Bonstorf Barrows

The Bonstorf Barrows are the remains of a much larger barrow cemetery on the Lüneburg Heath in north Germany dating to the late Neolithic or early Bronze Age [1]. They are located east of the village of Bonstorf, part of the municipality of Hermannsburg in the Lower Saxon district of Celle [1]. The site comprises six, closely packed burial mounds or barrows [1]. The largest barrow was located originally in a field, but due to its vulnerable location it was dug out in 1973 and reconstructed nearby [1]. Under the earth mound was a wooden chamber, in which a man had been buried in an east–west orientation [1]. Grave items included an earthenware jar, a palstave, a sword and a bronze dagger [1]. On the northern perimeter of the mound a woman was interred on a stone bed [1]. The grave finds are characteristic of the old Bronze Age (i.e. from about 1500 to 1200 BC) in the Lüneburg Heath [1].