Hamlets Grav
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
Hamlets Grav (German Hamlets Grab, also called Grevinge Skov Afd. 224) is a long dolmen of the Funnel Beaker culture in Odsherred Municipality on the island of Seeland, Denmark. It was built between 3500 and 2800 BCE and lies on a clearing in the south-eastern part of the forest Grevinge Skov, near the Birketvej at Ostrup.
The rectangular enclosure is about 39 metres long and 9 metres wide and has 53 kerbstones. Local legend holds that Hamlet (Danish Amled) lies buried here.
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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
Hamlets Grav
The name Hamlets Grab is applied to two Danish barrows, one of which is a megalithic monument of the Funnel Beaker culture.
DescriptionSources for this section
- Wikipedia (German): Hamlets Grab (Seeland)CC BY-SA 4.0
Sources for this section
- Wikipedia (German): Hamlets Grab (Seeland)CC BY-SA 4.0
The name Hamlets Grab is applied to two Danish barrows, one of which is a megalithic monument of the Funnel Beaker culture. The long dysse (Langdysse) lies at coordinates 55.818235 N 11.627998 E. Its rectangular enclosure is about 39 metres long and 9 metres wide and consists of 53 kerbstones. Four supporting stones of the megalithic tomb are preserved.
A kitchen midden (Køkkenmødding) of the Stone Age lies to the north of the monument.
FolkloreSources for this section
- Wikipedia (German): Hamlets Grab (Seeland)CC BY-SA 4.0
Sources for this section
- Wikipedia (German): Hamlets Grab (Seeland)CC BY-SA 4.0
According to local legend, Hamlet (Danish Amled), who is said to be buried in the dolmen, was a giant 30.0 metres long, with his head at the eastern end and his feet in the west.
The legend of Hamlet is one of the best-known Nordic heroic tales and was written down by Saxo Grammaticus. Shakespeare's Hamlet is based on the Danish legend.
SettingSources for this section
- Wikipedia (German): Hamlets Grab (Seeland)CC BY-SA 4.0
Sources for this section
- Wikipedia (German): Hamlets Grab (Seeland)CC BY-SA 4.0
Several megalithic monuments lie in Grevinge Skov or in its surroundings. At Herrestrup, at the fork of Holtevej and Odstrupvej, stands the round dysse (Runddysse) Frenderupgård, which has a hexagonal chamber. A little further away lies the long dysse of Plejerup.
ContextSources for this section
- Wikipedia (German): Hamlets Grab (Seeland)CC BY-SA 4.0
Sources for this section
- Wikipedia (German): Hamlets Grab (Seeland)CC BY-SA 4.0
In Denmark and southern Sweden, 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
224 genannt) firmieren zwei dänische Grabhügel, darunter eine Megalithanlage der Trichterbecherkultur (TBK), die zwischen 3500 und 2800 v. Chr. entstand.
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°49′05″ N, 11°37′40″ EFor a GPS or map app: 55.81819, 11.62783
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.
Grevinge Forest Dolmen3500–2800 BCE- DolmenHorsebjerg3500–2800 BCE
- Passage tomb (passage grave)Hulehøj3500–2800 BCE
- Megalithic mound (tumulus with integral stones)Ulvemissehøj3500–500 BCE
Frenderupgårddyssen3500–500 BCE- Megalithic mound (tumulus with integral stones)Sidinge3500–500 BCE
Plejerup Langdysse3500–2800 BCE- DolmenDilhøj3500–2800 BCE
Sources
Every record behind this page, with the link it came from.
2 sources behind this page
- 01Wikidata Q17308026wikidata.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 "Hamlets Grab (Seeland)" (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): Hamlets Grab (Seeland)CC BY-SA 4.0
- Wikidata Q17308026CC0