Grave Mounds Brey

Overview

This is a good example of grave mound (tumulus) group dating back to the Hunsrück Eifel Culture during the 5-6th Century BC. At that time, it was common to bury individuals along frequently traveled roads.

Photo of grave mound

Location of Tumuli along the Rhine and Moselle area.

Location

+50° 15' 38.20", +7° 35' 27.31 Elevation 256 m above sea level

Description

The Hunsrück Eifel Culture is part of the Iron Age in general and the late Hallstatt early Latène period in particular.

During this time, increased connection with outside cultures particularly to the South resulted in a explosive growth of wealth and the development of a new cultural style, which has been called the Hunsrück Eifel Culture or HEK. The HEK is characterized by a specific shape of the bowls that were used as well as the extensive developments of situlas.

The burial mounds measure approximately 8-10 m in diameter, about 30 m in circumference and reach a height of about 2-3 m. Grave mounds or tumuli contained mostly body burials, however, occasional one also finds cremated remains. These tumuli were excavated during the 30s of the last century. This group of tumuli is only a part of the probably more wide spread graveyard. However, many of the tumuli that were located in non-forested sites were destroyed over the centuries due to the heavy agricultural use of fields and the repeated plowing of the fields lead to the erosion and destruction of these mounds.

Example of a Situla of the HEK.

Context

During this period, the population of the Rhine Moselle area conducted wide-spread trade. The trade routes lead South across the Alps to the Mediterranean Cultures. As a result traders and leaders of villages gained significant wealth, which was display

ed in a number of different ways. In particular, the size, location and relics that were found in the grave mounds suggest that these mounds were much viewed much like a "status symbol" of that era. The increasing number of the grave mounds along the heights of the Hunsrück and Eifel provide evidence of a densely populated area. The value of the relics within those grave mounds reached a peak within the 4th-5th century BC and subsequently started to decline. However, it is not clear whether this decline signified a reduction in wealth of the population or a change in custom. The increasing development of Oppida, i.e. fortified settlements, which is probably related to an increasingly hostile pressure from the tribes of the East could be evidence for a change in burial customs towards adding fewer valuables to the remains of the dead.

Speculation

References

Berg, Axel von / Wegner, Hans H
Jäger - Bauern - Keltenfürsten
50 Jahre Archäologie am Mittelrhein und Mosel
Landesamt f. Denkmalpflege
ISBN 978-3-929645-06-4
2001
Archäologie an Mittelrhein und Mosel 13

Pictures