THE SCANDINAVIAN MEGALITHIC AREA
In Scandinavia megalithic monuments abound. They have been studied with
unusual care from quite an early date in the history of archæology, and
classified in the order of their development. The earliest type appears
to be the simple dolmen with either four or five sides and a very rough
cover-slab. This and the upper part of the sides remained uncovered by
the mound of earth which was always heaped round the tomb. In later
times the dolmen became more regularly rectangular in shape, and only
its roof-block appeared above the mound. Contemporary with this later
form of dolmen were several other types of tomb. One was simply the
earlier dolmen with one side open and in front of it a sort of portico
or elementary corridor formed by two upright slabs with no roofing (cf.
the Irish type, Fig. 5, _b_). This quickly developed into the true
corridor-tomb, which had at first a small round chamber with one or two
cover-slabs, a short corridor, and a round or rectangular mound. Later
types have an oval chamber (Fig. 9) with from one to four cover-slabs or
a rectangular chamber with a long corridor and a circular mound.
Finally we reach a type where thin slabs are used in the construction,
and the mound completely covers the cap-stones: here the corridor leads
out from one of the short ends of the rectangular chamber.
The earliest of these types in point of view of development, the true
dolmen, is common both in Denmark and in South Sweden; only one example
exists in Norway. In Sweden it is never found far from the sea-coast.
[Illustration: FIG. 9. Corridor-tomb, Ottagården, Sweden.
(Montelius, _Orient und Europa_.)]
The corridor-tomb is also frequent in Denmark and Sweden, though it is
unknown in Norway. In Sweden it is, like all megalithic monuments,
confined to the south of the country. Of the early transition type with
elementary corridor there are fine examples at Herrestrup in Denmark and
Torebo in Sweden. A tomb at Sjöbol in Sweden where the corridor,
consisting of only two uprights, is covered in with two roof-slabs
instead of being left open, shows very clearly the transition to the
corridor-tomb proper, in which the entrance passage consists of at least
four uprights, two on each side. Of this there are numerous fine
examples. A tomb of this type at Broholm in Denmark has a roughly
circular chamber separated from the corridor by a kind of
threshold-stone. Another at Tyfta in Sweden is remarkable for its
curious construction, the uprights being set rather apart from one
another and the spaces between filled up with dry masonry of small
stones. Possibly there were not sufficient large blocks at hand to
construct a tomb of the required size.
The still later type consisting of a rectangular chamber with a long
corridor leading out of one of its long sides often attains to very
imposing dimensions. In Westgothland, a province of Sweden, there are
fine examples with walls of limestone and often roofs of granite visible
above the surface of the mound. The largest of these tombs is that of
Karleby near Falköping. In another at Axevalla Heath were found nineteen
bodies seated round the wall of the chamber, each in a separate small
cist of stone slabs. The position of the bodies in the Scandinavian
graves is rather variable, both the outstretched and the contracted
posture being used. It is usual to find many bodies in the same tomb,
often as many as twenty or thirty: in that of Borreby on the island of
Seeland were found seventy skeletons, all of children of from two to
eighteen years of age.
In Denmark these rectangular tombs occasionally have one or more small
round niches. In 1837 a large tomb was excavated at Lundhöj on Jütland,
which had a circular niche opposite to the entrance. The niche had a
threshold-stone, and the two uprights of the main chamber which lay on
either side of this had been crudely engraved with designs, among which
were a man, an animal, and a circle with a pair of diameters marked.
Little was found in the chamber, and only some bones and a pot in the
niche.
In Denmark often occur mounds which contain two or more tombs, usually
of the same form, each with its separate entrance passage. At the
entrance of the chamber there is sometimes a well-worked framework into
which fitted a door of stone or wood.
The late type in which the corridor leads out of one of the narrow ends
of the chamber is represented in both Sweden and Denmark. From this may
be derived the rather unusual types in which the corridor has become
indistinguishable from the chamber or forms a sort of antechamber to it.
An example of the former type at Knyttkärr in Sweden is wider at one end
than at the other, and has an outer coating of stone slabs. It resembles
very closely the wedge-shaped tombs of Munster (cf. Fig. 7):
In Germany megalithic monuments are not infrequent, but they are
practically confined to the northern part of the country. They extend as
far east as Königsberg and as far west as the borders of Holland. They
are very frequent in Holstein, Mecklenburg, and Hanover. There are even
examples in Prussian Saxony, but in South Germany they cease entirely.
Keller in one edition of his _Lake Dwellings_ figures two supposed
dolmens north of Lake Pfäffikon in Switzerland, but we have no details
with regard to them.
The true dolmen is extremely rare in Germany, and only occurs in small
groups in particular localities. The corridor-tomb with a distinct
chamber is also very exceptional, especially east of the Elbe. The most
usual type of megalithic tomb is that known as the _Hünenbett_ or
_Riesenbett_. The latter name means Giants' Bed, and it seems probable
that the former should be similarly translated, despite the suggested
connection with the Huns, for a word _Hünen_ has been in use in North
Germany for several centuries with the meaning of giants. A _Hünenbett_
consists of a rectangular (rarely oval or round) hill of earth covering
a megalithic tomb. This is a simple elongated rectangle in shape, made
of upright blocks and roofed with two or more cover-slabs. The great
_Hünenbett_ or Grewismühlen in Mecklenburg has a mound measuring 150
feet by 36 with a height of 5 feet. On the edge of the mound are
arranged forty-eight tall upright blocks of stone.
The _Hünenbetter_ of the Altmark are among the best known and explored.
Here the corridors are usually about 20 feet long, though in rare cases
they reach a length of 40 feet. Each is filled with clean sand up to
two-thirds of its height, and on this lie the bodies and their funeral
deposit. The bodies must have been laid flat, though not necessarily in
an extended position, as there was not room above the sand for them to
have been seated upright. Various implements of flint have been found in
the tombs together with stone hammers and vases of pottery. There is no
certain instance of the finding of metal.
A book printed by John Picardt at Amsterdam in 1660 contains quaint
pictures of giants and dwarfs engaged in the building of a megalithic
monument which is clearly a _Hünenbett_. According to tradition the
giants, after employing the labour of the dwarfs, proceeded to devour
them. _Hünenbetter_ similar to those shown in Picardt's illustrations
are still to be seen in Holland, but only in the north, where over fifty
are known. They are of elongated rectangular form, built of upright
blocks, and roofed with from two to ten cover-slabs. They all widen
slightly towards the west end. The most perfect example still remaining
is that of Tinaarloo, and the largest is that of Borger, which contains
forty-five blocks, of which ten are cap-stones. Several _Hünenbetter_
have been excavated. In them are found pottery vases, flint celts, axes
and hammers of grey granite, basalt, and jade.
Belgium possesses several true dolmens, of which the best known is that
called La Pierre du Diable on the right bank of the Meuse. Near Lüttich
are two simple corridor-tombs, each with a round hole in one of the
end-slabs and a small portico outside it.