Teufelssteine, Neolithic passage grave in Osnabrück, Germany
Teufelssteine is a Neolithic passage grave in Osnabrück built from stone slabs arranged to create an enclosed burial chamber. The structure consists of upright stones that support the heavy capstones covering the interior space where ancient people placed their dead.
The monument was built between 3500 and 2800 BCE by the Funnel Beaker culture, an early farming society in northern Europe. It demonstrates how these prehistoric communities buried their dead in stone chambers that likely served important ritual or social functions.
The name Teufelssteine comes from medieval times when people attributed these ancient stones to supernatural forces. Visitors can still sense how this interpretation shaped local imagination and remains part of the place's identity today.
The grave site is located in a small wooded area surrounded by industrial buildings and remains accessible to visitors year-round at no cost. The open-air setting allows people to walk around the structure and observe its arrangement from different angles.
A stone circle surrounds the grave with only one support stone and one capstone missing from its original arrangement. This nearly complete circle is rare among similar monuments and provides insight into how these structures were originally designed.
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