Hünengräber, Hünenbetten, Tumuli Gigantium: The Identification of Megalithic Tombs in the Context of Folk Traditions and Toponymic Analysis in West Pomerania

Abstract Megalithic structures represent some of the most remarkable and monumental features of European prehistory. In the 4th millennium BC, such large-stone constructions were erected in the region of West Pomerania. Their significance extends far beyond the communities that constructed them, influencing not only the builders and their immediate predecessors but also generations hundreds, and even thousands, of years later. Megaliths elicited a range of emotional responses, from admiration and fascination to fear. This is evident in historical sources such as legends and in the toponymic analysis of ancient place names, which reveal traces of megalithic cemeteries. In these sources, the monuments under consideration are often referred to by terms such as Hünengräber , Hünenbetten or Tumuli gigantium . The focus of this article is to present a selection of these megalithic monuments from West Pomerania.