Making a Neolithic Non-Megalithic Monument: A TRB Burial Ground at Dalfsen (the Netherlands), c. 3000-2750 Cal. BC

In 2015 at Dalfsen (the Netherlands) archaeologists made an amazing discovery. They found a burial ground dating from the TRB-period (3000-2750 BC) comprising 141 burial pits. The TRB is dated in the last phase of the Middle Neolithic period and is well known for its megalithic monuments which are widespread through large parts of northern Europe.

Until recently few non-megalithic burial grounds were known and the find of the Dalfsen burials created new opportunities to study the mortuary ritual in more detail. It sheds light on the social organization of local TRB communities in this part of the world. The results not only provide evidence for the existence of large multi-person burial mounds during the TRB-period, but also provide intriguing evidence of continuity from this period to the period of the Corded Ware culture – a transition now often interpreted in terms of migration.

This volume is the first scientific publication dealing with this unique site. It contains a detailed description and interpretation of the site. A catalog in which all graves and finds are described in detail, is available separately.

Table of Contents

1 Introduction
H.M. van der Velde, N. Bouma & D.C.M. Raemaekers

2 The TRB West Group in the Netherlands and the archaeology of non-megalithic burials
H.M. van der Velde & D.C.M. Raemaekers

3 Dalfsen: Excavating a burial ground from the TRB period
N. Bouma & H.M. van der Velde

4 Pottery
A.L. Brindley

5 Geochemical analyses of the ceramics
K. Struckmeyer & B. Van Os

6 Flint, stone and amber
J. Beuker, J. Lanting & H.M. van der Velde

7 The Palaeoecological evidence
H. Bos, M. Dijkshoorn, C. Moolhuizen & T. Oudemans

8 The Dalfsen burial ground as a means of reconstructing TRB local social organisation
D.C.M. Raemaekers & H.M. van der Velde

9 The cultural biography of the burial ground: The long-term history of the site
H.M. van der Velde

Literature

Henk van der Velde is head of Archaeology of ADC ArcheoProjecten, a Dutch archaeological firm. He is also director of the ADC-Stichting RoelBrandt and affiliated to several universities in the Netherlands and Belgium. He obtained his PhD at the Free University (Amsterdam) on the Long term history of Pleistocene covers and area in the East of the Netherlands (2011). His research stretches from the later Prehistory until the Early Middle Ages.

Niels Bouma is senior archaeologist and works as project manager at ADC ArcheoProjecten (2007 until present). He was involved in numerous developer-led projects in the Netherlands and Belgium including the Dalfsen site.

Daan Raemaekers is full professor of archaeology of northwestern Europe at the Groningen Institute of Archaeology, University of Groningen. He obtained his PhD on the role of the Swifterbant culture in the transition to farming in northwestern Europe from Leiden University in 1999. In the period 1998-2002, he worked as project manager at RAAP Archaeological Consultancy and was involved in numerous developer-led projects in the province of Flevoland. He was appointed full professor at the University of Groningen in 2002. His academic work focuses on four interrelated topics: the transition to farming in northwestern Europe, the development of Neolithic societies in this area, the function and meaning of ceramics in this period and the role of prehistory in present-day societies. He has carried out fieldwork at several sites in the Swifterbant region and near megalithic tombs. He is the principal investigator of the project The Emergence of Domesticated Animals in the Netherlands (EDAN), financed by the Dutch Organization for Scientific Research NWO (2020-2022).