Archaeology :: School of Arts, Culture and the Environment

The Northern European megaliths

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The megaliths of Northern Europe represent the most tangible remains of the Neolithic period. It is hardly surprising that antiquarians, as well as 19^th and early 20^th century scholars, were attracted to these monuments. Megaliths are dramatic and enticing structures, and they have a particularly powerful presence in the flat landscape of the North European Plain, or when seen against the Scandinavian skyline. Click here to view some images of megaliths in Northern Europe. They featured in mediaeval documents and chronicles as well as in fairy tales and stories of giants. Later they inspired some of the finest art within the northern Romantic tradition, exemplified by such fine paintings as Hünengrab im Schnee (1807) by Caspar David Friedrich and Hünengrab im Winter (1824/25) by Christian Dahl. Early in the 20^th century the tradition of amateur investigation gave way to professional examination, with most of the work firmly focussed on inventories and descriptions. Current research interests moved beyond such simple classifications and today the North European megaliths are a firm focus for the analysis of funerary practices and other rituals which were habitually performed at megalithic tombs: the different ways of dealing with the dead, the symbolism of the megaliths and the relationship between ancestors and the living community. Dr. Midgley has published a book about Megaliths in 2008: 2008 The Megaliths of Northern Europe, Routledge, London (view cover, contents, photographs in colour).

M.S. Midgley versus Visbeker Bräutigam

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