The Modern Antiquarian. Stone Circles, Ancient Sites, Neolithic Monuments, Ancient Monuments, Prehistoric Sites, Megalithic MysteriesThe Modern Antiquarian

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They say Giants built them

I was fed up with the mild and wet weather we have been having, every time you venture out the sites are either waterlogged or you have to plug through mud. Anyway, I was browsing Julian's books looking for inspiration, in particular somewhere that is not located on the side of a mountain nor on a remote moor and there it was, the Hunebedden in the province of Drenthe. 54 of them to chose from, all well documented with a rich and interesting history.
That was it, mind made up, I booked the tunnel for two days ahead, a day to get the van ready and a day to pick up courage to tell my wife I was off. The research would have to be done on the hoof.
It took all day to drive there, however, it left me ready for an early start the following morning. D53/54 came up first and immediately got me thinking. Nicely reconstructed hunebed, wonderful setting in a heath and woodland location, however, something was wrong. The stones were dead, lifeless, soulless, field art, and this set the pattern as I visited the next few Hunebedden. All wonderful places to visit but essentially dead.
Then a strange thing happened, as I saw more and more of them I started to feel the history and significance I had not felt before and I started to realise the power of these stones is in the whole and not the individual, as I continued my visit I realised they are not separate sites but one huge site spread over a 30km radius and the trip began to take on a new and exciting interest.
Over the next few days I worked my way around 25 to 30 of the sites and found myself eagerly anticipating what I might find next whereas I must confess after the first few sites I was beginning to think they are all the same, just outdoor sculptures.
I must just mention that at sites D12 and 13 in the village of Eext I met a most interesting keeper of the local history and believer in ancient religions. He generously showed me around the two sites pointing out interesting carvings and shapes in the stones, explaining the force fields generated by a combination of their locations on ancient pathways and their relationship to each other. He was very old with long white hair and long white beard, in fact he looked exactly like you might expect a wizard to look like in a film, he was of course incredibly knowledgeable and when we parted company he gave me a small stone with a tiny hole in it. He said it would protect me into the future, however, when the time was right the tiny hole would appear like a great window to the Other World and I would be ready to climb through - although hopefully not too soon!
All in all a most enjoyable field trip, and a welcome break from the winter blues.
I stopped off at Brugge on the way back to buy chocolates for my wife, when I gave them to her she said great when are you off next? Seems I have found the key.

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Posted by costaexpress
5th February 2016ce


Comments (2)

Sounds like an awesome excursion!! juamei Posted by juamei
6th February 2016ce
A lovely description of your visit. It made me look up photos of the site & they're fantastic. I HAVE to start getting out again. Thankyou. Posted by carol27
6th February 2016ce
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