Hartberg megalithic tomb
Steinkiste auf dem Hartberg | |
 | |
  Shown within Germany | |
| Location | Schankweiler, Rhineland-Palatinate |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 49°54′18.3″N 6°23′23.5″E / 49.905083°N 6.389861°E |
| Type | Gallery grave |
| History | |
| Periods | Late Neolithic, c. 3000 BC |
The Hartberg megalithic tomb is an archaeological site of the late Neolithic Age, near Schankweiler and about 10 kilometres (6 mi) south-west of Bitburg, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, near the border with Luxemburg.
Description
[edit]The site, on the western slope of the Hartberg north of Schankweiler, dates from about 3000 BC. It is the only Neolithic tomb of this type in Rhineland-Palatiate. It is a gallery grave, with two chambers, formed from sandstone slabs and blocks, the main chamber measuring about 2 by 1.2 metres (6 ft 7 in by 3 ft 11 in). The entrance to the tomb is an incomplete slab with part of a circular opening about 70 centimetres (28 in) in diameter. There is the lower half of a slab separating the main chamber and a poorly preserved antechamber. There were originally roof slabs, and the grave was probably once covered with a mound.[1][2][3]
Excavation
[edit]There has been excavation of the site. Bones and pottery sherds were found in the tomb, and flint knives, flint arrowheads and pottery sherds were discovered outside; these suggested a date of about 3000 BC. There was a small beaker in the tomb, with "barbed-wire" decoration, of the early Bronze Age, suggesting that the site was in use, perhaps with interruptions, for about 1000 years. A long stone stele was found in the tomb, which may have stood above the mound.[1][2][3]
Slabs from the tomb were later used in the early Iron Age to build a house nearby. During the Roman period or later there was quarrying from the rocky ground that forms the western wall of the tomb.[1][3]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "Steinkistengrab bei Schankweiler" Naturwanderpark Delux. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
- ^ a b "Steinkistengrab mit sogenanntem Seelenloch" Irrel. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
- ^ a b c "Region 6: Niederrhein, Eifel, Hunsrück, Pfalz und Saarland" Godeweg. Retrieved 23 March 2022.