Snibhøj Høj View all content for Snibhøj

Featured in The Megalithic European (TME) page 159, under the name Spanskhøj, see below. Access: Park at farm near monument. Walk of a few hundred metres, at most, across grassy paths between cultivated fields. Snibhøj and Spanskhøj are not far from the E45, leaving it at junction 34 near Hørbo, which is about halfway between Århus and Aalborg. Head west on the 29 (aka 541). Take the 2nd turning to the left after around 1.5-2km, towards Hannerup & Snæbum. Julian says it's signposted 'Rojdrup 2'. Travel along this road for around 2.5km and then it meets Hannerupvej at an acute angle. Turn right onto Hannerupvej, through the village, taking a right towards Hvilsom onto Hvilsomvej as you approach the west end. Very soon, the road bends left and you need to park in the yard of the next farm on the left. We were greeted by a friendly woman with a torch and some leaflets (even including some English text!) Visited 4 April 2006 Firstly, the confusion over the name. The leaflet we were given (or we may have had to pay a little for it, I can't remember) makes it clear. It says that Snibhøj is the one with access and the one with the denuded tomb next to it. Perhaps significantly, in his 1972 book Discovering Archaeology in Denmark, James Dyer calls both tombs (and the nearby denuded one) 'Spanskhøj'. Whatever it's called, it's a fantastic place! A huge mound with 2 separate chambers large enough for us (both 5' 8") to stand up in, and each with their own entrance passage alongside each other. In fact, all 3 tombs (this, Spanskhøj & the trashed one) have the double passage & chambers. We didn't see any others like them on our trip. Interestingly, when excavated, Snibhøj's chambers were completely free of earth because any gaps between chamber stones had been sealed with small stones. The chambers contained about 50 skeletons, of which 18 were 16 or younger. Dated at around 3,200bc, the condition of the monument - especially the passages & chambers - is wonderful. It's also quite cool to be able to inspect the denuded tomb, which acts like a groundplan!

Posted by Moth 30th July 2007ce

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