There are two hunebedden at Rolde, just about 50 metres apart. They lie at the edge of the village in parkland next to a magnificent medieval brick built church and graveyard.
D18 is in much better condition than its twin, D17, with all its capstones up. A large hunebed is a textbook example, but I found it strangely characterless.
Best seen in May or June , as you can easily cycle from Assen in around 25 minutes and enjoy the great countryside and wildlife doing it's thing. Churchbells ring and birds fly, zipping along on a bike is great fun too. The Hunebedden are interesting, as they are next to a church. I suspect that many other monuments were dismantled when near churches, and centers of habitation in earlier Christian times, as being seen as pagan. The Reformation was strong here. Perhaps the older religions are still celebrated in Rolde in some way. It is true that Rolde has always been a place en-route to somewhere else, though it is a sleepy place which has a couple of roadhouses that sell asparagus, which is wonderful, as it is prepared in a number of ways, and tastes terrific, unfortunately the season is short, hence the dates. I have visited Drenthe a number of times and always been awed by the experience, its great fun finding these amazing monuments, and each of them has it's own atmosphere, mood, and feel. With a map and a bike one can access numerous sites within the area, though you need to take a bus from Assen to visit sites near Emmen. I also use buses to access Borger from Assen where, once again renting a bike allows one to travel hither and thither.