The Orientation of Danish Passage Graves

Clausen, Claus; Einicke, Ole; Kjærgaard, Per

doi:10.1111/j.1600-0390.2008.00115.x

Cited by 8 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 1 publication

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“…Furthermore, in two of the hoards the edges of some or even all of the axeheads were facing east. This directionality fits with the placement of megaliths that also often face easterly (Clausen et al 2008;Clausen 2016, 57, 76;González-García and Costa-Ferrer 2007, 207;Paulsen 2019, 3460). However, due to the small sample size present here, it is difficult to ascertain how significant this trend is, or if it is a localized hoarding feature.…”

Section: Directionality and Arrangementsupporting

confidence: 60%

“…To the authors' knowledge, the directionality of the objects within hoards, and possible importance of it has not been previously explicitly discussed for Neolithic hoards. However, as directionality of megaliths appears to have been significant (Clausen et al 2008;Clausen 2014;González-García and Costa-Ferrer 2007, 207;Paulsen 2019) and as hoards often seem carefully placed, it is entirely pos-sible that directionality of objects within the hoard was also important. In three out of the four hoards discussed in this paper, the axes appear to have been placed lying roughly parallel with each other, a feature that is also observed in a large number of hoards found elsewhere in Southern Scandinavia (Rech 1979, 15-17).…”

Section: Directionality and Arrangementmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A biographical study of Neolithic hoarding

Sørensen¹,

Bjørnevad

Bye-Jensen

2020

DJA

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The tradition of hoarding axeheads is a well-known phenomenon within the first agrarian societies on the North European Plain. Unfortunately, the majority of known hoards have been found as stray finds or under circumstances with poor or no documentation, leading to considerable source critical issues. However, in this paper we analyze four hoards that have either been professionally excavated or have had their find circumstances recorded and are all found within the same geographical area along the southern Limfjord region of Denmark. The detailed contextual information of these hoards is used as a foundation for interpreting these hoards and question the oft-repeated dualistic categorization of hoards as wetland or dryland phenomena. The analytical method employed in this study uses micro- and macroscopic observations to create biographies for the axeheads and to so shed new light on hoarding practices. This approach challenges the previous macro-scale approaches. The results in the study provide a detailed insight on production, use-life, exchange and deposition of axeheads in hoards within the TRB. The aim of the paper is to forward this analytical approach and to offer a fresh perspective on the TRB hoards. In concluding, avenues for future research and debate are sketched out.

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Section: Directionality and Arrangementsupporting

confidence: 60%

Section: Directionality and Arrangementmentioning

confidence: 99%

A biographical study of Neolithic hoarding

Sørensen¹,

Bjørnevad

Bye-Jensen

2020

DJA

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“…Recent investigations of the orientation of passages in a sample of Danish and Swedish passage graves suggest that they may relate to certain celestial events such as sunrises and the first full moonrises after spring and autumn (thus coinciding with such important agricultural activities as the sowing and harvesting of crops; Clause et al 2008;Hårdh and Roslund 1991). The dramatic colours of the facades and other visible colour components may therefore have enhanced further the already theatrical settings for ceremonies outside the tombs that took place at such defined times within the annual cycle.…”

Section: Symbolism Of Megalithic Architecturementioning

confidence: 99%

Monuments and monumentality: the cosmological model of the world of megaliths

Midgley

2010

Doc. praeh.

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Neolithic monuments are physical and conceptual expressions of ideas about the nature of the world inhabited by early north European farmers. This contribution explores the complex symbolism encoded in megalithic architecture, and the socio-ritual interactions within which megaliths offered venues for public gatherings in which individuals participated singly or as members of larger groups. By bringing communities together – be it in thanksgiving, worship or pilgrimage – megaliths bridged the gap between the immediate, quotidian and local realities of life and the anomalous entities of the multi-dimensional universe in which past, present and future were given tangible permanence.

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“…With the exception of Hård and Roslund 1 (H&R in the following), González-García and Costa-Ferrer, 2 Gøran Henriksson, 3 and recently Clausen et al, 4 remarkably few investigations of the orientations of megalithic monuments in northern Europe have been published. By contrast, in other parts of western Europe, they have been the object of extensive archaeoastronomical investigations over the past decades.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%