Latest Fieldnotes

Visited 4 April 2006
Hmmm. Thought this one looked interesting in The Megalithic European & it is an odd one – to me at least.

Always assuming the restoration is accurate (& I have no reason to think otherwise) I’ve not really seen anything like the way it is constructed before, with the whole relatively small mound surrounded by such a tall revetment wall.

The construction of the wall itself reminded me of part of Wayland’s Smithy’s frontage. The construction as a whole, though, faintly reminded me of a ‘compressed’ version of The Great Tomb on Porth Hellick Down in the Isles of Scilly (though the construction of the revetment is different there, being ‘straightforward’ drystone wall).

I couldn’t help wondering if the whole thing was originally covered by a larger mound – but then I guess the excavations would have discovered that.

Visited 4 April 2006
Possibly the most unusual part of the complex, and as a result, particularly interesting. Unfortunately, it’s also the one that is least complete – largely because much of it was made of wood that was burnt down. The diagrams on the info board help though!

Apparently, the walls were a metre thick. In the centre was an oval pit with clean sand in it and at each ‘side’ were fairly sizeable collections of middle-neolithic pottery.

Featured in The Megalithic European (TME) page 168.

Access: It is just about possible to park on the farm track that crosses the field past the monument. Then a walk of around 100m across the field which was ploughed when we were there. If the field is in crop, you may not be able to get to the dolmen.

Bjerrebygaard is on Langeland. Cross the bridge to Langeland and travel just over 2.5km along the 9. Take a left turn (north) onto the 305 towards Tullebølle, Tranekær and Lohals.

The dolmen is just over 1.5km along this road on the left (west) clearly visible with 6 large trees on its mound, just before a wood.

Visited 5 April 2006
This was the first place we visited on Langeland, which turned out to be a veritable megalithic wonderland, the highlight of our trip & a wonderful birthday present for me!

It’s a shame Julian wasn’t able to cover the island’s monuments in more detail – there were so many interesting or attractive sites that we came back 2 days later to investigate more!

This is a beautiful chunky ‘double dolmen’, set on a largish mound. It’s a little knocked about and according to James Dyer in Discovering Archaeology in Denmark was originally a long barrow (or langdysse).

There are 2 chambers which are basically in good condition though one of the capstones has slipped down at the end where it meets the other chamber and is now wedged at an angle.

A couple of stones at the SE end suggest a passage and there are several other large stones on the mound (mostly to the west) some of which I’d assume may be (or have been) kerbstones and maybe, passage stones.

Dyer mentions 3 stones of another passage to the NW chamber, but I couldn’t really see what he means – though they may have been moved since his visit, as the book was punished in 1972....

Featured in The Megalithic European (TME) page 162-3.

Access: Up a farm track, maybe about 400m. When I was there, it was extremely muddy & slippery!

In the far north of Denmark, fairly near Aalbog. Take the 11/29 between Aalborg in the east and Thisted in the west, heading for Fjerritslev.

At Fjerritslev, take the 29 south for about 3km, then take a left towards Husby. After 3km, turn right onto Gundestrupvej and after less than 500m, you should see a signpost for the monument.

Visited 6 April 2006
There are actually 3 ‘højs’ (or runndysse) here, 2 with mounds (and no accessible entrance) and one which has basically been stripped down to the passage & chamber on a low platform.

The 2 ‘complete’ barrows are pretty run-of-the-mill, for Denmark – that means they’re impressive mounds!!! But without being able to get inside, there is of course no way to see any of the megalithic ‘skeleton’, leaving fairly featureless mounds that perhaps have limited interest.

On the tomb that has been stripped, I have to admit that this is one of the few TME places in Denmark that disappointed me a bit. It didn’t help that it was a dull drab day & it had been raining mostly steadily (but often hard!) all day.

And it certainly didn’t help that the barrow had been burnt clear of vegetation, making it look stark, cold and ‘messy’ on its island in a ploughed field – which also made photographing difficult from many angles.

Please note that, unusually, Julian has made a mistake about this site in TME, concerning the Gundestrup Cauldron. It was actually found at another place called Gundestrup, about 30km further south, near Aars (on the 29 from here). This is backed up by James Dyer’s Discovering Archaeology in Denmark. I believe there is nothing to see at the place where it was found.

And opinion seems divided as to where the cauldron is now! Different sources say it’s in the National Museum in Copenhagen, Århus Museum or even Aars Museum! I tried to check online & the National Museum’s website ‘seems’ to say they have it, but the collection’s being revamped & is not open until May 2008!

Featured in The Megalithic European (TME) page 168.

Access: Carpark is close to monument, a walk of about 40m along the road.

Hesselbjerg is on Langeland. From the 9, at the eastern edge of Rudkøbbing take the 305 south for about 14km. At the south end of the village of Humble (see also Kong Humble’s Grav) take a right (west) onto Ristingevej.

Follow this road to Hesselbjerg, taking a left (SE) in the village, onto Nørreballevej. The langdysse is around 250m along on the right (south).

Visited 5 April 2006
Ve-ery nice! This is a fine langdysse. Somehow I’d missed it out when planning the trip, even though it’s featured in TME. I blame the sheer number of monuments all over Langeland!

Curiously, it’s also curiously missng from Oldtidsminder På Langeland, a wonderful little book (unfortunately not available in English) that we picked up at the tourist info office. Luckily, while we were in the area, I just happened to notice it on the map & thought we’d might as well visit.

Beautiful and prominent kerbstones line its long sides, though its chamber is unimpressive, and agriculture (and an information board) give it no elbow-room.

Its setting is very pretty, being in a nature reserve, very close to a lake which teems with wildlife. As the sinking sun turned the light yellow & the shadows deepened, I was very glad we’d not missed it!

Mentioned in passing in The Megalithic European (TME) on page 168.

Access: The carpark that we found is about 200-300m from the monument, a walk across gently undulating fields. Unfortunately, the fields were in crop so we couldn’t reach the monument.

The Langdysse i Ormstrup is on Langeland, and easy to find from Jaettestuekammer ved Kinderballe. Simply continue on the road south for a little over 0.5km, looking out for the road west to Ormstrup (called Tre Hoje but I can’t remember if there’s a sign).

Take this road – the parking and path to the langdysse are at the 2nd farm on the left, around 500m along.

Visited 5 April 2006
Looks like an absolute corker but we couldn’t get close as its field was in crop. We thought about walking down the ‘tramlines’ left by tractors, but without being able to speak Danish, we wimped out. Gah!

It’s possible you may also be able to reach the site from the next road to the south, maybe even when it’s in crop, but we didn’t have time to investigate.

Mentioned in The Megalithic European (TME) page 159, but this is not the main site that Julian talks about. That is Snibhøj. And when he refers to Snibhøj, he is actually referring to this monument!.

Access: See Snibhøj. From there, head back down to the village of Hannerup, but instead of going back the way you came through the village, turn right towards Snæbum (onto Snæbumvej).

If you’ve seen it from Snibhøj you won’t have trouble spotting the monument on the right (north) side of this road, just after a large farm on the left (south).

Visited 4 April 2006
There is no access to Spanskhøj from Snibhøj (well, there wasn’t when we went), so we thought we’d take a closer look from the nearest road and see if you could visit that way.

To be honest, it was pretty clear that the landowners didn’t want you to, and knowing that the passages have metal gates that were likely to be locked, we didn’t risk trying to sneak in under the noses of the busy neighbouring farms. We didn’t have time to ask, as it was getting late and we had a long way to go to get back to our base near Middlefart on the Isle of Fyn.

From the road, it’s pretty clear that Spanskhøj is like a very slightly smaller version of Snibhøj. And from the top of Snibhøj, it is clear that Spanskhøj has the same unusual layout – 2 passages to 2 separate chambers alongside each other (as does the wrecked tomb next to Snibhøj). Obviously not so ‘unusual’ around here!

Access: Visible and reached from tiny farm road near Petersgård. Walk of maybe 100 metres gently uphill across field. May not be accessible if field is in crop.

Confusingly, some maps only seem to show Løkkeby as being at the coast, while others show a small village close to Tullbølle as being Løkkeby.

The Langdysse ved Løkkeby is easy to reach from Bjerrebygaard. Continue north on the 305 to Tullbølle. A short way into the village, take a right (Skebjergvej), probably signposted to Løkkeby. At the end of this short road, take a right. Follow this road for a very short distance and take a left (this is Nordre Løkkebyvej, but I can’t remember if it had a sign to tell you that).

Continue for around 0.5km, then turn right (Løkkeby Srandvej) and follow this small road to bear right towards a farm on the right. The langdysse is a little way past on the right with trees growing from its mound. There is a space in the trees opposite where you can stop.

Visited 5 April 2006
Unfortunately we arrived at the langdysse with very little time to spare and in the middle of a heavy hailstorm. One of those where the hailstones actually ‘lay’, like snow.

Langeland Museum’s Oldtidsminder På Langeland calls the monument “Langeland’s smukkeste fortidsminder” (which as far as I can tell means ‘most beautiful’).

It’s nice but I don’t think I’d go that far – even allowing for the filthy weather and rushed visit! It reminded me a little of East Kennett longbarrow with far fewer trees. The weather was such that I couldn’t get any decent shots from further away to show its setting or even the whole monument.

We waited a few minutes & the hail abated somewhat, so I hurried across the field to the barrow. Like quite a few langdysse, the kerbstones are, curiously, partway up the mound. The capstone of the single chamber is exposed on the top of the mound and from what little I could see (and remember) from my rushed examination, the chamber looks like it is filled with earth.

Access: Pleasant walk around 0.5km along pretty good but undulating coastal path.

Easy to reach from Hesselbjerg landysse. Head into Hesselbjerg village and take a left, then almost immediately follow the road round to the right towards Nyby and Ristinge. After about 2km, the road swings right and goes on to enter Ristinge. around 400 metres later the road forks – take the left and follow it to the end by the sea and park.

The road becomes a path which goes along a little back from the beach and then the ‘cliff-edge’. as the path zig-zags along, look out for a path to the right, inland. This will take you to the dolmen.

Visited 5 April 2006
Gorgeous.

Even though there was no picture, the moment I saw the map on the Visit Denmark website showing this one’s setting I knew I wanted to try to find it! I thought it might be difficult, but in the end it was easy and sooooo worthwhile.

I expected a small pile of rocks & got Chûn quoit with a 240 degree sea-view!

So far I’ve not been able to find any information at all on the ‘dyssekammer’ in English. It’ll just have to be enough to enjoy its beauty, which suits me.

Access: Small carpark very close to monument. Short uphill walk of maybe 20 metres on grass.

Hulbjerg-jættestuen is in the far south of Langeland, but pretty easy to reach from Kong Humble’s Grav. From there, continue south on the 305 towards Bagenkop. About 1km before it reaches Bagenkop, the 305 swings right (west), just past Søndenbro. As the road bends right, there is a smallish road off to the left (in a way, straight on) towards Gulstav & Dovnsklint. Take this (Gustalvej) and at the next junction (almost immediately) continue south.

Keep on this road for just about 1.5km and as the road kinks right, look out for a turning to left called Keldsnorvej. You don’t want this, this turning, but take the next right onto Søgardsvej (may be signposted to Bagenkop). As you approach, you should be able to see the monument ahead to the right on the hillside. There is a small car park on the right as you reach the monument.

Visited 5 April 2006
The word jættestuen or jættestue seem to just be used as an umbrella term. Other monuments similar to this are called runddysser (the ‘r’ seems to make it plural) or højs....

Beautifully cared for, this is an imposing and very complete barrow, which has a huge ‘pre-mound’ – presumably natural. If not, it’s a spectacular feat. Although I can’t read Danish, Oldtidsminder På Langeland seems to say it was restored in 1960-61.

The passage is a bit of a squeeze, but the chamber is pretty impressive once inside.

Access: In a field a few metres from a small road to Herslev, around 50 metres from junction with 305.

Near Herslev on Langeland. From the 9, at the eastern edge of Rudkøbbing take the 305 south for about 6km. Look out for a small road to the left (east) towards Herslev itself and Illebølle. The dolmen is on your right almost immediately, and we were able to pull in without obstructing the narrow road.

Visited 5 April 2006
A lovely dolmen more-or-less right next to the 305. And if I remember correctly, there is a factory with big chimneys ‘behind’ it, luckily not close enough to be too distracting. (In fact if I am right, I managed to ‘hide’ it behind the monument in all my photos!)

Featured in The Megalithic European (TME) page 168, but as Jane has explained in her fieldnote, the place poor Julian describes is not Kong Humble’s Grav.

Access: Park at nearest farm which has an honesty box. Walk around 300 metres across field on path that was marked when we were there.

Kong Humble’s Grav is just north of Humble, on Langeland. From the 9, at the eastern edge of Rudkøbbing take the 305 south for about 12km.

Not far after passing through Lindelse, the road distinctly zig-zags through a small village, probably Bogetofte or the outskirts of Kædeby. About 0.75km further south, take a left turn (east) towards Brandsby, by a large white church.

The langdysse is in the field behind the church, but continue past the church maybe 200 metres and turn left up an open drive into a farmyard, where you can park. And – please – donate to the honesty box!

Visited 5 April 2006
A very cool but largely denuded langdysse, a massive 55 metres long with a fine kerb of 77 large stones. The exposed single chamber is a beauty and all its main stones are pretty hefty!

In contrast to the strange place on the hill opposite the church that Julian describes and photographs in TME, Kong Humble’s Grav lies on open undulating (farm) land, with huge views all round and a very big sky!

Long/lat coordinates are probably right but it was difficult to be 100% sure from aerial photo on the inline map. From the street names and memory, it seems right and I couldn’t see where else it could be!

Access: Right next to residential street, just a few metres into trees. There is a small parking placeSuldrup is around 20km SSW of Aalborg. Travelling north on the E45 I left at junction 33, turning west onto the 535 past Haverslev, heading for Sønderup.

Just under 5km from the motorway, I turned right at a roundabout, still heading for Sønderup. After just over 1km, I took a left into and through Sønderup. Towards the far end of the village, the road bends gently right – keep on this road for just over 5 km and you will be in Suldrup.

Almost as soon as you enter the village, take the 2nd left onto Vikingevej and then first right onto Jættestuevej. When you reach the end, the monument is opposite you, slightly to your left.

Visited 6 April 2006
Right in the centre of the village or small town of Suldrup stands this very nice little passage grave. A little neglected and abused by (I suspect) kids on mountainbikes (a narrow track over the top) its mound is still in place and its chamber quite impressive.

Unfortunately, due to its ‘urban survivor’ position, there is a metal gate which at the time of my visit was locked and I couldn’t find any information on whether it’s at all possible to get access.

This was a shame, as it is one of the Danish passage graves that has an obscure 2nd chamber behind the main one. Frustratingly, I could see its tiny entrance, but couldn’t get to it or get any idea of how big it is etc.

Not one to write home about, but well worth visiting if it’s not too far out of your way!

Access: There is a grassed area between the road and the trees surrounding the site where I parked – it seems to be the intention, but I can’t guarantee it! A path leads north through the trees into a clearing, where you will find the site.

Just outside Frederikshavn on the 585. Turn off the E45 onto the 585 west towards Kilden, Gærum, Øster Vrå and Brønderlev. Just over 1.5km along the 585 there is a right turn north, with traffic islands.

Immediately after the traffic islands, trees appear on both sides of the 585, just at this point on the right (north) there is a small entrance – drive in! I parked on the grassy area to the left.

Visited 6 April 2006
Hmmm. This is a strange site! These are some iron-age ‘cellars’ thought to be the only remains of a settlement and thought to have been used for ‘storage’. As you can probably guess, I had trouble finding any more information! (I came across the place on the Visit Denmark website.)

The fact that on my visit, the strange stone settings were mostly so flooded that they looked like ornamental ponds just added to the oddness.

Access: You can park very close to the west end of the langdysse. A walk of only a few metres across a field, but the langdysse itself stands on a steepish moundlike ridge (presumably at least partly formed by ploughing each side....)

In the north of Jutland, off the west side of the 585 between Frederikshavn and Brønderlev. Just south of Gærum there are a set of 3 højs more-or-less right next to the 585 – one to the west of the road and 2 to the east.

If you stop here and look to the WNW of the western barrow, you will see a ‘suspicious-looking’ ridge with scrubby growth. This is in fact the langdysse.

Visited 6 April 2006
I spotted this langdysse while taking a quick look at some nearby højs on the 585, on my way to Jættestuen Blakshøj. To the WNW I could see a ‘mound-cum-ridge’ which I thought for the sake of 5 minutes needed closer inspection.

My suspicions were confirmed by an information board which gave the name of this langdysse. From my quick look, it doesn’t seem terribly well-preserved and so I decided not to spend any time here, as I had so much to see....

Access: Walk of a few metres from small layby next to farm buildings.

In the north of Jutland, off the west side of the 585 between Frederikshavn and Brønderlev. Just south of Gærum there are a set of 3 højs more-or-less right next to the 585 – one to the west of the road and 2 to the east, see Stenstuen.

South of here, the next road off to the west goes to a large industrial-looking farm. Take this and drive to the small layby next to the farm buildings.

Visited 6 April 2006
A beauty!!! At 4.5 metres high, apparently one of the largest burial mounds in Denmark. Huge chamber from a short and low passage.

The passage is set in a curious section of the mound which is ‘scooped away’. I would assume that this is from a rather insensitive excavation, not part of the original form of the monument.

I noticed another ‘ancient monument’ symbol on the map, not far from where we were at Treguier, but I had no instructions as to how to get there or indeed what was there. But we took the chance and went anyway. Happily, we picked up a signpost. As we parked, the heavens opened, but after the deluge we had suffered for most of the day this failed to move us; our shoes and trousers were already soaked to the thigh.

After walking through the dunes and the gorse out towards the sea we finally stumble across this allée couverte. It’s a bit trashed but its location is simply lovely overlooking the wide expanse of the estuary. Had it not been so wet, I could sat here for the rest of the day.

It had bigger, thicker stones than all the other allée couvertes we’d seen today further to the west.

This one

In the very beautiful mediaeval town of Treguier, just by where the bridge crosses the Jaudy river estuary you’ll find this cromlech opposite a hotel.

It now has its own little parkland to inhabit, but it wasn’t always so. This entire cromlech (or stone circle/horseshoe thingy) was relocated to its current position in 1963 for a reason I failed to discover. It used to have carved stones within it but these have been moved to protect them.

Access: Walk of around 300 metres across fields from carpark.

Tornby is in the far north of Jutland about 7km south of Hirtshals. The simplest route from the south (not the way I went!) is to take the E39 between Aalborg and Hirtshals, leaving at junction 3 onto the 35 west through Hjørring.

Just outside Hjørring, the 35 meets the 55 at a roundabout. Turn right onto the 55 (north), which will take you to Tornby. Continue through Tornby and a short distance out the other (north) side.

On the right (east), you will soon see some large factories or warehouses. Opposite these there is a line of trees next to the road and behind them is a carpark, partly for a restaurant-type place (I think that’s what it was) and partly for the monument.

Walk to the southern end of the carpark and follow a path SSW. You should almost immediately be able to see the dolmen a few hundred yards in front of you towards the town.

Visited 6 April 2006
A classic late neoloithic dolmen, standing in the almost ploughed out remanants of its mound. Three chamber stones and a chunky littlle capstone.

Another stone stands in front of the ‘open’ end of the dolmen, which I guess could be a moved chamber stone or kerbstone. I suppose it could possibly be a passage stone – if it had a passage – but it seems to be orientated wrongly for that.

Would be a great place to hang out if it wasn’t raining, but on the day I visited it just didn’t stop all day....

Access: Right next to road, I think I pulled a couple of wheels onto the verge so that vehicles could get past.

In the far north of Jutland, near the north edge of Limforden, close to Fjerritslev and Gundestup, fairly near Aalbog. Take the 11/29 between Aalborg in the east and Thisted in the west, heading for Fjerritslev.

About 10km east of Fjerritslev, at Skovsgård take the turning south towards Attrup. After around 2km, at Torsley, turn right and after just under 3km, take a left just before a large barrow on the right. This will take you to the monument which will be on you right after a few hundred metres.

Visited 6 April 2006
Excellent! A smallish but fascinating multi-chambered passage grave. I’d seen a few that I’d not been able to get into that had at least one chamber ‘behind’ the main chamber, but none that I could get into. (See Suldrup for example.)

It’s a shame that the restoration of the barrow hasn’t been more ‘sympathetic’, as it contains a lot of incredibly intrusive modern metal supports. Mind you, at least it means the thing’s still standing and you can even get in – with a bit of a squeeze, and once in it’s a crouched waddle around....!

As well as this one, there are tons of barrows in this area. There are few in the fields to the NE & NW, and a couple by the road immediately to the north.

There is a particularly striking one on high ground to the south, which you can see clearly from Hvisselhøj. It may even be within sight of Limfjord, a little further to the south. Gunderstrup is also very close.

Unfortunately, I had a few more things I really wanted to see (including Gunderstrup) and a long way to drive back to Fyn, so no time left to investigate ‘possibles’.

Access: Carpark right next to road. The graves are immediately next to the carpark. Walk of 100 hundred metres or so across heathland.

In far north of Jutland on road between Tømmerby and the 29/11 between Thisted and Fjerritslev.

From the east, soon after a section of the 29/11 follows the edge of the Limfjorden fjord, there is a right towards Tømmerby at Øslos. I took this but it was more complicated than it looks! So I’d recommend keeping on the main road until Vesløs and turning right (north) there – I cam back that way and it was far simpler.

This is actually the road that the cemetery is on. Follow it north for about 3km and keep an eye out on the right (east) for the the stones of the cemetery and its little carpark.

Visited 6 April 2006
Hmm. Lindholm Høje it ain’t! It’s far less extensive and far harder to work out what’s going on.

I wasn’t able to explore terribly well due to weather, time-constraints and, frankly, fatigue. This was the last site on a very long and very wet day with a lot of mileage, so I feel my visit probably didn’t do it justice!

It didn’t help that commendably, the info board is a fair bit away from the graves – meaning I found it difficult to relate the plan of the site to what I could see on the ground.

This was important because, at least when I visited, the site was quite overgrown with scrub – which is as different as you can get from Lindholm Høje – more natural, but much harder to navigate.

It’s also different from Lindholm Høje in that many of the memorials are single stones, as well as a lot of more distinctly Viking longboat settings and small barrows.

Definitely worth a visit though if you are in this part of Denmark or if you can’t make it to Lindholm Høje.

Approximate long/lat coordinates, as I couldn’t be sure I could see the dolmen in the fieldborder on the aerial photomap. Shouldn’t be too far out though and, if anything may be a few metres closer to the farm.

Access: Walk of something like 300 metres along reasonably even field edge. (First few metres were across ploughed field when we visited.)

Very near Kong Humble’s Grav. From the 9, at the eastern edge of Rudkøbbing take the 305 south for about 11km. Not far after passing through Lindelse, the road distinctly zig-zags through a small village, probably Bogetofte or the outskirts of Kædeby. Just after the zig-zag, there is a turning on the right (west) into Kædeby village.

Take this turn and continue on this road for about 0.5km. Look out for a farm entrance on the left (south) with a (telecoms?) tower. Park here and walk around left (east) side of buildings. It may be worth asking at the farm first, but there seemed nobody about for our visit.

You will find a tiny paddocklike field with a tree-ed area to the west. Go to the corner of this diagonally opposite and you will reach a very far large field.

From here you should just about be able to make out the dolmen in the field boundary to the SW, quite far ahead on your right. Cross to this field boundary (there was a slight path when we visited) and walk along to the dolmen.

Visited 7 April 2006
Wow! A spectacular dolmen in the mould of Cornish examples like Mulfra or even Trethevy.

Unfortunately this is another one I’ve not been able to find any info on. And because it just sits in a narrow overgrown bit of field boundary between well-cultivated fields, it’s very difficult to make anything out on the ground.

Lovely big chamber though, with a huge allegedly cupmarked capstone. Not sure about the the authenticity of the cups, but enjoyed our bonus deer! (See photos.)

The Dolmen de Kergavat has a large chamber and some sizeable stones, but like so much stuff hereabouts is unceremoniously ignored. But here it is – a huge and beautiful dolmen – virtually playing chicken with passing traffic, parked at the roadside.

I do like urban monuments, so the Dolmens de Rondossec were always likely to appeal to me. Whoosh in the middle of the village of Plouharnel are a lovely pair of funnel-type passage tombs, still quite buried under their mounds. They both have low passages which widen to a larger end. In a garden just opposite we noticed a menhir which looked suspiciously original to us.

Julian calls it the Roh-an-Aod dolmen in TME, but the roadsigns point you to dolmen du Roch.

This very large dolmen occupies an entire plot in a small village setting, tightly squeezed on all sides by cottages and houses. We liked this one a lot as it so clearly refuses to be taken over by the human development around it. Defiant and wonderful.