The Bronze Age monuments are hugely popular, and attest to the length of time that Drenthe has been inhabited
The Province of Drenthe was likely first settled over 150,000 years ago (during the ‘Saale glaciation’ of the Pleistocene age), for over 100,000 years it was likely the most populous part of the Netherlands. Evidence of its early history include the large numbers of ‘Dolmen’, or ‘Hunnebedden’ across it’s rolling fields and ancient woodland. These huge stone megaliths have been studied for many hundreds of years, and now researchers from the RUG are taking a closer look, reports RTV Drenthe.
Researchers and students of the RUG will begin a study into the environment of dolmen D34 near Valthe (gem Borger Odoorn). It is being investigated what the area around the hunebed was used for.
An archaeological investigation around a dolmen is rare and may only be carried out under strict conditions.
It is known that dolmens served as burial chambers. There is much more uncertainty about the role played by the environment around these ancient monuments: did people live there, and what other activities, rituals, and events took place?
That is why the archaeologists are diving into the ground on the site of dolmen D34. Possible finds from the subsoil, such as flints, tools or pottery are being investigated to clarify what people were doing at the time. In this way it is mapped out what role the area played for the hunebed builders.
The project will start on June 21.
Image of Hunebed 49 ‘Papeloze Kerk’ via Marketing Drenthe
