Unchambered long barrow

The unchambered long barrowearthen long barrow,non-megalithic long barrow or non-megalithic mound (German: kammerloses Hünenbett or Hünenbett ohne Kammer), is a type of long barrow found across the British Isles, in a belt of land in Brittany, and in northern Europe as far east as the River Vistula (the Niedźwiedź type graves - NTT). The term "unchambered" means that there is no stone chamber within the stone enclosure. In Great Britain they are often known as non-megalithic long barrows or unchambered long cairns.

Since the 1980s, barrows of the Passy type, part of the Cerny culture, have been discovered in the French département of Essonne in the Paris Basin. These are not, however, megalithic structures.

Neolithic monuments are an expression of the culture and ideology of neolithic communities. Their emergence and function are a hallmark of social development.

In the region occupied by the peoples of the Funnelbeaker culture (TBK), unchambered long barrows fall into the megalith category because, in many cases, their generally very low mounds, which are located mainly along the lower reaches of the rivers Elbe (Lower Elbe), Oder and Vistula, have an enclosure of megaliths, about one metre high. Due to their small dimensions they were not suitable for constructing chambers, which is why there are no chambers made of large stone blocks. The enclosures (see Nordic megalith architecture) are trapezoidal or rectangular. East of the River Oder they are often trapezoidal or triangular with rounded tips, (Mound 9 at Sarnowo, near Konin, Poland) mostly, however, without transverse walls (megalithic and non-megalithic) dividing them into separate chambers. The site of Kritzow (Ludwigslust-Parchim), has guardian stones higher than a man. Apart from the sites researched by Ewald Schuldt in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in Gnewitz, Rothenmoor and Stralendorf there are a further 11 in the area and five more examples in the forest of Sachsenwald. One group of three grave sites was first discovered in 1969 in the Alt Plestliner Holz, Vorpommern-Greifswald. One of these enclosures is 80 metres long. Five unchambered barrows were investigated in the 19th century by J. Ritter in the county of Hagenow.

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