Gudbjerglund
DatedEst. 3500–2800 BCE
Photo JEW (J. E. Walkowitz) at de.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Source file on Wikimedia Commons
Overview
About this site
Overview
Gudbjerglund is a group of four Neolithic dolmens in long barrows in the small wood of the same name, west of Gudme and east of the road to Svendborg, on Funen, Denmark. The dolmens belong to the Funnel Beaker culture and date to 3500-2800 BCE.
The wood stands on the hill south of the settlement of Gudbjerglund (German Götterberghain) and has no parallel in southern Funen. It is the southern counterpart of the well-known grove of Glavendrup on northern Funen. The site 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
Gudbjerglund
The four dolmens lie in long barrows, called Hünenbetten in German, that are 117, 106, 41 and 19 m long.
DescriptionSources for this section
- Wikipedia (German): GudbjerglundCC BY-SA 4.0
Sources for this section
- Wikipedia (German): GudbjerglundCC BY-SA 4.0
The four dolmens lie in long barrows, called Hünenbetten in German, that are 117, 106, 41 and 19 m long. Each barrow is 7.5 m wide.
Research historySources for this section
- Wikipedia (German): GudbjerglundCC BY-SA 4.0
Sources for this section
- Wikipedia (German): GudbjerglundCC BY-SA 4.0
The dolmens have repeatedly suffered destruction. In 1808 the parish priest came to the Prehistoric Commission with a detailed description of the monuments and declared his intention to investigate them. He received a permit to excavate and had many of the stones blown up. When the parsonage burned down in 1863, stones were taken from the mounds to build a new one. Stones were also used for the bridge over the stream Stokkebækken.
N. F. B. Sehested (1813-1882), a landowner and amateur archaeologist, pointed out as early as 1865 that the monuments should be protected. The land on which they stood belonged to the parsonage. The state placed them under permanent protection in 1872.
FolkloreSources for this section
- Wikipedia (German): GudbjerglundCC BY-SA 4.0
Sources for this section
- Wikipedia (German): GudbjerglundCC BY-SA 4.0
According to a legend, the Gudbjerglund church was to be built on the dolmens, but trolls pulled down at night everything that had been built during the day. A troll then showed the workers where to build, and the church still stands on that spot.
ContextSources for this section
- Wikipedia (German): GudbjerglundCC BY-SA 4.0
Sources for this section
- Wikipedia (German): GudbjerglundCC BY-SA 4.0
In Denmark and southern Sweden the long barrows typically used stone in their construction. 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'.
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
Hier liegen vier Dolmen der Trichterbecherkultur (TBK) aus der Jungsteinzeit (3500–2800 v. Chr.) in 117, 106, 41 und 19 m langen Hünenbetten, die jeweils 7,5 m breit sind.
Source - 1808
Bereits 1808 kam der Pfarrer mit einer detaillierten Beschreibung der Dolmen zur Prähistorischen Kommission und erklärte, dass es seine Absicht sei, sie zu untersuchen.
Source - 1813
Sehested (1813–1882) hat im bereits Jahre 1865 darauf hingewiesen, dass man die Anlagen schützen solle.
Source - 1863
Da das Pfarrhaus im Jahre 1863 niederbrannte holte man Steine von den Hügeln um ein neues zu bauen.
Source - 1872
Der Staat stellte sie 1872 endgültig unter Denkmalschutz.
Source
Photographs
1 photograph, each with its author and licence
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°09′02″ N, 10°40′25″ EFor a GPS or map app: 55.15062, 10.67368
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 long barrowGudbjerg3500–2800 BCE
- Megalithic long barrowGudbjerg3500–2800 BCE
- Megalithic long barrowGudbjerg3500–2800 BCE
- Megalithic long barrowBrudager3500–2800 BCE
- Megalithic mound (tumulus with integral stones)Svindinge3500–500 BCE
- Megalithic mound (tumulus with integral stones)Indhegningen3500–500 BCE
- Megalithic mound (tumulus with integral stones)Møllegård3500–500 BCE
- Megalithic mound (tumulus with integral stones)Raarud Skov3500–500 BCE
Sources
Every record behind this page, with the link it came from.
2 sources behind this page
- 01Wikidata Q17743874wikidata.org
- 02Source for this dateen.wikipedia.org
Image files
- Dolmen Gudbjerglund.jpgJEW (J. E. Walkowitz) at de.wikipediaCC BY-SA 3.0
Report a correctionWrong date, name, photograph or source? Tell us and it will be put right.
Lore, kept apart
Legends and claims
These are stories and claims reported by the sources. They are not evidence, and they never stand in for the dating above.
- Tradition
Nach einer Legende sollte die Gudbjerglund-Kirche auf den Dolmen gebaut werden, aber die Trolle rissen in der Nacht alles, was man im Laufe des Tages gebaut hatte, nieder.
Nach einer Legende sollte die Gudbjerglund-Kirche auf den Dolmen gebaut werden, aber die Trolle rissen in der Nacht alles, was man im Laufe des Tages gebaut hatte, nieder. Ein Troll zeigte dann den Arbeitern, wo sie bauen sollten, und dort steht die Kirche noch heute.
Source
Around this place
The ten nearest sites, by compass
Credit
Text, licence and sources
Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Gudbjerglund" (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): GudbjerglundCC BY-SA 4.0
- Wikidata Q17743874CC0