Dæmpegårdsdyssen
DatedEst. 3500–2800 BCE
Photo Praeceptor · CC BY-SA 3.0Source file on Wikimedia Commons
Overview
About this site
Overview
The Dæmpegårdsdyssen (also Kongedyssen) lies on the northern edge of the Tokkekøb Hegn, south of Frederik 7 Vej, near Lillerød and Blovstrød on North Zealand, Denmark. It was built between 3000 and 2800 BCE in the Neolithic as a monument of the Funnel Beaker culture.
It consists of two parallel dolmens of different sizes, set fairly centrally within a rectangular long bed (Danish randstenskæde) about 40 m long, one of them lying in a stone circle. It is a protected ancient monument in Denmark.
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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.
Article
Dæmpegårdsdyssen
The blocks of the stone circle are almost as large as the supports of the chamber, but considerably smaller than the boulders of the rectangular structure in the Kongedyssen.
DescriptionSources for this section
- Wikipedia (German): DæmpegårdsdyssenCC BY-SA 4.0
Sources for this section
- Wikipedia (German): DæmpegårdsdyssenCC BY-SA 4.0
The blocks of the stone circle are almost as large as the supports of the chamber, but considerably smaller than the boulders of the rectangular structure in the Kongedyssen. The dolmen in the round stone setting is also considerably smaller. According to L. Kaelas, comparable examples probably speak for the priority of round dolmens, since it is hard to imagine that a round dolmen was built into an existing long bed. A similar finding exists in Bohuslän, where the dolmen of Haga lies in a stone circle that seems to be surrounded by a rectangular stone frame.
The smaller, south-western dolmen is separated from the other by rows of stones lying across the mound. Apart from two, all the kerbstones of the long bed are preserved.
ExcavationsSources for this section
- Wikipedia (German): DæmpegårdsdyssenCC BY-SA 4.0
Sources for this section
- Wikipedia (German): DæmpegårdsdyssenCC BY-SA 4.0
In the 1860s the monument was excavated by the Danish king Frederik VII and H. C. Jørgensen. A small Neolithic axe was found during the excavation. The king, who was interested in archaeology, had taken part in excavations from an early age and organised numerous archaeological investigations, especially in Jægerspris Kommune. The king's monogram and the date 30 May 1860 are carved on the monument within a square. The letters 'LD' on the closing stone of the large chamber stand for Louise Gräfin Danner, the king's morganatic wife.
ContextSources for this section
- Wikipedia (German): DæmpegårdsdyssenCC BY-SA 4.0
Sources for this section
- Wikipedia (German): DæmpegårdsdyssenCC BY-SA 4.0
In Denmark and southern Sweden, long barrows of the Funnel Beaker culture typically used stone in their construction. The architecture of Scandinavia and northern Germany, called Nordic megalith architecture, appeared mainly between 3500 and 2800 BCE.
Tradition and region
About this kind of monument
Northern European long barrows (langdysser)
Further north, the long barrow tradition took its own form. In Denmark and southern Sweden the long barrows typically used stone in their construction, and in the Netherlands and northern Germany they also used stone where it was available. The long barrows in parts of Poland are typically earthen rather than megalithic. They belong to the Funnel Beaker culture, and the architecture of Scandinavia and northern Germany, called Nordic megalith architecture, appeared mainly between 3500 and 2800 BCE.
In Mecklenburg-Vorpommern many dolmens lie inside a trapezoid frame of standing stones that the Germans call a Hünenbett, "giants' bed". Excavators there recognise the "unchambered long barrow" as a type of its own, along with simple dolmens, extended dolmens, passage graves and stone cists.
The purpose of early Neolithic long barrows is not known, though archaeologists can make suggestions based on recurring patterns. One argument is that they were religious sites, perhaps erected as part of a system of ancestor veneration; an alternative is that they were primarily economic or territorial markers.
Folklore: the German name Hünenbett, "giants' bed", reflects the old belief that giants lay in such graves. The barrows were in fact built by Neolithic farmers.
Dating relies on pottery and on radiocarbon dates from the few that have been excavated.
When visiting, look for the long outline of the mound, any kerbstones, and the chambers within it.
Paraphrased from Wikipedia: Long barrow, Wikipedia: Nordic megalith architecture, Wikipedia: Megaliths in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Wikipedia: Funnel beaker culture · CC BY-SA 4.0
From the article
Dated moments in the story
- 2800 BCE
Der Dolmen wurde zwischen 3000 und 2800 v. Chr. in der Jungsteinzeit als Anlage der Trichterbecherkultur (TBK) errichtet und besteht aus zwei ziemlich mittig, innerhalb eines etwa 40 m langen rechteckigen Hünenbettes (dänisch Randstenskæde) liegenden, unterschiedlich großen, parallelliegenden Dolmen, von denen...
Source - 1860
Eingerahmt in einem Quadrat, sind des Königs Monogramm und das Datum 30. Mai 1860 eingeritzt.
Source
Photographs
6 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 megalithic long barrows in Denmark; this site has not been dated itself. Danish long barrows (langhoje) 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°53′42″ N, 12°22′57″ EFor a GPS or map app: 55.89510, 12.38236
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.
- DolmenTokkekøb hegn afd. 433500–2800 BCE
- Megalithic mound (tumulus with integral stones)Tokkekøb hegn afd. 593500–500 BCE
- Megalithic mound (tumulus with integral stones)Tokkekøb hegn afd. 463500–500 BCE
- Megalithic mound (tumulus with integral stones)Tokkekøb hegn afd. 553500–500 BCE
- Megalithic long barrowKirkelte Hegn3500–2800 BCE
- Megalithic long barrowAfd.33500–2800 BCE
- Megalithic mound (tumulus with integral stones)Enebærbakke3500–500 BCE
- Megalithic mound (tumulus with integral stones)Tokkekøb hegn afd. 803500–500 BCE
Sources
Every record behind this page, with the link it came from.
2 sources behind this page
- 01Wikidata Q15055883wikidata.org
- 02Source for this dateen.wikipedia.org
Image files
- Kongedyssen Langdysse-3.jpgPraeceptorCC BY-SA 3.0
- Kongedyssen.jpgOfmlCC BY-SA 3.0
- Dæmpegårdsdyssen - panoramio.jpgNiels OrbesenCC BY-SA 3.0
- Dæmpegårdsdyssen, sommer - panoramio.jpgNiels OrbesenCC BY-SA 3.0
- Kongedyssen Langdysse-2.jpgPraeceptorCC BY-SA 3.0
- Tokkekøb Hegn - Dæmpegårdsdyssen.JPGRamblersenCC BY-SA 4.0
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Around this place
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Credit
Text, licence and sources
Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Dæmpegårdsdyssen" (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): DæmpegårdsdyssenCC BY-SA 4.0
- Wikidata Q15055883CC0