Ziersdorf Passage Grave — Lower Austria
Ziersdorf Großsteingrab · Ziersdorf megalith
Late Neolithic (Lengyel to Early Baden, c.3500–3300 BCE)·Lengyel late / Epilengyel–Baden·🇦🇹 Lower Austria, Hollabrunn District, Ziersdorf, Weinviertel loess ridge, Austria
About
About Ziersdorf Passage Grave — Lower Austria
The Ziersdorf passage grave (Lengyel/Baden transition c.3500–3300 BCE) is Austria's most northerly megalithic tomb, a 5-m limestone chamber with 1.8-m passage within a 12-m round mound on the Weinviertel loess ridge north of Vienna, excavated 1989 by J.-W. Neugebauer. Its orthostats of local Tertiary sandstone enclose collective burials with Lengyel stroke pottery and early Baden finds, marking the easternmost outlier of western megalithic architecture into the Carpathian Basin. Preservation of mound and kerb demonstrates Lengyel elite adoption of Atlantic collective burial.
Why it mattersEasternmost classic passage grave; bridges Atlantic–Carpathian megalithism.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Atlantic influence vs independent Lengyel dolmen idea
Theories
- 01Megalithic idea diffused via Bohemia–Moravia corridor from Wartberg/Bernburg
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.3400 BCE
- Period
- Late Neolithic (Lengyel to Early Baden, c.3500–3300 BCE)
- Culture
- Lengyel late / Epilengyel–Baden
- Purpose
- Collective passage grave for loess farming elite
- Excavation
- Excavated
c.3400 BCE
Chamber and kerb erected on loess ridge
c.3300 BCE
Collective use with Lengyel/Baden pottery, then sealed
1989
J.-W. Neugebauer rescue excavation before vineyard
2001
Mound restored and signed; nature trail
On the ground
Structures & features
48.5300° N · 15.9300° E · 230 m · 2 mapped features
Ziersdorf Chamber — Orthostat Ring
burial5-m chamber of 7 sandstone orthostats with capstone and collective layer of 12 individuals
48.5310° N · 15.9310° EZiersdorf Kerb and Passage
passage12-m kerb ring of flat slabs and 1.8-m dry-walled passage opening southeast
48.5290° N · 15.9290° E