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Only a single stone and a barely recognisable mound remain of the Ahlhorn Landwehrbäke megalithic tomb. The stone is thought to be the southern stone of the narrow side of a chamber.

In the Lower Saxony Monument Atlas, the object is listed as an archaeological monument, megalithic tomb, ID 28954563, found location Großenkneten 179. According to the description “Weak, oval, east-west oriented elevation. Length approx. 20 m; width 4 m; height up to approx. 0.4 m. One stone preserved at the west end of the southern long side; pushed outwards. These remains of a megalithic tomb Ahlhorn Landwehrbäke lie within a former mound, also only partially preserved, approx. 29 m long and approx. 16 m wide.

To reach the tomb, take the L870 from Schneiderkrug north towards Ahlhorn. As soon as you reach the first houses, turn right onto the street ‘Am Scheidewald’. Follow this road until you reach a T-junction and turn right (south) onto ‘Meyelheide’. After about 300 metres, the road bends left into ‘Barkeler Berg’, while a dirt track continues straight ahead. It is best to leave your vehicle here (or continue to the edge of the forest) and follow the dirt track for about 360 metres to the first junction. If you follow the path to the right, the almost completely destroyed megalithic tomb is located 50 metres immediately to the right (north) of the forest path.

Visited September 2025

In the Lower Saxony Monument Atlas, the object is listed as an archaeological monument, megalithic tomb, ID 28943020, found location Emstek 17. According to the description “Mound approx. 40 x 15 m, SW – NE oriented. Height up to 0.7 m, with an elongated depression containing small stones. Remains of a chamber in the mound. At the south-eastern end of the mound lies a large boulder, which may belong to the grave. Otherwise, only small stones in the depression. A wooden hunting shelter anchored in the ground has been in the depression for some time.”

Unfortunately I couldn’t locate the mentioned boulder during my visit, although I have walked through the entire undergrowth several times.

The tomb is located south of the B213 between Ahlhorn and Cloppenburg. From the B213, turn south onto ‘Schlackenweg’ 2.5 km west of the A29. Turn left onto ‘Am Forst’ and drive on for 300m. The tomb is under a group of trees in a meadow, about 100 metres away.

Visited September 2025

The 12 Apostles (also known as the Apostle Stones) are a prehistoric menhir site near the Ahlhorn fish ponds, northwest of Ahlhorn.

The entire site extends 70 metres in a northeast-southwest direction and 24 metres in a northwest-southeast direction. It is believed to have originally consisted of 16 stones, of which only 13 remain today. When the fish ponds were constructed in 1922, a path and a ditch were created that run through the southern part of the site, causing considerable damage. At least one stone was sunk at that time.

It is difficult to verify whether the site was ever a prehistoric calendar, as the stones have been moved several times.

Unfortunately, during my visit, the site was barely visible, as only a few stones were visible due to heavy undergrowth and brambles.

To get to the 12 Apostles, take the B213 from Ahlhorn to Cloppenburg. Once you have crossed the A29, take the second road on the right towards the north-west (‘Zu den Fischteichen’) and after about 4 km you will reach a car park for hikers. From here, follow a footpath in a north-easterly direction (red hiking trail) until you reach a paved path after about 600 metres and turn right. After about 300 metres, you will reach the Apostle Stones, which are located on the left and right sides of the path.

Visited September 2025

taken from the on-site information board:

Natural monument ‘12 Apostles’

Have you counted them yet? These boulders are probably an arrangement made by human hands, possibly calendar stones for observing the annual cycle of the sun, with a location for the summer solstice.

Our ancestors in the Stone, Bronze and Iron Ages worshipped cult stones as sanctuaries.

While driving from D30 – Exloo-Noord to Borger we came across this burial mound (known as a “grafheuvel” in Dutch).

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any further information apart from what was written on the small sign at the site.

Visited September 2025

taken from the on-site information board:

Burial mound

From 2800 BC to the beginning of our era, prehistoric man built mounds of sand and turf over the dead. Existing burial mounds were also often used for subsequent burials. On such occasions, the mound was often made slightly larger. As this burial mound has not yet been excavated, it is not known exactly from which period it dates.