Page 312 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - The Netherlands

310  NOR THERN AND EASTERN NE THERLANDS

1 The Megalith Route 1 Witte Wieven are ghosts that inhabit
the tumuli, such as the Negen Bergen
Of the 54 Megaliths in Holland, 52 are in Drenthe at Norg. They come out at midnight –
and the remaining two are in Groningen. These particularly when it is misty – to dance.
megaliths, or hunebedden, are the remains
of ancient tombs built of boulders some NOORDENSEVELD Tynaarlo
5,000 years ago by the Neolithic Beaker Norg Negen Vries
People. What can be seen today are only Bergen
the frameworks of the tombs, which
were all hidden underneath GASTERSE
sandhills. It is still not known DUINEN
whether these were common NOORDENVELD
graves or the tombs of Loon BALLOOËRVELD
prominent individuals.
At Diever and ASSEN Ballooërkuil
Havelte are three
megaliths which
are not on the route
described here. The Rolde
largest consists of 23
upright stones, 9 top
stones, 2 keystones and a gate of 4 uprights
and 2 top stones. At least 665 ancient pots 8 The Great Megalith
have been found here. In World War II, the of Balloo is at the end of Grolloo
megalith was demolished to make way for a sandy path in the
an airfield. It was reconstructed in 1950. Tumulibos woods, an
area which abounds
with tumuli.

Key
Tour route
Other road
Railway
Megalith
ELLERTSVELD
0 kilometres 5
0 miles 5
9 Megalith at Loon
One of the best-preserved megaliths in 7 De Zeven Marken,
Holland is at Loon, northeast of Assen. Before the open-air museum of
1870 it was in even better condition, when Schoonoord, tells you about such
the original top stone was still in place. things as the legend of the giants
Ellert and Brammert.
Building the Megaliths
Until the 19th century, it was believed that
the megaliths were built by the huynen,
giants of great strength and after whom the
hunebedden are named. Modern historians
believe that the boulders were placed with
their flat edges on rollers, which thus allowed
them to be moved to the site of the tomb.
The upright stones were placed in pits dug
beforehand. A gentle slope of earth was then
made to allow the top stones to be dragged
up. There is, however, no explanation of how
the people of the Stone Age managed to
organize such large-scale projects. A 17th-century depiction of megalith builders

For map symbols see back flap

310-311_EW_Netherlands.indd 310 16/01/17 12:06 pm
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Date 18th October 2012
Date 24th April 2013
Date 18th October 2012
Size 125mm x 217mm
Size 125mm x 217mm
Size 125mm x 217mm