Long barrows, dolmens and passage graves The shape of burial mounds changed during the Neolithic period. The so-called long barrows are the earliest, next came the dolmens and afterwards the passage graves. The earliest long barrows (3800-3500 BC) Not long after the introduction of agriculture farmers began building monumental tombs for people of special importance. At first they built long barrows [...] was once cultivated by a civilisation of giants is testified by the immense stones attached to ancient barrows and caves”. The passage graves had long entrances and large chambers, where many burials could be placed.
How did the burials take place? In the long barrows one or more people were buried in a wooden burial chamber. The long barrows were succeeded by dolmens. The oldest dolmen chambers, made of large [...] was excavated in 1914. The passage graves were used for burials over long periods. The first burials were often removed or disturbed to make room for new ones. In some cases where it has been possible to investigate burials in passage graves, skeletons seem to have been mixed chaotically. In the passage grave Rævehøj in western Zealand at least 100 individuals were buried, and heaps of skulls lay up against one
Another grave in Borum Eshøj The three oak-coffin graves were not the only burials in Borum Eshøj. In the top of the barrow lay a burial from the Late Bronze Age. At that time the dead were cremated. During the excavation burnt bones were found in the remains of a small wooden box, an ‘urn’ of wood. Other finds included a miniature sword, a razor, tweezers and a button with a long point. All the objects were coated with gold sheet. The furnishings show that another high-ranking man had been buried in the barrow. The finds from the cremation burial at Borum Eshøj. The objects from the cremation burial are finely
Barrows with single graves Single burials were especially common in western Denmark and they have given their name to the period of “the Single Grave Culture”. Burials were situated in fairly small barrows. The earliest burials ( c . 2800-2600 BC) consisted of deep graves under a low mound. Later, in the period from 2600 to 2350 BC, new graves were often dug into an existing barrow. At the same time the barrow was enlarged. A fence of posts was erected around some barrows and children were buried in small cists at the outer edge of the mound. Schematic drawing of a section though a typical grave mound
The people in the Bronze Age barrows The people of the Early Bronze Age started building barrows on a grand scale. In the barrow the deceased was protected, both by the grave itself and the way in which the barrow was made visible. At the same time the burial mounds ensured that the memory of the dead would be preserved for coming generations. Throughout the Bronze Age the barrows were used again and again for burials. The individual barrow or group of barrows came to constitute a burial site to which people returned for centuries. Map showing the most well-known oak-coffin graves in Denmark. You can see
Antiquarians from Århus rushed to the site and saved what they could. The barrow had by then been reduced to a height of about 8-9 metres. They were told that the objects found came from a grave where the body [...] The bronze objects from the barrow No legends of trolls, warriors or princes could scare Søren Ovesen, the owner of the farm Højballegården. In 1871 he handed in a number of bronze items [...] National Museum. During this excavation a further two oak-coffin graves were found containing well-preserved bodies and various kinds of grave goods. Most of the bronze objects from Borum Eshøj come
Gifts in the stone-packing grave Grave goods have sometimes been found in the stone-packing graves, which have usually been placed in the ‘mortuary house’. Most often these are flint axes and chisels. On rare occasions prestigious battle-axes of greenstone are also found. The flint implements are of the highest quality and are normally unused. They are of the same standard as the axes that the Neolithic people were sacrificing at the same time in bogs and at passage graves. This battle axe of greenstone, which is 22 cm long, was found together with a flint axe in a stone-packing grave in Vroue Hede
Rare grave goods In 1953 a sensational find was excavated in a burial mound at Lundsbakke in Værløse, north of Copenhagen. The barrow contained the grave of a man dating to the early Bronze Age. The dead man had been placed in an oak coffin and had been given some peculiar grave goods. Among his possessions were two double axe-shaped pieces of bronze jewellery, of a type known from Greece and Crete. The grave goods also included an amber bead of a foreign design, that is also known from Greece. It was in fact a Scandinavian amber bead, which had been on a journey to the Mediterranean and back. Jewelry
Here lay the dead During the excavation of Borum Eshøj in 1875 a plan of the barrow was drawn. The plan shows that an old man’s grave lies at the centre. To the right of this we see a grave that contains the body of a young man. Farthest to the right an elderly woman’s grave is shown. The excavation plan also includes a pair of square stone-settings. These form enclosures or small buildings where one could honour the dead for a time. In addition there are several areas of stone paving. The barrow is surrounded by a stone wall carefully built in steps. Plan of Borum Eshøj drawn by Konrad
Grave robberies The deceased in the oak-coffin graves have been carefully laid to rest. The body and the grave goods are arranged with great consideration and a mound has been built over them. But the rules for this care of the dead were sometimes broken. We know of cases where grave robbers dug their way into the barrows and broke into the coffins, removing any of the grave goods they could get their hands on. Often these grave robberies have taken place within the past couple of centuries, but they also took place in prehistory. The grave robberies of prehistory could be simple thefts. Another
