Travel east from Borger on the road to Buinen and after 1 km you will see, about 100 metres to the right, two hunebeds – D28 and D29. The original signpost remains but it is in a sorry state. Park the car on the verge and walk along the grassy path towards the two hunebeds, which are of similar size. D28, in the top photo, has three lintels and all 8 of its uprights as well as 2 keystones. The most easterly lintel and the portal stones are missing. In 1927 Van Giffen found 2 loops of copper wire in the tomb; the oldest metal jewellery found in the Netherlands. D29 has never been thoroughly excavated.
D29 has two large, very flat lintels, one of which has slipped down into the tomb. One lintel is missing. This hunebed still has two portal stones and the 10 side- and keystones are more or less complete. The two lintels of D29 were perhaps made from one single piece. This led Frits Bom, author and TV presenter, to claim in his book “The Mystery of the Hunebeds” that the hunebed builders were familiar with advanced techniques of splitting rocks. Advanced or not, most archaeologists accept the possibility that some stones were split. In any case, the almost perfectly flat surfaces of many hunebed stones are quite remarkable, although it is unclear how this was achieved. Possible methods include driving wedges into splits, or alternate heating with fire and cooling with water.
There are no facilities for visitors at these hunebeds, but a surrounding ring of trees makes this a very pleasant place.
Location of hunebed D29
Visit of Professor van Giffen in 1918
Van Giffen stated: “The hunebed is in a good state, although incomplete and damaged, with the 4th lintel missing”. All 8 side- and 2 keystones are present and in the correct original position. The hunebed was purchased by the State in 1871.
(Source: Atlas of “De Hunebedden in Nederland”, dr.A.E.van Giffen)
For more information about this and other hunebeds in Drenthe see
www.hunebedden.nl and www.hunebeddeninfo.nl
Text Hans Meijer
Translation Alun Harvey
Photos Davado
