The Hunebed Builders of Drenthe
Emmen, Odoorn, Schoonoord
Dolmens. No archaeological phenomenon in the Netherlands appeals to the imagination as much as these burial grounds. But by whom were they made and why? To answer these questions, we have to go back to the New Stone Age, which began about 5,000 years ago. During this time, the Funnel Beaker Culture emerged, named after the typical funnel-shaped pottery dating from this era. Research into this pottery, found among other things as grave goods in the dolmens, provided a lot of historically important information. The Funnel Beaker Culture did not only occur in the north of the Netherlands, but also in Scandinavia, Germany and Eastern Europe. For the first time in history, our ancestors settled in small settlements and slowly abandoned hunting and gathering. Agriculture had existed for thousands of years in the Middle East, and around 7000 BC, farming began in southern Limburg. The first farmers in the north of the Netherlands, some two thousand years later, were the Funnel Beakers. Living in a fixed place brought other customs. People lived together in groups of 30 to sometimes 150 men. They kept cattle and grew grain. There was now time for other things besides gathering food. The Funnel Beakers started making earthenware pots through which food could be preserved. It is believed that at the same time, the rituals around burying our ancestors also arose. The burial chambers we call dolmens were once watertight spaces meant to bury and honour the dead. The Funnel Beakers believed that the deceased went on a journey to the afterlife and gave grave gifts such as jewellery, skins and beautifully decorated earthenware pots full of food and drink. Presumably, people also sacrificed and feasted around the dolmens. Hunebeds are often located on a hill. They may have been created by outside influences or the Funnel Beakers may have thought of it that way. The hunebeds we see today are only skeletons of the original graves. The construction of the dolmens must have been an enormous trial of strength. The boulders sometimes weighed up to 40 tonnes. Possibly they were moved into place by laying down tree trunks and rolling the boulders over them but we don't know for sure. The results of investigations by archaeologist Van Giffen, who documented and restored the dolmens in the early 20th century, did not provide all the dreamed-of scientific evidence. The construction of the dolmens remains largely a mystery and, like the construction of the pyramids and Stonehenge, for instance, continues to capture the imagination enormously for this reason. Although we do not know everything for sure, there is much more to tell about dolmens and the Funnel Beaker culture. A visit to the hunebed centre in Borger is therefore definitely worthwhile. Photo Funnel cup: Drents Archive, Memory of Drenthe Collection. This Premium cycle route was compiled by our editor: Yvonne Vlaskamp.
| Directions | Distance | Total distance | |
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Start: Exloërweg 1, 7873 BW Borger-Odoorn | 36.1 KM | |
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From
38
to
36
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2236 M | 2.2 KM | |
| Head southwest on Hoofdstraat | 25 M | ||
| Turn right | 136 M | ||
| Turn left onto Dilweg | 143 M | ||
| Turn right onto Torenweg | 96 M | ||
| Turn right onto Torenwijk | 1.8 KM | ||
| You are now at section 36 | 0 M | ||
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From
36
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76
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6424 M | 6.4 KM | |
| Head northwest on Achterweg | 2.7 KM | ||
| Turn left onto Manrohrwijk | 1.3 KM | ||
| Turn right onto Noordzijde | 1.3 KM | ||
| Turn left onto De Lange's Brug | 30 M | ||
| Turn right onto Zuidzijde | 1.1 KM | ||
| You are now at section 76 | 0 M | ||
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From
76
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73
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2606 M | 2.6 KM | |
| Head southwest on Brugstraat | 391 M | ||
| Turn left onto Brammertstraat | 412 M | ||
| Turn right onto Sportparklaan | 1.8 KM | ||
| You are now at section 73 | 0 M | ||
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From
73
to
33
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3439 M | 3.4 KM | |
| Head east on Schapendijk | 23 M | ||
| Make a slight left | 3.4 KM | ||
| You are now at section 33 | 0 M | ||
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From
33
to
7
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1548 M | 1.5 KM | |
| Head south | 916 M | ||
| Continue straight | 626 M | ||
| Continue straight | 6 M | ||
| You are now at section 07 | 0 M | ||
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From
7
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74
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544 M | 0.5 KM | |
| Head east on Zweeloërstraat | 544 M | ||
| You are now at section 74 | 0 M | ||
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From
74
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13
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1758 M | 1.8 KM | |
| Head east on Zweeloërstraat | 736 M | ||
| Turn left onto Wolfgarensweg | 6 M | ||
| Turn right onto Zweeloërstraat | 558 M | ||
| Make a slight right | 90 M | ||
| Make a slight right onto Dorpsstraat | 368 M | ||
| You are now at section 13 | 0 M | ||
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From
13
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14
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551 M | 0.6 KM | |
| Head southeast on Dorpsstraat | 167 M | ||
| Turn left onto Emmerstraat | 384 M | ||
| You are now at section 14 | 0 M | ||
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From
14
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15
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2448 M | 2.4 KM | |
| Head east on Emmerstraat | 108 M | ||
| Make a slight left to stay on Emmerstraat | 2.3 KM | ||
| You are now at section 15 | 0 M | ||
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From
15
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19
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1790 M | 1.8 KM | |
| Head east on Slenerweg | 1.8 KM | ||
| You are now at section 19 | 0 M | ||
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From
19
to
16
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623 M | 0.6 KM | |
| Head southeast | 41 M | ||
| Make a slight left | 582 M | ||
| You are now at section 16 | 0 M | ||
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From
16
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21
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2649 M | 2.6 KM | |
| Head northeast on Heirweg | 37 M | ||
| Make a slight right | 415 M | ||
| Make a slight right onto Heirweg | 224 M | ||
| Turn right onto Westenesscherstraat | 863 M | ||
| Turn right | 17 M | ||
| Turn left | 71 M | ||
| Turn left | 279 M | ||
| Turn right | 54 M | ||
| Turn right | 120 M | ||
| Make a slight right onto Weerdingerstraat | 74 M | ||
| Make a slight right | 80 M | ||
| Make a slight right onto Hoofdstraat | 87 M | ||
| Turn left onto Stationsstraat | 328 M | ||
| You are now at section 21 | 0 M | ||
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From
21
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41
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3538 M | 3.5 KM | |
| Head northwest on Stationsstraat | 8 M | ||
| Turn right | 26 M | ||
| Make a slight right onto Stationsplein | 151 M | ||
| Turn left onto Seinstraat | 114 M | ||
| Turn right onto Weerdingerstraat | 163 M | ||
| Turn left onto Nijkampenweg | 550 M | ||
| Turn left to stay on Nijkampenweg | 683 M | ||
| Make a slight right onto Valtherzandweg | 201 M | ||
| Turn left onto Warmeerweg | 158 M | ||
| Make a slight right to stay on Warmeerweg | 280 M | ||
| Continue straight | 1.2 KM | ||
| You are now at section 41 | 0 M | ||
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From
41
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37
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1384 M | 1.4 KM | |
| Head north | 1.4 KM | ||
| You are now at section 37 | 0 M | ||
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From
37
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39
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1774 M | 1.8 KM | |
| Head northwest on Burgemeester J van Roijenpad | 1.2 KM | ||
| Continue onto Brinkweg | 586 M | ||
| You are now at section 39 | 0 M | ||
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From
39
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38
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2791 M | 2.8 KM | |
| Head northwest on Schoolstraat | 161 M | ||
| Make a slight right | 83 M | ||
| Turn right onto Odoornerweg | 1.7 KM | ||
| Turn right onto Langhieten | 14 M | ||
| Turn left onto Valtherweg | 572 M | ||
| Turn right onto Boshof | 73 M | ||
| Make a slight left | 103 M | ||
| Turn right | 5 M | ||
| Turn left onto Boshof | 23 M | ||
| Turn left onto Exloërweg | 46 M | ||
| You are now at section 38 | 0 M |