Megalithic long barrowThe Copper Age
Gulddyssen
DatedEst. 3500–2800 BCE
No licensed photograph yetWe have no photograph we may publish for this site, so the interpretive 3D view leads instead.
Overview
About this site
Overview
Gulddyssen, also called Værebro Gulddysse (German Golddolmen, ‘gold dolmen’), is a megalithic long barrow of the Funnel Beaker culture on Gulddyssevej, north of Gundsømagle near Roskilde on the island of Zealand, Denmark. It was built between 3500 and 2800 BCE.
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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
Gulddyssen
Twenty-five kerbstones of the barrow are preserved, together with the depression left by a removed chamber.
DescriptionSources for this section
- Wikipedia (German): GulddysseCC BY-SA 4.0
Sources for this section
- Wikipedia (German): GulddysseCC BY-SA 4.0
Gulddyssen is a long dolmen (langdysse) within a Hünenbett, a rectangular stone-edged barrow, measuring about 36.0 × 10.0 m. A chamber remnant survives, consisting of three supporting stones and a capstone. Twenty-five kerbstones of the barrow are preserved, together with the depression left by a removed chamber.
SettingSources for this section
- Wikipedia (German): GulddysseCC BY-SA 4.0
Sources for this section
- Wikipedia (German): GulddysseCC BY-SA 4.0
Around Gundsømagle lie also the dolmens Thoradysse, Hødysse and Hovdysse.
ContextSources for this section
- Wikipedia (German): GulddysseCC BY-SA 4.0
Sources for this section
- Wikipedia (German): GulddysseCC 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.
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
Er ist eine Megalithanlage der Trichterbecherkultur (TBK), die zwischen 3500 und 2800 v. Chr. errichtet wurde.
Source
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°45′08″ N, 12°08′12″ EFor a GPS or map app: 55.75229, 12.13676
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)Vestl.Rævhøj3500–500 BCE
- Megalithic mound (tumulus with integral stones)Spraglehøj3500–500 BCE
Thoradysse3500–2800 BCE- Megalithic mound (tumulus with integral stones)Svalhøj3500–500 BCE
- DolmenHovdysse3500–2800 BCE
Hødysse3500–2800 BCE- Megalithic long barrowStenhøj Jættestue3500–2800 BCE
- Megalithic mound (tumulus with integral stones)Blodhøj3500–500 BCE
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Sources
Every record behind this page, with the link it came from.
2 sources behind this page
- 01Wikidata Q30148190wikidata.org
- 02Source for this dateen.wikipedia.org
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Around this place
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Credit
Text, licence and sources
Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Gulddysse" (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): GulddysseCC BY-SA 4.0
- Wikidata Q30148190CC0