Großsteingräber bei Wersen

The Großsteingräber near Wersen are two Neolithic megalithic tombs built by the Funnelbeaker culture. They stand in open farmland north-west of Osnabrück in north-west Germany. One is called the Kleine Sloopsteine and the other the Große Sloopsteine. A third tomb once stood nearby but was destroyed in the 19th century. These graves rank among the oldest surviving structures in the region. The Kleine Sloopsteine dates from about 3250–2860 BC, while the Große Sloopsteine is slightly younger. Archaeologists have recovered human bones, pottery and flint tools from the sites. Recent excavations have shown how the chambers were originally paved and walled. The finds place the tombs within the wider network of megalithic culture across northern Europe. The Kleine Sloopsteine has a low mound and a stone chamber about seven metres long. Nine standing stones form the walls, with most still in their original positions. The Große Sloopsteine is larger, with a chamber eighteen and a half metres long surrounded by a narrow stone setting. Only parts of the enclosure survive, but the scale of the original structure is still clear. Visitors walk between the two tombs across quiet fields, imagining how these communal graves looked when first built over five thousand years ago.