

A small corner of the chamber floor has been preserved intact. The remainder and the fill of white-annealed flint originally placed on it was reconstructed.

The function of megalithic tombs erected in an early period of the rural Stone Age is not entirely clear. Apparently there were also quite simple earth graves in addition to the burials in stone chambers. Chambers with a corridor like this were built for multiple burials. It is possible that an unknown funeral rite took place after death, during which the corpse largely decayed. Some finds in the stone chambers indicate that skeletons and piles of bones were buried. Numerous remains of decorated clay pots were also found.

The megalithic tomb of Frestedt was originally in the municipality of Frestedt in the district of Dithmarschen (approx. 15 kilometers from Albersdorf). Excavations took place in the 1930s and 1960s. Until 1964, the supporting stones were in situ, i.e. at the point where the historical use of the tomb is documented. The two original capstones were no longer there. In the mid-1970s, the five supporting stones were brought to the Museum of Dithmarsch Prehistory in Heide. After the closure of the local history museum in Heide, the grave was restored in the southwest part of the outdoor area of ??the Steinzeitpark Albersdorf (Stone Age Park) according to the records from 1964. Intermediate masonry, the floor of the burial chamber and the capstones were replaced with new stones.

From a topographical point of view, the new location of the grave corresponds very well to the Frestedter area; in both places the grave was or is on a gently sloping hillside. The new mound of earth with a diameter of approx. 10 meters and a “wreath” of field stones surrounding the foot of the hill can be seen well from a distance and thus gives an idea of ??its original spatial effect.

The replica of the large stone tomb can be reached in Albersdorf via the road Süderstraße and the Horstenmoorweg in the freely accessible area of ??the Steinzeitpark Dithmarschen. Parking spaces are available at the entrance (Stone Age village). The grave is 500 m south of it and can be easily reached via a footpath.

Visited June 2020

taken from the on-site information board:

The rebuilt megalithic tomb of Frestedt
Reconstruction after 5000 years in Albersdorf

On a spur in the grazed area lies a small Neolithic burial chamber with the entrance on the narrow side, a so-called dolmen (from Breton for “stone table”). This comes from Frestedt and was rebuilt here. The complex gives an impression of how the megalithic tomb may have looked at the time of their construction with the mound of earth only partially covering the capstone.

The large stone graves, also known as megalithic tombs (mega=large, lithos=stone), belong to the new stone age, known as the Neolithic period (4,100 – 1,700 BC).
The numerous megalithic tombs built in the period between 3,500-3,000 BC have shaped our landscape for thousands of years until today. The people no longer lived from hunting and the gathering of food, they had become sedentary farmers. Through livestock and farming, they changed the environment to a much greater extent than in previous times. After the characteristic vessels with a funnel-shaped rim, the culture was given the name “Funnel Beaker Culture”.

A distinction is made between different types of megalithic tombs. The oldest form seems to be the dolmen with an entrance on the narrow side. In so-called passage graves, a passage begins at right angles or at an angle to the chamber. This form of megalithic tomb is younger on average than that of the dolmen. With the stones used, the supporting stones, the smooth side points inwards if possible, the gaps are filled with flat dry masonry. In the burial chamber there was a floor covering made of burned flint. Mighty boulders served as the capstones. Dolmen or passage graves can, as seen here, be surrounded by a round burial mound. Sometimes these round mounds were expanded to accommodate additional burial chambers. This expansion resulted in extensive sites such as the so-called long beds or long barrows.

Halfway to the dolmen, next to several boulders, a model can be seen that shows how we had to imagine transporting stones on wooden rolls at that time. In this way, one can only guess at the great amount of effort that people at the time required ...

During my first visit to the megalithic tomb at Brutkamp in June 2020, the image stabilizer on my camera did not work properly, which meant that almost all of my pictures were blurred. That’s why I’m taking the chance in September 2020 on my trip to Sylt to visit the tomb again.

Albersdorf 8 (aka Brutkamp) is a so-called polygonal dolmen, a subspecies of the dolmen that occurs mainly in Denmark, Sweden and Schleswig-Holstein. The Brutkamp has five supporting stones and a single, oversized capstone, characteristic of the type, which weighs around 23 tons and has a circumference of almost nine meters. It is the largest capstone in Schleswig-Holstein. The low stone corridor faces southeast. The mound of earth at Brutkamp has been completely removed or eroded. A small park with old linden trees surrounds the tomb today.

According to tradition, the name Brutkamp means that in Christian times, newlyweds met at the stone to pay homage to the Nordic goddess Freya and to implore rich children’s blessings.

To get to the tomb, drive on the L316 (Süderstraße) north through Albersdorf. In the middle of the village you’ll pass a football field on the right, turn right here into the Wulf-Isebrand-Straße. Pass the football field and a school and turn right again (after about 280m) into the road Brutkamp. Park here or in the school parking lot. There is a small signed path between the houses that leads in a eastern direction into the park. Form here is only a 100 m short walk to the tomb, which lies prominently on a small hillock in the middle of the park.

Revisited September 2020

taken from the on-site information board:

A megalithic tomb
on the Brutkamp in Albersdorf, district Dithmarschen

This large stone grave (also called megalithic tomb, mega=large, lithos=stone) is located on a slight natural elevation in the village of Albersdorf.
At Brutkamp the burial chamber consists of five support stones and a capstone weighing almost 23 tons – the largest in Schleswig Holstein. In technical terminology, this type of tomb is called a polygonal dolmen, a special form; here the supporting stones form a polygonal layout.
The entrance to the burial chamber with three remaining support stones is in the southeast. In the vicinity of the entrance there were several broken stones, one of which is to be regarded as the capstone of the corridor. This stone had a series of round indentations on one side – so-called cup marks. The mound of earth covering the megalithic tomb has been almost completely removed or eroded.
Investigations by the Institut für Ur- und Frühgeschichte der Universität Kiel took place in the summer of 2009, and numerous ceramic and flint finds came to light. Most likely, the entrance area was destroyed as early as the late Neolithic.

In Schleswig-Holstein, the oldest graves that can be reliably dated belong to the early Stone Age, called Neolithic by experts (4,100-1,700 BC). Those numerous tombs, which were erected in the period between 3,500-3,000 BC have shaped our landscape for thousands of years until today. They are built from the large boulders (mostly granite) left by the Ice Age glaciers. These graves were mostly community (collective) graves in which numerous dead were buried over a long period of time. Typical additions were clay pots, axes, chisels and arrows made of flint or jewelry made of amber.

People no longer lived from hunting and gathering food. They had become sedentary farmers who ran cattle and fields.

In the past, the megalithic tombs were not considered human work. Nobody could imagine that such large and heavy stones could be moved by people. Many sagas and legends are entwined with these imposing tombs and they were viewed as the work of the devil, the witches and also the giants. According to tradition, the newlyweds made a sacrifice to the Nordic goddess Freya (goddess of fertility and love) here at Brutkamp. The Brutkamp megalithic tomb characterizes the coat of arms of the municipality of Albersdorf.

Albersdorf 8 (aka Megalithic tomb in the Papenbusch) is located on the eastern outskirts of Albersdorf north of the youth hostel in the spa gardens (Kurpark). The dolmen itself was located in a 0.95 m high round mound with a diameter of 13.5 m without the remains of a stone border. The site with a 1.1 m long and 0.55 m wide corridor was restored in 1946 as part of a follow-up examination.

In the middle of the mound was a chamber with the internal dimensions 2.4 × 1.2 m. Six approximately 1.8 m high bearing stones, two on the western, three on the eastern long side, and a block on the northern narrow side carried two cap stones, one of which is missing. The preserved capstone with two cup marks was not in situ on the pair of supporting stones on the access side.

To get to the tomb, drive on the L316 (Süderstraße) north through Albersdorf. On the northern end, there is a roundabout. Use the first exist and drive into the Bahnhofstraße. After about 350 m you’ll reach on the left side the entry into the spa gardens (Kurpark). Park here and enter the park. Keeping to the left you pass the forest stage and after 250 m you should reach the information sign of the tomb.

P.S.: The image stabilizer on my camera didn’t work properly on this tour, so some of my images are unfortunately out of focus. Sorry for that.

Visited June 2020

Community Albersdorf
- Megalithic Tomb in the Papenbusch -

Tomb from the later Stone Age (extended dolmen); built around 2900-2600 BC.
The site was previously completely covered by a heaped up mound. Only one of the capstones of the chamber remains today, but its original location is also uncertain.

The builders of such graves belonged to the so-called Funnel Beaker Culture. They formed the first peasant population to farm and raise livestock.

The stone circle and the stone pack are replicas of urn graves from the Iron Age (around 600-500 BC) from Arkebek.

Bunsoh is a Holstein chamber-type passage grave and is relatively small at 3.75 m in length. The width is 1.55 m and the longitudinal axis is oriented from west to east. The floor of the chamber of the large stone grave was paved with pebbles the size of a head. The spaces between the supporting stones were closed with flat stone slabs. The chamber, which is accessed from the south, was divided into four quarters. Ceramics and appliances made of flint were found as grave goods.

Three capstones rest on eight vertical supporting stones, of which the western one is covered with about 300 small cup-marks, several engraved lines, a wheel cross, stylized human hands and a sole. The latter three are not found in Germany and are rarely found anywhere else. The cup-marked stone from Bunsoh is considered to be one of the most important cult objects from prehistoric times, six more cup-marked stones were discovered in the vicinity of the large stone grave.

The tomb is still surrounded by its burial mound, which does not necessarily make taking photos easy, but gives a good idea of ??the entire complex.

To get to the grave, drive in Albersdorf on the Norderstraße in the direction of Immenstedt. Approx. 2 km after you have crossed a railway line at the end of the village, turn right onto the L148 in the direction of Wrohm and after another 200 m turn right again into Ziegeleistraße. There is a small parking lot here with an information sign, from which the short footpath (approx. 300 m) leads around a field to the tomb.

Highly recommended if you are in the area!!!

P.S.: The image stabilizer on my camera didn’t work properly on this tour, so some of my images are unfortunately out of focus. Sorry for that.

P.S.S.: I replaced some of the images, which I shot during a stopover on my trip to Sylt in September 2020.

Visited June 2020