Helgetoft Langdysse
DatedEst. 3500–2800 BCE
Photo Praeceptor · CC BY-SA 3.0Source file on Wikimedia Commons
Overview
About this site
What the sources say
Der Langdysse von Helgetoft (auch Helletofte Langdysse genannt) liegt an der Küste, südwestlich von Bøstrup auf der Insel Langeland in Dänemark.
Er entstand im Neolithikum zwischen 3500 und 2800 v. Chr. als Megalithanlage der Trichterbecherkultur (TBK). Der etwa 1,8 m hohe Nord-Süd orientierte Langdysse misst etwa 34,0 × 8,0 m. An beiden Längsseiten ist eine Randsteinkette von 15 mehr oder weniger in situ befindlichen Steinen bis zu 1,5 m Höhe zu erkennen. Eine Kammer liegt etwa in der Mitte des sehr stark bewachsenen Hügels.
Article in GermanRead on Wikipedia2 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
Helgetoft Langdysse: the whole story
Summary in EnglishSources for this section
- Wikipedia (German): Langdysse von HelgetoftCC BY-SA 4.0
Sources for this section
- Wikipedia (German): Langdysse von HelgetoftCC BY-SA 4.0
Helgetoft Langdysse is a megalithic long barrow in Langeland Municipality, Denmark. Wikidata describes it as: ancient monument in Langeland Municipality (7413). A typological estimate: 3500 BCE to 2800 BCE. No English Wikipedia article exists for it; the full text below is the German article "Langdysse von Helgetoft", shown in the original language.
Die SteinkisteSources for this section
- Wikipedia (German): Langdysse von HelgetoftCC BY-SA 4.0
Sources for this section
- Wikipedia (German): Langdysse von HelgetoftCC BY-SA 4.0
Die Steinkiste wurde 2019 an der Westküste nach einem Wintersturm am Bregnegårdsvej in Helletofte zwischen Rudkøbing und Lohals von einer Frau entdeckt. Eine Platte der Schmalseite war herausgefallen und Knochenlager waren zu sehen. Als Archäologen die Kiste untersuchten, die voller Erde war, fanden sie einen Knochenhaufen, der gegen den herausgefallenen Giebelstein gedrückt war und am gegenüberliegenden Ende die Reste der letzten Bestattung. Es stellte sich heraus, dass diese aus drei übereinander liegenden Personen bestand. Schichten von Toten zeigten, dass hier Kollektivbestattungen erfolgt waren. Insgesamt wurden etwa 200 Knochen gefunden, von denen sich die meisten in ausgezeichnetem Zustand befanden. Es wurden auch zwei abgeflachte Feuersteindolche gefunden, die wahrscheinlich Grabbeigaben waren.
Die trapezoide Steinkiste bestand aus zwei großen, aufrechten Seitensteinen, die zwischen kleineren Giebelsteine platziert waren. Sie war mit zwei Decksteinen verschlossen. Darüber befand sich ein flacher Hügel mit einem Durchmesser von etwa 10 Metern, der oben eine bis zu 40 Zentimeter dicke Steinschicht aufwies.
In der Nähe liegen die Ganggräber im Helgetoft Fredskov.
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
Photographs
4 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°01′24″ N, 10°49′50″ EFor a GPS or map app: 55.02342, 10.83042
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.
- Passage tomb (passage grave)Skovtofte Jættestue3500–2800 BCE
- Megalithic mound (tumulus with integral stones)Tranekær3500–500 BCE
- DolmenDolmen (7403)3500–2800 BCE
- Megalithic mound (tumulus with integral stones)Tranekær3500–500 BCE
- Megalithic mound (tumulus with integral stones)Aasø Skov3500–500 BCE
- Megalithic mound (tumulus with integral stones)Kragebjerg3500–500 BCE
- Megalithic mound (tumulus with integral stones)Søndre Løkke3500–500 BCE
- Megalithic mound (tumulus with integral stones)Møllehøj3500–500 BCE
Sources
Every record behind this page, with the link it came from.
2 sources behind this page
- 01Wikidata Q30110290wikidata.org
- 02Source for this dateen.wikipedia.org
Image files
- Helgetoft Langdysse-2.jpgPraeceptorCC BY-SA 3.0
- Helgetoft Langdysse-1.jpgPraeceptorCC BY-SA 3.0
- Helgetoft Langdysse-3.jpgPraeceptorCC BY-SA 3.0
- Helgetoft Langdysse-4.jpgPraeceptorCC BY-SA 3.0
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Around this place
The ten nearest sites, by compass
Credit
Text, licence and sources
Text from the Wikipedia article "Langdysse von Helgetoft" (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