Lohra (megalithic tomb)
Encyclopedia
The Lohra tomb was a megalithic monument outside Lohra
near Marburg
in north central Hesse
, Germany
. It is one of the lesser known among its type in Central Europe
. It dates to the late Neolithic
, probably just after 3000 BC. It belongs to the gallery grave
s of the Wartberg culture
, but is unique among them because of its rich ceramic
assemblage.
block, sitting just below the surface. Professor Gero von Merhart
, specialist for prehistoric
monuments in the area, was contacted. As a result, the site was excavated by students from the University of Marburg under the direction of Otto Uenze.
The tomb consisted of a large main chamber and a small open antechamber. They were separated by a large sandstone slab with a circular hole, similar to the one at Züschen
. This so called Seelenloch (German for "soul hole") had a diameter of 30-35cm. It is suggested that such a small opening should not have served the passage of dead bodies but may represent a symbolic gateway between the worlds of the living and the dead during cult
ic ritual
s or offering
ceremonies that took place in the anteroom. Only a quarter of the Lohra Seelenloch stone survived. The bottom of the sunken main chamber was covered with a clay floor of 3-5cm thickness. The tomb probably had a wooden roof. The presence of many stones in and around the chamber probably indicates that is was originally covered by an articificial mound or tumulus
.
or Altendorf
, the dead at Lohra had been cremated
. There were circa 20 individuals, including adult men and women as well as children.
-like ornaments resembling the French
Chasséen culture
. It has been pointed out that the pottery from Lohra is very similar to that from the Wartberg culture settlement on the Hasenberg near Fritzlar.
of unknown function. The metal may not belong to the period of the tomb's original use. The characteristic animal remains known from other Wartberg tombs were absent.
since 1931. This does not include the entrance stone, which was moved to the farmyard of the field's owner, where it stayed for 36 years. In 1967, it was decided to place that stone as a monument outside Lohra
town hall. Unfortunately, it turned out that it had recently been built into the foundations of a building on the farm.
Lohra
Lohra is a community in Marburg-Biedenkopf district in the administrative region of Gießen in Hesse, Germany.-Geography:Lohra's municipal area, measuring 49 km², stretches across the middle Salzböde valley and the Versgrund...
near Marburg
Marburg
Marburg is a city in the state of Hesse, Germany, on the River Lahn. It is the main town of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district and its population, as of March 2010, was 79,911.- Founding and early history :...
in north central Hesse
Hesse
Hesse or Hessia is both a cultural region of Germany and the name of an individual German state.* The cultural region of Hesse includes both the State of Hesse and the area known as Rhenish Hesse in the neighbouring Rhineland-Palatinate state...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. It is one of the lesser known among its type in Central Europe
Central Europe
Central Europe or alternatively Middle Europe is a region of the European continent lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe...
. It dates to the late Neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
, probably just after 3000 BC. It belongs to the gallery grave
Gallery grave
A Gallery grave is a form of Megalithic tomb where there is no size difference between the burial chamber itself and the entrance passage. Two parallel walls of stone slabs were erected to form a corridor and covered with a line of capstones. The rectangular tomb was covered with a barrow or a cairn...
s of the Wartberg culture
Wartberg culture
The Wartberg culture , sometimes: Wartberg group or Collared bottle culture is a prehistoric culture of the later Central European Neolithic...
, but is unique among them because of its rich ceramic
Pottery
Pottery is the material from which the potteryware is made, of which major types include earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. The place where such wares are made is also called a pottery . Pottery also refers to the art or craft of the potter or the manufacture of pottery...
assemblage.
Discovery and excavation
The tomb was discovered accidentally in 1931 by the farmer Jakob Elmshäuser who encountered an obstacle when ploughing a field. It turned out to be a large rectangular sandstoneSandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
block, sitting just below the surface. Professor Gero von Merhart
Gero von Merhart
Gero von Merhart was a German archaeologist. Although he worked at the same time when German nationalism and Nazi archaeology was dominant in Germany, he was not a "Nazi archaeologist". He came into conflict with Hans Reinerth. :de:Gero von Merhart...
, specialist for prehistoric
Prehistory
Prehistory is the span of time before recorded history. Prehistory can refer to the period of human existence before the availability of those written records with which recorded history begins. More broadly, it refers to all the time preceding human existence and the invention of writing...
monuments in the area, was contacted. As a result, the site was excavated by students from the University of Marburg under the direction of Otto Uenze.
Tomb architecture
The sunken rectangular chamber measured circa 5 x 2.2m (internal measurements), narrowing somewhat towards the back. Although most of its orthostaths were missing, it was still possible to reconstruct its rectangular plan from the foundation trenches. The individual slabs reached a length of 60cm to 1m, were 40cm wide and about 80cm high. Their weight varied between 800 and 1,000 kg.The tomb consisted of a large main chamber and a small open antechamber. They were separated by a large sandstone slab with a circular hole, similar to the one at Züschen
Züschen (megalithic tomb)
The Züschen tomb is a prehistoric burial monument, located between Lohne and Züschen, near Fritzlar, Hesse, Germany. Classified as a gallery grave or a Hessian-Westphalian stone cist , it is one of the most important megalithic monuments in Central Europe...
. This so called Seelenloch (German for "soul hole") had a diameter of 30-35cm. It is suggested that such a small opening should not have served the passage of dead bodies but may represent a symbolic gateway between the worlds of the living and the dead during cult
Cult
The word cult in current popular usage usually refers to a group whose beliefs or practices are considered abnormal or bizarre. The word originally denoted a system of ritual practices...
ic ritual
Ritual
A ritual is a set of actions, performed mainly for their symbolic value. It may be prescribed by a religion or by the traditions of a community. The term usually excludes actions which are arbitrarily chosen by the performers....
s or offering
Sacrifice
Sacrifice is the offering of food, objects or the lives of animals or people to God or the gods as an act of propitiation or worship.While sacrifice often implies ritual killing, the term offering can be used for bloodless sacrifices of cereal food or artifacts...
ceremonies that took place in the anteroom. Only a quarter of the Lohra Seelenloch stone survived. The bottom of the sunken main chamber was covered with a clay floor of 3-5cm thickness. The tomb probably had a wooden roof. The presence of many stones in and around the chamber probably indicates that is was originally covered by an articificial mound or tumulus
Tumulus
A tumulus is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, Hügelgrab or kurgans, and can be found throughout much of the world. A tumulus composed largely or entirely of stones is usually referred to as a cairn...
.
Human remains
In contrast to the finds from the well-known tombs at ZüschenZüschen (megalithic tomb)
The Züschen tomb is a prehistoric burial monument, located between Lohne and Züschen, near Fritzlar, Hesse, Germany. Classified as a gallery grave or a Hessian-Westphalian stone cist , it is one of the most important megalithic monuments in Central Europe...
or Altendorf
Altendorf (megalithic tomb)
The Altendorf tomb was an important megalithic tomb at Altenburg near Naumburg, northern Hesse, Germany. It was a gallery grave belonging to the Late Neolithic Wartberg culture...
, the dead at Lohra had been cremated
Cremation
Cremation is the process of reducing bodies to basic chemical compounds such as gasses and bone fragments. This is accomplished through high-temperature burning, vaporization and oxidation....
. There were circa 20 individuals, including adult men and women as well as children.
Pottery
They were accompanied by a large amount of pottery vessels, which is a unique feature among the northern Hessian (Wartberg culture) gallery graves. 20 vessels that had been placed on the chamber floor and later covered in human ashes were almost fully preserved. Handled cups or mugs with plastic decorations, similar to finds from Züschen, were especially common, as were bowls, some of them with feet and handles. The finds also include a large double conical bowl with strap handle and a pattern of alternating standing and hanging semicircles. Other double conical vessels survived only in fragments. One vessel has metopeMetope (architecture)
In classical architecture, a metope is a rectangular architectural element that fills the space between two triglyphs in a Doric frieze, which is a decorative band of alternating triglyphs and metopes above the architrave of a building of the Doric order...
-like ornaments resembling the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
Chasséen culture
Chasséen culture
Chasséen culture is the name given to the archaeological culture of prehistoric France of the late Neolithic , roughly between 4500 BC and 3500 BC...
. It has been pointed out that the pottery from Lohra is very similar to that from the Wartberg culture settlement on the Hasenberg near Fritzlar.
Other finds
Apart from ceramics, there was a very carefully made serpentine axe with an oval shaft hole, a retouched slate blade and a small piece of sheet bronzeBronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
of unknown function. The metal may not belong to the period of the tomb's original use. The characteristic animal remains known from other Wartberg tombs were absent.
Disappearance of the entrance stone
Most of the finds have been in storage at the Hessian State Museum (Hessisches Landesmuseum) at KasselKassel
Kassel is a town located on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Kassel Regierungsbezirk and the Kreis of the same name and has approximately 195,000 inhabitants.- History :...
since 1931. This does not include the entrance stone, which was moved to the farmyard of the field's owner, where it stayed for 36 years. In 1967, it was decided to place that stone as a monument outside Lohra
Lohra
Lohra is a community in Marburg-Biedenkopf district in the administrative region of Gießen in Hesse, Germany.-Geography:Lohra's municipal area, measuring 49 km², stretches across the middle Salzböde valley and the Versgrund...
town hall. Unfortunately, it turned out that it had recently been built into the foundations of a building on the farm.
See also
- Züschen (megalithic tomb)Züschen (megalithic tomb)The Züschen tomb is a prehistoric burial monument, located between Lohne and Züschen, near Fritzlar, Hesse, Germany. Classified as a gallery grave or a Hessian-Westphalian stone cist , it is one of the most important megalithic monuments in Central Europe...
- Altendorf (megalithic tomb)Altendorf (megalithic tomb)The Altendorf tomb was an important megalithic tomb at Altenburg near Naumburg, northern Hesse, Germany. It was a gallery grave belonging to the Late Neolithic Wartberg culture...
- Niedertiefenbach (megalithic tomb)Niedertiefenbach (megalithic tomb)The Niedertiefenbach tomb is a megalithic tomb located near Beselich-Niedertiefebach in Hesse, Germany. It belongs to the Wartberg culture of the Central European Later Neolithic...
- Wartberg cultureWartberg cultureThe Wartberg culture , sometimes: Wartberg group or Collared bottle culture is a prehistoric culture of the later Central European Neolithic...