Necropolis of Soderstorf

The megalithic grave of Soderstorf

The necropolis of Soderstorf is a unique cluster of prehistoric relics in the church Soderstorf in the district of Lüneburg, in Lower Saxony.

The necropolis located south of the well- büttel street on the edge of the Luhetals. The square was used more than 2,000 years of diverse multicultural societies. The equipment consists of a megalithic site, a grave mound, stone circles, stone paving, the urn cemetery and a flat grave.

The megalithic grave and its subsequent use

The during the Neolithic period of carriers of Funnel Beaker Culture ( TBK ) 3500-2800 BC erected megalithic site with the Sprockhoff no. 682 was excavated in 1883. The east-west oriented facility has a size of ten times three meters. In the eleven sidestones are four capstones. The inner 6.2 × 1.65 meters measuring chamber was to support Stone top of a mound of earth. Access was off-center on the southern long side. The during the Bronze Age burials for increased round hill is surrounded by a stone ring. The paving of pebbles covered with granite greeting.

The triggered in 1970, follow-up was able to demonstrate a multi-phase utilization. Finds from the early Funnel Beaker culture of 3500-2800 BC have been recovered only to a small extent. Finds from the time of the single grave culture of 2800-2500 BC, however, were in the chamber and its surroundings made ​​that originate from subsequent uses of the megalithic tomb. In the Early Bronze Age the hill was transformed. The redesign has associated grave was probably destroyed undetected in the study of 1883. The then found bronze bangle can be regarded as grave goods. In the Early Bronze Age the hill was surrounded halfway up with a second narrow stone rim. In the rolling bed of remains have been found of cremated remains, which have the usual burial custom of that time.

Detail of chamber

Detail of chamber

Hill grave

South of the megalithic tomb is a Bronze Age grave mound with a stone ring around the hill foot. Observed soil discoloration have two tree coffin burials. At a Absatzbeil offerings and a needle made ​​of bronze were found. In the area more tumuli were but they are destroyed.

Urn cemetery

Intermediate bulk stone and hill lies a grave urn field of early pre-Roman Iron Age about 94 grave sites. They are characterized by heterogeneous stone pavement of up to four meters in diameter, or stone circles, which probably served to mark the grave sites and the protection of the clay pots next to small stelae. Occasionally, the cremated remains lay in a small stone box. On the urn cemetery Adults are mainly buried, mostly it is women whose urns were below the stone paving.

Detail of the cemetery

Detail of the cemetery

Flat grave

In less densely populated part of the urn cemetery a flat grave of the Funnel Beaker Culture was with a stone ax as grave goods found.