Dolmen D13 - Eext

Now, every dolmen has its own story, but that of hunebed D13 is really special. In the early 18th century, a farmer from Drenthe, looking for stones for his farmyard, discovered a hollow in the woods. Horrified, he wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. Years later, in 1735 to be precise, villagers triggered by the farmer's story went to investigate. Armed with tools, they discovered the burial vault hidden in a burial mound at that spot. A four-tiered staircase led from the top of the mound into the burial vault. Such a staircase tomb is unique to the Netherlands.

When the staircase tomb was first examined and excavated in 1756, the steps and 3 of the capstones had disappeared without a trace. But the finds made in the tomb such as pots with burnt bones also fell into disuse. The steps were recovered and restored by Professor Albert van Giffen. One of the capstones was found in the village of Eext and restored in 1976. Presumably, another capstone was used as the foundation for the village church there. Only the finds made in the burial cellar were never recovered.

That the cellar is still partially hidden in the burial mound is unique for Dutch hunebeds. That the stones of the cellar, almost without gaps, are placed close together is remarkable. So it is truly an other-than-the-other hunebed!