Galgenberg, Archaeological site and natural monument in Vahlberg, Germany.
Galgenberg is a burial mound about 20 metres across and four metres high in Klein Vahlberg, in Lower Saxony. It stands on a slight rise with a wide view over the Braunschweiger Land, and its summit is crowned by a single oak. Since March 1945 it has been protected as a natural monument.
The mound was raised around 1800 BC over two Bell Beaker burials and one grave without grave goods. In the late Bronze Age it was enlarged in stages, and in the first half of the 7th century AD an elderly woman was buried inside it with glass beads and gilded bronze fittings. In the Middle Ages and early modern period the hill served as a gallows site, which gave it its name.
The name Galgenberg records the hill's later use as a gallows site in the Middle Ages and early modern period. Today a single oak stands on the mound, which has been protected as a natural monument since March 1945.
The location sits somewhat away from main roads, so asking locally or looking for signs helps find the way. The ground is easy to walk on, but sturdy footwear and caution on slopes are advisable for comfortable visiting.
The woman buried in the mound's upper layer in the first half of the 7th century was 1.57 m tall and of slender build. Her grave lay 1.4 m above a stone packing and 2.2 m below the surface. Two gilt-bronze shield-boss buckles and a cast strap-end in animal style belonged to a calf-binding set worn by wealthy Frankish and Alemannic women.
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