A Review of Monumental Past: The Life-histories of Megalithic Monuments in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (Germany)

Abstract

The megalithic monuments of the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern region of northern Germany are relatively well known from a conventional archaeological perspective, having attracted scientific attention for well over a century. Cornelius Holtorf approaches them from an entirely different viewpoint, in a search for answers to three questions: How were the megaliths of the area socially and culturally meaningful, and how are they meaningful today? Are there cultural memories which helped the megaliths acquire cultural values in later prehistory? Did later prehistoric people in the area connect the megaliths with their ancestors by endowing them with particular interests, concepts, and ideas? The results of his labours appear not in printed form, but as a hypermedia document presented both on a CD-Rom and on the Web. He presented his doctoral dissertation in this format as well (see Internet Archaeology 6), on the grounds that this was an effective way of presenting what he describes as an open-ended inquiry. The author tells us that he will continue to add to the research at intervals and when the urge moves him. One is somewhat at a loss as to how to describe this multimedia presentation, but clearly the author considers it an invitation to explore, a database with freeflowing links to all manner of topics.

Keywords

• archaeology
• monumental past
• Germany
• megaliths
• CD-Rom