Megaliths in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
In the area of present-day Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, up to 5,000 megalith tombs were erected as burial sites by people of the Neolithic Funnelbeaker (TRB) culture.
Though varying in style and age, megalith structures are common in Western Europe, with those in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern belonging to the youngest and easternmost—further east, in the modern West Pomeranian Voivodeship of Poland, monuments erected by the TRB people did not include lithic structures, while they do in the south (Brandenburg), west (Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein) and north (Denmark).
The megaliths in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern were erected as burial sites in the Neolithic, by the bearers of the Funnelbeaker (TRB) culture,[1][2] between 3,500 and 3,200 BC.
[4] After removing the clay from the interior, a barrow (tumulus) was then raised on top of the dolmen, which remained accessible through a passage made from smaller stones.
[8] Though megalithic sites can be found in nearly all areas of Mecklenburg-Vorpomern, Schuldt (1972) defined nine high-density areas: near Grevesmühlen (Forst Everstorf), near Rerik, along the middle and upper Warnow river, around the lakes of Krakower See and Plauer See, along the Recknitz river, along the Schwinge stream, and the southeastern part of the island of Rügen.
[4] Few dolmens contain only TRB finds, as most were also used by the contemporary and subsequent Globular Amphora and Single Grave cultures,[1] and some remained in use until the Bronze Age.
[1][4] The bearers of the Globular Amphora culture removed and demolished skeletons and items from previous burials before reusing the tombs for their own dead.
[11] The bearers of the Neolithic Single Grave culture buried their dead in the earth-filled chamber by removing cover or wall stones.
[15] Many megaliths were used as quarries in the past, e.g. for the construction of 13th- and 14th-century churches, medieval and early modern stone walls, 18th-century manor houses, as well as for 19th-century dikes, roads, bridges and milestones.
[17] On 13 April 1804, Frederick Francis I, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg issued a decree protecting "heathen grave sites" and called on his officials to compile lists of the megaliths in their districts.
[18] On 30 November 1993, the currently binding preservation law was enacted by the re-constituted state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (Gesetz zum Schutz und zur Pflege der Denkmale im Lande Mecklenburg–Vorpommern, "Law for the Protection and the Care of Monuments in the State of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern").
[18] Megaliths in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern are the subject of an abundance of lore, dealing primarily with giants, fairies, dwarfs, subterraneans and hidden treasures.
[19] The treasure tales have contributed both to long-time preservation of megaliths and to tomb raiding, depending on the degree of superstition of the audience.
