Flintbek is the name of an archaeological site located in the Schleswig-Holstein region of northern Germany, about 8 kilometers (5 miles) from the Baltic coast near the town of Kiel. The site is a cemetery containing at least 88 Neolithic and Bronze Age burials. The overall Flintbek site is that of a long, loosely connected chain of grave mounds, or barrows, approximately 4 km (3 mi) long and .5 km (.3 mi) wide, roughly following a narrow ridge formed by a glacial ground moraine.
The most prominent feature of the site is Flintbek LA 3, a 53 meter- (174 foot-) long and 19 m- (62 ft-) wide mound, surrounded by a curb of boulders, and dated to the Neolithic Funnel Beaker period. Flintbek LA3 is located in the northeastern part of the overall cemetery site and was excavated in 1988 and 1989, as a part of larger excavations undertaken between 1976 and 1996 by the state office of Schleswig-Holstein.
The large LA 3 barrow was constructed continuously over its period of use from a group of 8 non-megalithic graves and four additional earth-covered megalithic dolmen chambers. This combination of older megalithic and non-megalithic graves and chambers, as well as wooden frames, post holes and ash pits, all were built and used within a time span of about 100 years, between 3500-3400 calendar years BC (cal BC).
Of particular interest are cart track impressions from a wheeled vehicle, leading over a distance of some 20 m (65 ft) to Dolmen IV. This last phase of construction saw the barrow double in width, from an original 11 m wide to 19 m (36-62 ft). These tracks were laid down between 3420-3385 cal BC, and were fortuitously preserved beneath the final barrow construction. These tracks represent some of the earliest evidence for the use of wheeled vehicles in Europe today.
Construction Chronology at Flintbek
- Initial phase, Fire pit 25, 3535-3500 cal BC
- Phase Grave A, 3500-3480 cal BC
- Phase Grave B
- Phase Grave E
- Phase Dolmen Chambers I-II
- Phase Dolmen Chambers III
- cart tracks built, 3420-3385 cal BC
- Phase Dolmen Chamber IV, Primary use
- Phase Dolmen Chamber III, Floor renewed
- Phase Dolmen Chamber IV, Secondary use, 3375–3360 cal BC
Construction Types at Flintbek
Each of the features described below were excavated at Flintbek between 3500-3425 Cal BC.
Graves A, B, E. Graves A, B and E were constructed in the Konens Høj manner at Flintbek, and each consists of an wooden construction with two enormous posts at the narrow ends, wooden frame construction and probably a wooden roof. The walls and floors of the interior chambers were constructed of slab stones, and the chambers were covered by small, oval-shaped tumuli. Soil for the tumuli was excavated from two ditches along the long sides of the graves. Grave goods included flint axes and transverse arrow points.
Graves C, D, F, G, and H. These graves were simpler than the Konens Høj group, consisting of a coffin with a slightly concave grave pit. Grave goods were similar, consisting of flint axes and transverse arrow points.
Dolmen chambers I, II, III and IV. Four dolmen chambers were identified at Flintbek. these consisted of non-mortared stone circles, placed around a fire pit which had been prepared with a pebble plaster. Dolmens I, II and III are in the original half of the barrow; Dolmen IV was set opposite Grave B, outside of general layout and in the center of the new half of the barrow.
Cart Tracks
Beneath the latest half of the barrow were identified a set of cart tracks, that is to say ruts from a wagon fitted with wheels. The tracks are restricted to the northwestern half of Flintbek LA 3, and they lead from the edge to the center of the mound, ending at the central location of Dolmen IV, the last burial construction at the site. Scholars believe these were laid down by wheels rather than tracks from a drag cart, due to the "wavy" impressions in the longitudinal sections.
The tracks measure just over 20 m (65 ft) long and consist of two parallel groups of repeated wheel ruts, up to 60 cm (~2 ft) wide. Each single wheel rut measures between 5-6 cm (~2-2.4 inches) wide; and the wheelbase of the wagons has been estimated at 1.1-1.2 m (~3.6-4 ft) wide, comparable to wheel bases reconstructed from Stare gmajne in Slovenia.
AMS dates from the cart ruts resolved to 3650-3335 Cal BC.
Sources
This glossary entry is a part of the About.com guide to Funnel Beaker, and the Dictionary of Archaeology.
Bakker JA, Kruk J, Lanting AE, and Milisauskas S. 1999. The earliest evidence of wheeled vehicles in Europe and the Near East. Antiquity 73(282):778-790.
Mischka D. 2010. Flintbek LA 3, biography of a monument. wwwjungsteinSITEde: December 20.
Mischka D. 2011. The Neolithic burial sequence at Flintbek LA 3, north Germany, and its cart tracks: a precise chronology Antiquity 85(329):742-758.
