Storm surge reveals mysterious stone formation

The major storm surge in the Baltic Sea in autumn 2023 caused extensive damage, but also revealed a sensational discovery.

Dahme – There are always spectacular finds on the Baltic Sea coast. It was only in September 2023 that the wreck of the German freighter “Kronos”, which presumably sank in 1923, was discovered during routine work. But much older archaeological treasures lie dormant at the bottom of the sea. What initially appeared to be a piece of cargo probably caused the biggest stir in 2023 because it turned out to be Europe's oldest cannon.

The latest find is not hidden quite as deep in the sea. Directly on the Baltic Sea coast between Kellenhusen and Dahme, the storm surge of October 2023 uncovered a testament that is thousands of years old: a stone formation that initially seemed inconspicuous.

Find on Baltic Sea beach – 5,000 year old grave from the Stone Age washed free

The record storm surge on October 20th and 21st, 2023 caused millions of dollars in damage along the Schleswig-Holstein Baltic Sea coast. But when the floods washed out a path from Kellenhusen to Dahme, they also brought out something that had long been thought lost, like this Homeland and Cultural Association Dahme eV. on November 13, 2023 in one notice announced. A grave from the Stone Age was built into the path, the existence of which was known, but the location had been forgotten over the decades.

More specifically, this is grave 281: “The grave with number 281 in the Sprockhoff catalog of megalithic graves was considered 'missing' for decades. It was only exposed by the storm surge on October 20th. It should be preserved and protected.” But behind the stones, which are up to 1.60 meters high, there is more than just a grave. Around 5,000 to 6,000 years ago, these monuments were “an expression of the culture and ideology of the Stone Age at that time”.

Large stone graves on the Baltic Sea coast – more than just “thick chunks of stone”

Also the Lübeck news reported the discovery of the mysterious “thick boulders”. These are cult sites from the Neolithic Age, which are also known as “megalithic graves” or “hungarian graves”. Dr. Jürgen Möller, chairman of the local and cultural association Dahme eV, explains in an interview with the daily newspaper: “It was just swarming with them here in the north.” However, a large part of the stones in the 19th century were for construction projects or to stabilize the coast been used. Dr. Möller advocates protecting and preserving the historical evidence because it offers insights into the culture and ideology of the time.

Baltic Sea find: Where does the name “Hünengrave” come from for the large stone graves?

The megalithic graves are relics of the Neolithic Age and bear witness to the Neolithic Revolution: a turning point in which society changed from hunters and gatherers to farmers, the amateur archaeologist explains to the Tagesblatt. He doesn't know whether the grave from the Neolithic Age, which was thought lost and was newly discovered, will actually be preserved. Archaeologically, the value is rather low, as other graves already exist and have been researched along the Baltic Sea coast. According to the tourism website, some of these are located treffpunkt-ostsee.de for example on Rügen or in the northwest Mecklenburg region:

While the large stone tombs were built as sacred places in prehistoric times, people in later centuries had, according to the nature
magazine Killicus own explanations of how the mystical stone formations came into being: “The huge grave complexes from the late Stone Age caused the people of Christianity to believe that giants probably inhabited the earth 'in ancient times'. For this reason, many old legends and fairy tales reported about the very giants who inhabit the forests and are buried there. This is how the term “barrow” came into being.

But there have also been rare finds recently in other parts of Germany, for example a prehistoric horse was probably unearthed in the Messel pit. (mh)