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Fieldnotes
| Visited: September 15, 2013 Hunebed D49 Schoonoord is one I had yearned to visit ever since I became aware of The Netherlands passage graves several years ago. But somehow it always eluded me. Finally, after a day visiting some of the hunebedden in and around Emmen, I decided to take Bus 21 to the Voshaar halt in the village of Schoonoord. Immediately across the road from this bus stop is Recreation Center Rijmaaran, which is the start point for a visit to hunebed D49. Just a few metres into the center, you are greeted by a green Hunebed sign which directs you to a path into the woodland on your left. Just a few paces on and you turn to the right into the 'Avenue of Trees' described by Jane and less than 200 metres farther is D49 Schoonoord. On the way, you pass a large boulder bearing a bronze plaque with an effigy of the Dutch archaeologist Albert van Giffen. It was Van Giffen who had the idea of restoring D49 into an idealised hunebed, and who also took charge of the reconstruction work. Although D49 as seen today is not an authentic hunebed, but a composite combining all the features of an original hunebed, it does serve to show visitors just how a typical hunebed would have looked 5000 years ago. It is spectacular for sure, resting in a woodland clearing and surrounded by tall trees. The addition of the barrow, with its necklace of kerbstones, helps greatly in illustrating how these ancient monuments were originally conceived. Some of the capstones on D49 are enormous, and although the sidestones are deeply seated in the sand, it is still possible to enter the passage, though not that part below the mound, which is fenced off by a sturdy steel barrier. Visiting D49 lived up to all my expectations. No other hunebed quite ticks all the boxes. If there is one hunebed that everyone should visit, this is it! You can view a short video about D49 on YouTube. |
Posted by LesHamilton28th September 2013ce Edited 11th March 2023ce
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