D8 Kniphorstbos

Also known as:
D8 Anloo-Noord 1
Latitude:
53° 3' 35.68 N
Longitude:
6° 41' 58.56 E
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Images

Image of D8 Kniphorstbos (Hunebed) by LesHamilton

Hunebed D8 Kniphorstbos, seen at its best in springtime sunshine, before foliage from surrounding woodland casts it into shadow.

Image credit: Les Hamilton
LesHamilton
LesHamilton Apr 19, 2014
Image of D8 Kniphorstbos (Hunebed) by Martin_L

View inside the well preserved and massive 4-capstone passage-grave. It has a slightly trapezoid groundplan [1]: Width is 4,3m in the West and 3,6m in the East. Length appr.. 8m. The chamber is halfway filled with earth, but all chamber orthostats and capstones are in situ. The dry-walling is robbed (as usual in areas where there were/are no quarries).

[1] Reference: Giffen, A.E. van, 1925: De hunebedden in Nederland, Utrecht

Photo taken in August 2010

Image credit: Martin_L
Martin_L
Martin_L Nov 12, 2010

Articles

D8 Kniphorstbos

Nucleus
Nucleus Sep 27, 2025

On my tour to the Hunebeds in Drenthe and Groningen in July 2018, I unfortunately had to skip three hunebeds in the Drentsche Aa National Park / De Strubben Kniphorstbosch (D7 Schipborg, D8-Anloo-Noord and D11 Anloo-Zuid) due to lack of time. In September 2025, I was on holiday in Emsland for three days and took the opportunity to visit these three remaining hunebeds for the first time.

D8 Kniphorstbos aka D8 Anloo-Noord is an east-northeast to west-southwest oriented passage grave. No stone enclosure could be identified. The burial chamber is 7.9 metres long and 4.4 metres wide. It has four pairs of support stones on the long sides, one stone on each of the short sides and four capstones. The entrance to the chamber is located in the middle of the southern long side. Originally, there was a passageway made of two wall stones in front of it, but only one of these remains.

From the car park (N53.05981° E6.68464°), it is very well signposted (as are all Hunebeds in the Netherlands) and can be reached on foot in about 1 kilometre. I highly recommend also visiting tomb D7 Schipborg during your stay. It is a truly picturesque walk through the beautiful landscape of the Drentsche Aa National Park / De Strubben Kniphorstbosch. Along the way you’ll pass the burial mound Galgenberg (Strubben-Kniphorstbos) and, if you like, Driemarkenpunt.

Visited September 2025

D8 Kniphorstbos

LesHamilton
LesHamilton Aug 7, 2013

Visited September 5, 2012

Hunebed D8 Kniphorstbos is a really nice, totally complete hunebed, lying in attractive woodland, slightly more than a kilometre west of the town of Annen, in Drenthe.

Following botched attempts at restoration in the second half of the 19th century, D8 was fully restored in 1952. Now it is a particularly fine medium-sized hunebed, boasting eight sidestones and two endstones: with all four of its original capstones in place.

Bus 58 from Assen Station to Groningen takes you to Annen in 27 minutes. Be sure to exit at the bus halt named ‘Hunebed’ on Zuidlaarderweg (right beside hunebed D9 Annen/Noordloo). Now walk about 100 metres northwest, past the roundabout, and turn left (west) along Schipborgerweg for 600 metres—then follow the pedestrian/cycle underpass below the N34 highway. On the far side of the N34 you emerge in woodland. Continue to walk on in the same direction, along the woodland path, until you reach the 2nd crossroads (after another 250 metres or so) and turn left (south). About 50 metres on, in a clearing on your left, is D8 Kniphorstbos.

You can view a short video of D8 and its surroundings on YouTube.

Sites within 20km of D8 Kniphorstbos