“Friends of Filitosa” new member of Megalithic Routes

Since 1 July 2020, the “Friends of Filitosa” have also been members of Megalithik Routes. This association looks after one of the most fascinating megalithic sites in the south of Europe. Filitosa is located in the southwest of the island of Corsica and is considered a key site of Corsican prehistory.

New management of Megalithic Routes association

On 1 July 2020 Ursula Warnke took over the management of the Megalithic Routes association. She succeeds Bodo Zehm, who has held this position since 2017.

Ursula Warnke has a doctorate in archaeology and works since 2018 as the director of the Lower Saxony State Museum of Nature and Man in Oldenburg, Germany.

Prior to this, she had already held the same position since 2006 at the German Maritime Museum in Bremerhaven, was involved in extensive research and mediation projects and worked as a lecturer at colleges and universities in Münster, Berlin, Bremerhaven and Oldenburg.

During her studies of Pre- and Early History at the Universities of Münster and Marburg, she was also involved in the study of Art History and Ancient Oriental Archaeology. In addition, she directed various excavations in Westphalia, Saxony-Anhalt and the city of Münster. In 2011, she has specialized in the field of knowledge communication and exploitation in museums and thus has excellent professional qualifications to support the goals of the “European Route of Megalithic Culture”.

“Voices of Stones” in Berlin

On 14.01.2020, the federal state of Schleswig-Holstein presented an exciting evening on the history of the impact of megaliths, the oldest architectural monuments in Europe, at its state representation in Berlin. Under the title “The Voices of Stones”, the current state of “Megalithic Research between Science and Fiction” was informed and the high value of megalithic culture for the development of a culture of remembrance was presented. With more than 200 people who accepted the invitation, the organizers’ expectations were far exceeded.

Program of the International Conference „Megalithic Routes in Schleswig-Holstein“

The International Conference “Megalithic Routes in Schleswig-Holstein” from 3 to 5 December 2019 in Sankelmark/Schleswig-Holstein will be the annual highlight of the European Cultural Routes. Registrations are still possible.

The current program of the international conference “Megalithic Routes in Schleswig-Holstein” shows that this event is the annual highlight of the “European Route of Megalithic Culture”. With numerous top-class expert contributions by renowned experts from various European countries, all participants will be presented with a multi-faceted picture of the history of Europe’s oldest architectural monuments. Numerous examples from current tourism and museum projects make it clear that this topic is one of the most attractive components of future-oriented public relations work on the special value of an intact cultural landscape. The current program can be found here for download.

If you would like to register for participation at short notice, please contact us here.

Megalithic Routes in Schleswig-Holstein organized international Workcamp

From 15 to 29 June 2019, an international work camp took place in the open-air museum Steinzeitpark Dithmarschen in Albersdorf/Germany as part of the project “Megalithic Routes in Schleswig-Holstein”. In two weeks, 9 young people from 6 different countries experienced a varied programme on life in the Stone Age and the history of the country and its people in northern Germany. The final report is available for download (in german).

With Virtual Reality into the Megalithic Tomb

The VR application developed by the Antiquity Commission of Westphalia in cooperation with the M2C Institute of the Bremen University of Applied Sciences makes it possible to virtually immerse oneself in the time of megalithics. With virtual reality glasses, the erratic blocks of a megalithic tomb weighing several tons can be viewed from different perspectives. The original state is reconstructed in a 3D animation visible to the observer. The animations are based on the current scientific research of the Antiquity Commission of Westphalia. Using a smartphone and a so-called cardboard, the VR application can be accessed in 3D or conveniently on a PC – here, however, only in 2D – at: www.megalithik.vr.lwl.org

International Conference “Megalithic Routes in Schleswig-Holstein”

From 3 to 5 December the international conference “Megalithic Routes in Schleswig-Holstein” will take place in Sankelmark/Schleswig-Holstein. The focus will be on the exchange of scientific knowledge between scientists and project leaders from different European countries. Current research results will be presented as well as various aspects of the history of research and reception and of tourism. Further information can be found here.

New exhibition in the Hunebed Centre

Come and see the exciting new exhibition in the Hunebed Centre!

Since 18th of January the new exhibition in the Hunebed Centre in Borger/NL is open. After more than a year of hard work, the Hunebed Centre in Borger has now a completely new permanent exhibition about the hunebed builders and the tombs they built around 5,000 years ago. The previous exhibition has replaced by a more open display which makes greater use of visual images and new technology.

Harrie Wolters, director of the Hunebed Centre, explains: “The new exhibition enables us to tell the story of the hunebed builders in a new way, incorporating the most recent archaeological findings. Investing in new technology such as digital games and quizzes makes the museum more interactive and enables visitors to share in the experience for themselves.

Inside the museum visitors stand face to face with the people of the Funnel Beaker Culture who lives here around 5,000 years ago. Their daily existence is brought to life through dioramas of typical scenes and displays of pottery and other artefacts found inside their ancient tombs. Visitors can even walk inside a reconstruction of a hunebed, and the whole exhibition is surrounded by a panoramic photo wall. Interactive games and quizzes test visitor´s knowledge and reveal more facts about the prehistoric people. Younger visitors can build their own hunebed.

European Conference “Committed to Europe” in Berlin

On 10 November 2018 for the first time Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe, represented by European Route of Megalithic Culture, took part in the European Conference in Berlin “Committed to Europe”.

100 participants, 30 civil society projects from all over Europe, interesting inputs by Mayor Christophe Rouillon, Coulaines/France and Prof Caroline Y. Robertson-von Trotha, University of Karlsruhe/Germany, lively discussions in three working groups and the proclamation of the European Republic by the The European Balcony Project – the organizer “A Soul for Europe – Cities for Europe” is proud of the results of the conference.

Background: The fall of the Berlin Wall on the 9th of November, 1989 not only terminated the partition of Germany, it also put an end to the division of Europe. Building on this experience, the annual “State of Europe” Speech in Berlin, given in turns by one of the high representatives of the European Union, is a forum for EU leaders to express their fundamental concerns and thoughts on the future of Europe. This speech has for the past years formed the centre of a number of events organized by Stiftung Zukunft Berlin and its initiatives “A Soul for Europe” and “Cities for Europe”. The common goal of these activities is to foster a dialogue between citizens and politicians and to contribute to the public debate on Europe.

The conversation thus focuses on the following aspects:

1. Europe affects all of us: we, the European citizens, as well as the elected representatives are responsible for intensifying and strengthening the European integration project.
2. We have to develop Europe from the bottom up: Europe is not only driven by institutions and governments but also by citizens themselves.
3. European cities and European Culture play a fundamental role in determining the future of Europe – particularly at this point in time, when the 2019 European elections are only a half year away

In addition to a keynote speech, the presentation of a few cities´ exemplary strategies and approaches, and the EUROPEAN MARKET PLACE – in which initiatives and projects can present their work – the conference will offer participants various occasions for networking and to exchange experiences.

See more on this site.

Megalithic Routes – New Project in Schleswig-Holstein

The Archaeological State Office Schleswig-Holstein and the Stone Age Park Dithmarschen have successfully sought to promote a new Megalithic Routes-Project for the further development of the European Route of Megalithic Culture in Schleswig-Holstein/Germany. The funding was provided by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media in the framework of the European heritage year 2018 SHARING HERITAGE. Further coordination takes place via the German National Committee for Monument Protection.

The general objective of the project is “to convey the Megalithic Culture as an indispensable part of our common European as well as our regional and local identity and history”. Among the numerous content blocks are media projects, information panels for the monument sites, public events, international youth exchange, deployment of new technical and scientific information, as well as an international conference about the history of the effectiveness of the megalithic buildings in Europe.

The project in detail:

The Project Megalithic Routes in Schleswig-Holstein

In 2013 the “Route of Megalithic Culture” was recognised as culture route by the Council of Europe. With the “Steinzeitpark Dithmarschen” (Stone Age Park Dithmarschen) there is only one member of the international association “Megalithic Routes e.V.” in Schleswig-Holstein, which deals with the protection, curation and communication of megaliths.

In this context and the European Year of Culture 2018 under the SHARING HERITAGE motto, the State Archaeology Department of Schleswig-Holstein (ALSH) and the Stone Age Park Dithmarschen used the chance to jointly initiate a project for the valorisation of European routes of the megalithic culture and its archaeological legacy in Schleswig-Holstein.

What are megaliths?

Already the term “megalith” has a mystic allure. It is derived from the Greek terms  μέγας or mégas (Engl. “large”) and λίθος or líthos (Engl. “stone”), and is used for a variety of  Neolithic cultic and sepulchral monuments. It is a global phenomenon. Such monuments appear archaic in the modern landscape and have been part of past and contemporary commemorative culture.

Spread in Central Europe

Around 5000 BC impressive megaliths appear as a pan-European tradition, with the first monuments in Brittany and the Iberian Peninsula. The megaliths in the northern part of Central Europe date into the Neolithic between 4800 and 2500 BC. This makes them the oldest built remains in Central Europe. In Schleswig-Holstein the megalithic tomb is the most common monument, which is distinguished into different types based on their construction. The oldest type seems to be the so-called dolmen, a younger type the passage tomb. These are tombs, in which the passage is connected transversely or diagonally to the burial chamber. Dolmen or passage tombs can either be covered by oblong or circular mounds, which base is comprised by stones. These are part of the so-called Funnel Beaker Culture, which is regarded as the first peasant society in northern Europe and erected its megaliths mainly in the period between 3650 and 3100 BC, thus before the first pyramids were built in Egypt.

Change and Preservation

In early modern times megaliths increasingly generated interest and have retained their significance as integral part of the cultural landscape ever since. After serving their initial purpose, megaliths were subject to reinterpretations and were popular objects for scholarly speculations. In medieval times the remains were often build over with chapels, while menhirs – which have been recognised as monuments of the pagan past – were re-interpreted and “Christianised”. The utmost number of these monuments – often older than 5000 years – fell victim to the urbanisation and industrialisation process of the late 19th century, in which wake the infrastructure was expanded. Stones from megalithic monuments were re-used for houses, roads and bridges. Moreover, megalithic tombs were also used to extract soil, as they were – unlike today – originally covered by earth-mounds.

Megalithic tombs, like the ones from Bunsoh, Brutkamp, the reconstructed megalithic tomb of Karlsminde, or of Munkswolstrup, are curated by committed volunteers. Aside from Albersdorf, another archaeological park – the “Arnkiel Park” – was established in Munkswolstrup near Oeversee. Megaliths become increasingly a more important feature of the state’s historical culture. Ancient monuments are stylised to be the tombs of the ancestors. New megaliths are being built. These consciously allude to the Neolithic period as allegory to a common ancestry. Today, all known and unknown megalithic tombs are protected by Schleswig-Holstein’s Monuments Protection Act against destruction. But this theoretical protection requires practical implementation. The sustainable preservation of our archaeological heritage depends on its general appreciation.

Project Funding

The project is financed by the German State Commissioner of Culture and Media (Beauftragter der Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien, BKM) within the framework of the European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018’s initiative SHARING HERIAGE. The office of the German National Committee for Monument Protection (Deutsches Nationalkomitee für Denkmalschutz, DNK) at the BKM is responsible for the coordination and implementation of the funded project. As part of this initiative selected projects of national importance are funded by the German government. An overview and summaries of all projects can be viewed here: https://sharingheritage.de/.

Fund allocations are also effective via the “AktivRegion Dithmarschen“  of the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD), the “Steinzeitpark Dithmarschen”/ “Archäologisch-Ökologisches Zentrum Albersdorf” (AÖZA), the friends’ association of the latter – the “Förderverein AÖZA e.V.”, as well as the Archaeology Society of Schleswig-Holstein – the “Archäologische Gesellschaft Schleswig-Holstein” (AGSH).

Project goals and activities

The overarching goal is to communicate megalithic culture as essential common European heritage – yet with regional and local identities – digitally and interactively, geared to the target and age groups. An exchange of ideas, networks and participation in the regional and international context of juveniles, visitors, citizens and experts are the pillars of this project. The project will be the starting point of further valorisations in the future, for instance the establishment of theme-routes for hikers and cyclists, or the development of international projects. This shall not only be geared to megalithic monuments per se, but also the history of the cultural landscape as a whole. In detail, the following activities are planned:

• Publication of a coffee-table book as special edition on the topic: megaliths in movies, TV and other media – how are they perceived?
• International symposium on the reception history of megaliths
• Networking and collaboration with municipalities, monument owners and “Megalithic Routes e.V.”
• International youth exchange in the Stone Age Park Dithmarschen with educational programs and workshops
• Events on the day of the „Open Monument“(2018 and 2019), as well as on the European Day of Megalithic Culture (2019)
• Digitalisation of the archaeological heritage of the megaliths
• Further entries in the state archaeology register
• Representation of several objects at www.kuladig.de
• Multimedia website with 3D-reconstructions, interactive info-graphs, map-views, with German and English versions.
• Storytelling and gamification with the App XPLORE SH

For more information on participating institutions, sponsors and partners see: https://www.schleswig-holstein.de/DE/Landesregierung/ALSH/Projekte/MegalithicRoutes/megalithicRoutes.html