Overview
About this site
What the sources say
Der Carlsten (auch Carlssten oder Karlssten) ist ein Dolmen in Hundested, westlich von Frederiksværk im Norden der dänischen Insel Seeland. Er wurde Mitte des 20. Jahrhunderts bekannt, als er Motiv auf der damals neuen 5-Kronen-Note wurde, die der Künstler Gerhard Heilmann (1859–1946) entwarf. Das Großsteingrab liegt im Grønneseskov unweit des Strandes. Die Megalithanlage der Trichterbecherkultur (TBK) entstand zwischen 3500 und 2800 v. Chr.
Der massive Dysse (dänisch für „Dolmen“) aus der Jungsteinzeit wurde 1860 unter Schutz gestellt. 1862, als sich auch der Künstler Jacob Kornerup (1825–1913) mit der Anlage beschäftigte, wurde sie erstmals von Archäologen in Augenschein genommen.
Der Carlsten ist im archäologischen Sinne keine Besonderheit. Er steht auf den Resten eines Rundhügels (dänisch Runddysse) von etwa 5,0 m Durchmesser. Die Nordwest-Südost orientierte Kammer besteht aus fünf Tragsteinen und dem allseitig überstehenden Deckstein. Die Kammergrundfläche bildet ein Hexagon. Die Kammer ist etwa 2,1 m lang, 1,8 m breit und 0,9 m hoch. Der Zugang ist offen, die Steine des Ganges wurden entfernt. Es handelt sich um einen Polygonaldolmen mit dem diesen Typ kennzeichnenden übergroßen Deckstein. Erhalten sind weder der Hügel noch die Steine der Einfassung. Die Anlage der Trichterbecherkultur (TBK) entstand zwischen 3500 und 2800 v. Chr.
Article in GermanRead on Wikipedia3 min readCC BY-SA 4.0
Where it sits in time
The site's dated range, placed against world reference points.
The scale is logarithmic: each step to the left is about ten times older than the last.
The full article
Carlsstenen: the whole story
In briefSources for this section
- Wikipedia (German): CarlstenCC BY-SA 4.0
Sources for this section
- Wikipedia (German): CarlstenCC BY-SA 4.0
Carlssten, also called Carlssten or Karlssten, is a dolmen at Hundested, west of Frederiksværk in northern Zealand, Denmark. It lies in Grønneseskov near the beach. The monument belongs to the megalithic tradition of the Funnel Beaker culture and was built between 3500 BCE and 2800 BCE, according to a typological estimate.
The burial chamber consists of five supporting stones beneath a large overhanging capstone. Its floor forms a hexagon, and the chamber measures about 2.1 m long, 1.8 m wide and 0.9 m high. The entrance is open. The capstone projects beyond the chamber on all sides, making the monument a polygonal dolmen.
Carlssten was first examined by archaeologists in 1862, when the artist Jacob Kornerup (1825–1913) was also studying the site. The monument was placed under protection in 1860. It became widely known in the mid-20th century after appearing on the new 5-kronen banknote, designed by Gerhard Heilmann (1859–1946).
The monument stands on the remains of a roughly circular mound about 5.0 m in diameter, but neither the mound nor the surrounding kerb stones survive. Its original stone-lined entrance passage is also missing, as the passage stones were removed. Monuments of this kind in Denmark are generally known as dolmens or dysser and belong to the Funnel Beaker culture of the fourth millennium BCE.
No English Wikipedia article exists for it; the full text below is the German article "Carlsten", shown in the original language.
Summary in EnglishSources for this section
- Wikipedia (German): CarlstenCC BY-SA 4.0
Sources for this section
- Wikipedia (German): CarlstenCC BY-SA 4.0
Carlsstenen is a dolmen in Halsnæs Municipality, Denmark. A typological estimate: 3500 BCE to 2800 BCE. No English Wikipedia article exists for it; the full text below is the German article "Carlsten", shown in the original language.
How this page was madeSources for this section
- Wikipedia (German): CarlstenCC BY-SA 4.0
Sources for this section
- Wikipedia (German): CarlstenCC BY-SA 4.0
The summary at the top of this page was written by MiniMax-M3 (2026-11-08) from the cited Wikipedia article “Carlsten”, translated from German. The numbers in it were checked automatically against the source text. The rest of the page is the article itself, the structured records and computed distances.
Tradition and region
About this kind of monument
Danish dolmens and passage graves (dysser and jættestuer)
Denmark's megalithic tombs belong to the Funnel Beaker culture of the fourth millennium BCE. They fall into two main kinds, dolmens (dysser) and the larger passage graves, with a long passage leading into a chamber. Nordic megalith architecture, the style found especially in Scandinavia and northern Germany, emerged mainly between 3500 and 2800 BCE. In Scandinavia the sites are classed under general terms such as dolmens, passage graves and stone cists, in contrast with the many subtypes of the German tradition.
The great passage graves show how large these tombs could be. Kong Svends Høj on the island of Lolland is a large rectangular mound surrounded by kerbstones about 1.5 metres high, among the tallest recorded in a Neolithic tomb, and covers a chamber 12.5 metres long; the gable stones are almost 4 metres high. Excavation was first attempted there in 1780. Kong Asgers Høj on Møn has a chamber 10 metres long and 2 metres wide with a passage 7.5 metres long, and it was reused for secondary burial in the Corded Ware period. In 1839 the merchant Gustav Hage opened it hoping for treasure and found it empty.
Folklore: the king's names given to these graves come from later tradition and have nothing to do with the Neolithic builders. They show how people over the centuries explained monuments they could not date.
Dating combines radiocarbon dates on bone and charcoal in the chambers, pottery and the architecture. Many dolmens have lost their mounds, leaving the stone skeleton.
When visiting, look for the kerbstones around the base, the capstone and its supports, and the passage entrance.
Paraphrased from Wikipedia: Nordic megalith architecture, Wikipedia: Funnel beaker culture, Wikipedia: Kong Svends Høj, Wikipedia: Kong Asgers Høj, Wikipedia: Dolmen · CC BY-SA 4.0
From the article
Dated moments in the story
- 2800 BCE
Die Megalithanlage der Trichterbecherkultur (TBK) entstand zwischen 3500 und 2800 v. Chr.
Source - 2800 BCE
Die Anlage der Trichterbecherkultur (TBK) entstand zwischen 3500 und 2800 v. Chr.
Source - 1860
Der massive Dysse (dänisch für „Dolmen“) aus der Jungsteinzeit wurde 1860 unter Schutz gestellt.
Source - 1862
1862, als sich auch der Künstler Jacob Kornerup (1825–1913) mit der Anlage beschäftigte, wurde sie erstmals von Archäologen in Augenschein genommen.
Source
See it in 3D
An interpretive reconstruction of the monument, standing on the real ground at its exact point, under the sun for that place and season. Drag to look around it.
The reconstruction is ours, not a survey: it shows what a monument of this type looks like, at the size the record gives for this one.
Photographs
3 photographs, each with its author and licence
More photographs
Lore
Evidence & Lore
What the sources actually support — and, kept apart, what has been claimed.
What the evidence supports
Dates
Est. 3500–2800 BCEHow this date was established: Type comparisonTypical range for dolmens in Denmark; this site has not been dated itself. Danish dolmens (dysser) belong to the Nordic megalith tradition which emerged predominantly between 3500 and 2800 BC.Source for this date
Where it stands
Denmark
The pin marks the monument itself — its exact point.
- Coordinates
- 55°57′07″ N, 11°55′40″ EFor a GPS or map app: 55.95196, 11.92791
Access is as our sources describe it; we have not visited the site to check.
Nearby
The closest sites in the Atlas, by straight line.
- Megalithic mound (tumulus with integral stones)Ørnehøj3500–500 BCE
- Megalithic mound (tumulus with integral stones)Grønnenæs Skov3500–500 BCE
- Megalithic mound (tumulus with integral stones)Grønnæssegaard3500–500 BCE
- Megalithic mound (tumulus with integral stones)Grønnæssegaard3500–500 BCE
- Megalithic mound (tumulus with integral stones)Grønnenæs Skov3500–500 BCE
- Megalithic mound (tumulus with integral stones)Grønnenæs Skov3500–500 BCE
- Megalithic mound (tumulus with integral stones)Holteskov3500–500 BCE
- Megalithic mound (tumulus with integral stones)Holteskoven3500–500 BCE
Sources
Every record behind this page, with the link it came from.
2 sources behind this page
- 01Wikidata Q1043399wikidata.org
- 02Source for this dateen.wikipedia.org
Image files
- Carlstenen.jpgPraeceptorCC BY-SA 3.0
- Carlsstenen, Grønnessegård 2.jpgToxophilusCC BY-SA 4.0
- Carlsstenen, Grønnessegård 1.jpgToxophilusCC BY-SA 4.0
Report a correctionWrong date, name, photograph or source? Tell us and it will be put right.
Around this place
The ten nearest sites, by compass
Credit
Text, licence and sources
Text from the Wikipedia article "Carlsten" (German), licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; authors are listed in the page history. Reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read on Wikipedia · Edit history and authors
- Wikipedia (German): CarlstenCC BY-SA 4.0
- Wikidata Q1043399CC0