Nucleus

Groß Berßen 10 or alternatively Deepmoorsteene lies in a bush in the middle of farmland and is totally overgrown and neglected. It is a chamber approximately oriented in east-west direction. A large part of the supporting and capstones are still present. Of the original six capstones only one is missing.

To get to the tomb you leave Groß Berßen on the K159 to the southeast towards the settlement Osterfeld and Lähden. If the trees end right and left, turn south into Moorstraße. Follow this road for about 700 meters (keep to the left at a fork). Then you reach a plant of a petroleum pipeline, where you can park. From here, a path leads to the left (northeast), which you follow for about 200 meters. The tomb is then right about 60 meters away at the end of a green strip between two fields in the brushwood.

Visited July 2018

According to Sprockhoff this tomb is a Hunebed, which are rather rare in Emsland. It should have been 30 x 6m in size. Today, however, the overall site looks so chaotic that it is difficult to imagine the original megalithic tomb. The chamber is 5 x 2 m in size; 6 support stones are still present, including the two boundary stones on the narrow sides. It probably lacks 4 support stones, because it is likely to have acted around a four-yoke chamber, the capstones are missing. The chamber is located in a long enclosure, of which there are 17 stones left. They are partly relocated, so that the extent is not clearly recognizable.

The alternate name Brutsteene (bride stones) indicates that in the past weddings or fertility rituals were performed here. There are other sites in this area, which a similar name origin, like Visbeker Bräutigam or Visbeker Braut.

Groß Berßen 9 is located in a small wood south of the barrow heath “Am Wiesengrund”. Drive from Groß Berßen north on the K159 towards Sögel. About 1.3km after the roundabout in Groß Berßen turn left into the road “Am Wiesengrund” and continue for 900m. Park here and walk 200m south to the tomb.

Visited July 2018

taken from the “Route of Megalithic Culture” information board:

Excavated...
The grave was first described already in 1825, at that time it was largely hidden in a dune. According to other descriptions of the 19th century the grave was blown free more and more over time. in 1925 besides 28 stones also first finds like pottery sherds and stone artefacts were visible. During an excavation in 1955 the archaeologist Dr. Elisabeth Schlicht examined this grave scientifically. The grave chamber was 9.5 metres long, had five cornerstones and fourteen orthostats. In the middle of the southern longitudinal wall the entrance was marked with a threshold. The bottom of the chamber was paved with small boulders with an overlying layer of granite grus, and between the orthostats remains of dry masonry was found. Blast holes in a shattered, 6-ton capston give evidence of blasting attempts.

taken from the “Route of Megalithic Culture” information board:

The Pyramids of the North
The chamber of “King’s Grave” today consists of 21 existing orthostats and nine capstones, 30 stones of the former enclosure are also extant. For a long time it was especially popular belief taht a king had been laid to rest with his entourage or his family in th large, long grave. Built without any technical aids, one would explain the immense amount of work only for a prominent personality – like the pyramids for the Pharaohs of Egypt. It is not without reason we talk about the “Pyramids of the North” today in connection with the megalithic tombs. The construction of the Pyramids of Gaza is dated from 2,620 to 2,500 BC, thus at least 700 years later than the megalithic tombs of this region.

One of the most beautiful megalithic tombs of Emsland and definitely a must see site to visit, if you are in this area!

Drive from Hüven on the L65 northward to Sögel. After you leave Hüven, there is a single house on the right side, right as the forest begins to the right. There is a small area where you can leave the car. A small sign and a forest track leads you to the tomb, which is just a 150m walk from here.

Impressive 22 x 10 m large megalithic tomb with a very well-preserved oval enclosure, where the enclosure stones are relatively large for an Emsland chamber. The oriented chamber in east-west direction is still almost complete. It has a length of about 15 meters, in the middle of a width of 1.50 and at the two ends of about 1.0 meters. 25 supporting stones are available and are in situ. Of the original 11 capstones are still 8 in their original position. The oval enclosure of about 22 meters in length and 10 meters wide is still almost complete, only a few stones are missing.

Revisited July 2018

taken from the “Route of Megalithic Culture” information board:

Of lost treasures

With a total of 52 from originally well over 100 more or less preserved megalithic tombs northern Emsland is virtually “rich in stones”. These few visible “treasures” of prehistory include the well-preserved grave “Volbers Megalithic Stones”. This tomb is one of the largest graves in the region constisting of eleven bays with 25 orthostats still standing and eleven preserved capstones. The 22 metres long stone surrounding is almost complete. But time is taking its toll. A few years ago one of the capstones slipped into the chamber. With great effort and most recent technical equipment it was tried to manoeuvre the capstone back to its original position. Success was extremely short-dated: After only a few weeks, the stone slipped back into the chamber where it still lies today.