This is a somewhat anonymous hunebed, hidden away in the woodlands above Anloo. And not easy to find. From the road from Schipborg to Anloo, opposite the Schipborg country estate, turn left into a dead-end sandy path, and then search in the woods and heathland of the Kniphorstbos. In fact this is an (off-limits) military training area, but don’t let that stop you. There are no signs, no barriers, nothing. Just turn right and walk a little further than you intended to, and voilà! The most remotely-situated hunebed in Drenthe. It is not large and not small, having 4 lintels. A large fragment of the third lintel lies inside the tomb. The 8 side- and two 2 keystones lie mostly under the sand so the hunebed appears to be quite low. The two stones on the south side were probably once the portal stones. There is a sign board with information.
The area around de Strubben/Kniphorstbos is the largest archaeological monument in the Netherlands. Apart from two hunebeds (D7 and D8), you can also find here countless burial mounds (tumuli) and prehistoric cart ruts.
Visit Prof. Van Giffen in 1918
At the beginning of the last century the famous archaeologist Dr. A.E.van Giffen visited the hunebed. He described it in his report as being “in a rather bad state” and standing in a dreary heathland. Today the Kniphorstbosch looks a lot more attractive. Of the 4 lintels, 3 have slipped down and 1 is broken into two or three pieces. The side- and keystones were still standing but knocked out of place. In 1871 the Province took over the hunebed as a free gift from the private owner in Schipborg.
(Source: Atlas of “De Hunebedden in Nederland”, Dr.A.E.van Giffen, 1925)
For more information about this and other hunebeds in Drenthe see http://www.hunebedden.nl/frntpage.htm .
Also (in Dutch only) at www.hunebeddeninfo.nl
Text: Hans Meijer
Photography: Davado
Translation Alun Harvey
