Niedertiefenbach (megalithic Tomb) - Tomb Architecture

Tomb Architecture

Despite the late 19th century damage, the overall size of the tomb can be estimated at 10 by 3.2 m (outside measurements). Unusually among the Wartberg tombs, it was oriented north–south. The tomb was built of unworked limestone slabs (0.3 to 0.8 m thick) from Steeden (2 km to the south). The relatively large gaps between the slabs were filled with drystone walling (a feature well known from gallery graves elsewhere in Europe, but not familiar within the Lahn and Kassel basin groups of tombs). Its height can be determined, as the tops of the orthostaths had not been destroyed by ploughing; it was low, at 0.8 to 0.88 m. In 1859, one slab remained of the ceiling. It is not clear whether the ceiling was entirely of stone, or a mixture of stone, wood and other materials. It is similarly unclear whether it was built in a pit (like its counterparts in the general region) and whether it was once covered by a mound.