Wooden burial cists from the Single Grave Culture and the Late Neolithic

Abstract

Wooden burial cists from the Single Grave Culture and the Late Neolithic

The wooden burial cists that have turned up mostly in recent years are here given their first collective treatment. In the introduction are given the views of various authors, especially Müller, Forssander, Glob, Lomborg, and Ebbesen (notes 1-7).

The term burial cist is understood here as referring to any funerary cist with opening at one end dating from the Single Grave Culture or the Late Neolithic. They could have the components, burial chamber, antechamber, and passage.

The burial chamber is the innermost part of the cist, separated from the rest by a sillstone, a row of stones, or some similar construction. It is frequently indicated by a footing trench in which the wooden constructional elements originally stood.

The passage is the name applied to the outermost part of the structure if this is narrower than the burial chamber.

The antechamber is the part of the cist intervening between the passage and the burial chamber. If there is no passage, then the ante­chamber is the part of the cist in front of the burial chamber.

The following 11 wooden burial cists are described: Vesthimmerlands landing field barrow 3, type A2a, cat. IA.12. (figs. 2-6; notes 8-11). Drenghøj, type A2a cat. IA.01. (fig. 7; note 12). Kragehøj, type B2, cat. IA.08. (figs. 13-15, notes 15-18). Valstrup, type B2, cat. IA.07. (fig. 16, note 19). Keldgård barrow 2, type B2, cat. IA.13. (fig. 1). Sønder Tranders, type C2, cat. IA.02. (figs. 17-18; note 20). Vesthimmerlands landingfield barrow 2, type D2, cat. IA.11. (figs. 19-22; notes 21.22). Toftelund I, type D1, cat. IA.21 (Fig. 1.15). Rold, type D2, cat. IA.04. (Fig. 1.12). Kovhøj, type E, cat. IA.05. (Fig. 1.11; note 23).

The cists fall into four categories according to their principles of construction:

1: Burial cists sunk into the original ground surface, having four corner posts but no footing trench (IA.2, 29).

2: Burial cists whose walling stood against the outer side of the footing trench and was packed by stones in the middle of the trench. The reason for this construction is certainly that the cists were inserted secondarily into earlier barrows and the walling was placed against the sides of the excavation (IA.12). IA.19 may be related, but the field observations lack detail.

3: In four cases there were definite postholes in the trench (IA.06, 21, 22, 27 and IB.05 and 06, and also in a cist that could not be type­determined (IB.06)). In none of these cases were traces of planks found along the sides of the trench. The posts were in one case supported by stones (IA.21).

4: However the commonest wall construction was a plank wall standing along the inner side of the trench, which was observed in eight cases (IA.01, 03, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 13, 14, 17) and an uncertain case (IA.05). In some of these the construction was supported by stones (IA.01, 05, 14).

There was evidence of roofing in two cases (IA.10 and 12), and it appears to have been flat. A flat roof would result in a structure somewhat resembling a stone burial cist.

There is evidence of mode of access in some of the cases where the cist was surrounded in its time of use by the earth of the mound, The cases were Vesthimmerlands landing field barrows 1 and 3 (IA.10 and 12) and Keldgården barrow 3 (IA.14). ln all cases access had been from the surface of the mound downwards to the cist, and not inwards from the edge of the barrow (note 25).

The wooden burial cists fall from their plan and structure into six main types (note 31): Type A: Cists with round, pear-shaped, or trapeziform burial chamber. The type can have antechamber or passage. Six variants can be distinguished (note 25).

Type B: Cists with a pentagonal or hexagonal burial chamber, or cists with a rectangular to barrel-shaped burial chamber and a trapeziform antechamber. This type can have a passage. Three variants can be distinguished (note 26).

Type C: Burial cists with rectangular or barrel­shaped burial chamber and rectangular ante-chamber. The type may have passage. Two variants can be distinguished (note 27).

Type D: Burial cists with rectangular or barrel­shaped burial chamber. The entrance is narrower than the chamber and there can be a passage. Two variants can be distinghuished (note 28).

Type E: Burial cists with rectangular or barrel­shaped burial chamber with neither passage nor antechamber (notes 29-30).

The dating of the types is based on grave goods and on radiometric age determinations.

Type A can be dated to the younger Under­grave and older Ground-grave period; but variant A 1 is dated to the younger Undergrave period while A2-3 are dated to early in the Ground-grave period (battle axe types F and G).

Type B can be dated to the later part of the older Ground-grave period (battle axe type H).

Type C can be dated to the younger Ground­grave period.

Type D1 can be dated to the Uppergrave period.

Type D2 can be dated to the Uppergrave period and Late Neolithic A.

Type E can be dated to Late Neolithic A.

The datings have been compared with the stone cists given in the table, fig. 21, which shows that none of the type-determinate stone cists with grave goods had equipment older than the period to which they would be assigned in the above typological dating system. The C-14 datings are shown in fig. 22.

The orientations of the different types as defined above vary considerably. The entrances of the oldest type (A1) face west, The entrances of types A2-3, B, C, and D face predominantly SE or S, while the entrance of type E mainly face E. The eastern orientation of this type is most marked on the Danish islands.

Many burial cists contemporary with the above have been found in other parts of northern and western Europe, but they are often poorly described and are therefore difficult to distinguish from earlier graves. All types excepting B are represented.

Type A1 is known from central Jutland and Funen. A2-A3 have their main concentration in and near Himmerland and on the Danish islands. They are also known from Holland and north and central Germany. Type B is known almost exclusively from Himmerland. Types C and E1 are known from the eastern Limfjord area and close to it, and from central Germany. Variant E2 is numerous on Zealand, and in the western Limfjord area, Sweden, and Germany.

From this it would seem chat variant A1 originated in south Denmark, perhaps as a development of the small ring-ditch structures called »beehive graves». Variants A2-A3 were constructed over a large part of northern Europe. Types A2 to E2 were constructed in a continuous series in the eastern Limfjord area, especially in Himmerland. At times they were known here almost exclusively, but in Late Neolithic A the eastern Limfjord area became marginal in the distribution of the cists.

From this new examination of burial cists it seems to me that Forssander's suggestion that development of the cists was inspired by the passage graves is correct (Forssander 1936, 115). This would mean that type A2a originated in Himmerland. Dwellings from the early Single Grave Culture appear to be round, while those from the upper grave period and the Late Neolithic were rectangular. This agrees with the development of the cists and implies a parallel evolution. Only new discoveries of house remains from the ground grave period can confirm this however.

Mogens Hansen.