3D survey of megalithic graves in the Ahlen-Falkenberger Moor

A prehistoric cultural landscape has been preserved in the Ahlen-Falkenberger Moor, dist. Cuxhaven, and has been investigated by the NIhK for several years. The focus is on megalithic graves, which were built over 5000 years ago by the first farming communities in northern Germany - the so-called Funnel Beaker Culture. A total of 13 graves are known from the study area, which are located both on the sandy Geest hill tops of the Kleiner and Großer Ahlen and in the bog. The megalithic graves located in the bog have only become increasingly visible since the start of drainage 100 years ago, as the bog subsides as a result of the drying out caused by this. In April, three graves, whose capstones are already fully visible, were surveyed as part of the ‘3D Photogrammetrie’ project event at the Institute for Applied Photogrammetry and Geoinformatics (IAPG) at Jade Hochschule in Oldenburg and in cooperation with the NIhK. Under the supervision of Prof. Till Sieberth, the students carried out laser scans and took photographs for 3D modelling. In addition to the visualisation and documentation of the megalithic tombs, calculations of the volumes of the capstones will also be carried out.