Nucleus

The Düwelsteene (Devil Stones in Low German) are the most south-westerly, in the core area preserved megalithic site of funnel beaker culture, created about 3500-2800 BC and one of the few in Westphalia.

They were already restored in 1932. The northeast-southwest oriented site is 12 m long outside (inside 10.2 m) and 2.7 m to 4.3 m wide (inside 1.5 m to 2.2 m); the inside height is 1.5 m. The now-defunct original chamber floor was covered with a patch of flat field and flint stones. Almost all the supporting stones and three capstones are still preserved, whereas an enclosure is no longer visible today. Access to the chamber is no longer safe to determine.

The megalith tomb can be reached via the Reken exit of the autobahn A31. Here you drive towards Heiden until you reach a roundabout. Turn right (north) until the next roundabout, here first straight ahead over the roundabout and after 290m right into the Düwelsteenweg. Follow this for 1.6 km until you come to an junction. Here you should park and walk the remaining 600m on a sandy, unpaved road on foot.

Visited July 2018

In a residential area in Tannenhausen, north of Aurich, is the only remaining megalithic tomb, of four former in Friesland. Strictly speaking, the complex consists of two burial chambers, which were connected to each other via a common burial mound. From the western chamber there are only three stones left (two capstones and one supporting stone), popularly called butter, bread and cheese (low german Botter, Brood & Kees). From the eastern chamber was not a single stone available, this was reconstructed with new boulders. The two burial chambers are located in a park-like area, with many information boards, for my taste a bit too much of the good.

To visit the site drive north through Tannenhausen on the Dornumer Straße. Just before the road makes a right turn, turn left into Stürenburgweg. After 250m turn left into Am Hünengrab (what a name ;-) ) and after furthermore 150m turn right into Möhlenkamp. The site is on the left after 140m.

Visited July 2018

taken from one of the information boards:

Research of the tomb

This site in Tannenhausen is one of the four known Stone Age megalithic graves in East Frisia. It is the only one from which remnants can still be seen.

The western chamber was about twelve meters long, 2.2 meters to 2.8 meters wide and 1.3 meters in height. It consisted of about 20 large boulders. The east chamber was about 11.2 meters long and 2.2 meters to 3.2 meters wide. Five identical six large capstones formed the roof. Both burial chambers were covered by oval hills. The entrances to the burial chambers were on the south side.

Excavations

Various excavations already took place in 1780 before the founding of the colony Tannenhausen. Regular archaeological investigations were only carried out between 1962 and 1963.

The megalithic tombs date back to the early phase of the so-called Western group (between Drenthe and the Weser) of the funnel beaker culture around 3,500 BC.

The stones to be visited in the area are two capstones and a supporting stone of the western burial chamber. During the excavations the traces of the former other stones could be documented.

The original stones of many megalithic tombs in northern Germany and the Groningen region were smashed, robbed and used for other structures – often probably also for churches.

Tannenhausen findings

The people of the funnel beaker culture were the first in East Frisia to make ceramic vessels. They were richly decorated with geometric patterns. These were carved before the fire in the wet clay and filled with a white paste, which is usually no longer preserved.

The tools still consisted entirely of stone. The ax blades, for example, were made of flint, as well as the arrowheads. As jewelery pearls from rock, but also from amber from the Baltic Sea were used.

The now to be seen site represents a reconstruction! The stones are in the original locations, but they are not the original stones. These have disappeared over time. The reconstruction shows what one of the tombs might have looked like. A stylized entrance allows a view into the inside of the tomb. Even the access from wooden posts can not be reconstructed today, so it is represented by vertical wooden posts.

The tomb originally had an oval border, but there is no sign of it today. The burial chamber is oriented approximately east-west, its length is 10m, the width is 2.4m in the west and 1.8m in the east. The chamber possessed in her original condition six pairs of support stones on the long sides, one endstone each on the narrow sides and six capstones. Almost all support stones are still in situ, only the western endstone has been removed. All the capstones were blown up. Several large pieces are still inside the chamber.

The tomb is very easy to find. You drive on the L54 from Klein Berßen to Haselünne, after approx. 2,5km you turn right into the street Loherfeld, the tomb lies after another 300m immediately right (north) of the street.

Visited July 2018

Due to the fact that the tomb is still buried deep and heavily overgrown in the undergrowth, here follows the description from the German Wikipedia:

The 5.0 × 1.5 meter east-west orientated chamber lies deep in the ground. Of the original ten support stones and the four capstones missing one each. Of the entrance stones is only one in situ. One entrance and the capstone of the entrance, which is located in the middle of the south side, are missing. An enclosure or a hill can not be proven.

The tomb lies on private land, drive from Westerloh on the K240 to Lähden. After about 1.7km you come to a junction, where the forest begins on both sides of the road. The road “Zum Herthum” to the north leads to the graves Westerloh 2 and Lähden 2, the dirt road to the south to grave Westerloh 1, which is located in a small wood just outside the forest.

Visited July 2018