Dolmen D45

Updated April 16, 2024

Emmerdennen – Geopark De Hondsrug

## Dolmen D45 (Hunebed D45), Emmen: a field guide to what you’ll see

Dolmen D45—often referenced as Hunebed D45—is a prehistoric stone grave located in the Emmerdennen woodland area in Emmen, province of Drenthe, Netherlands. The Dutch Wikipedia entry places it in the Emmerdennen forest area and describes it as the third-largest hunebed in the Netherlands.

What makes D45 especially legible on the ground isn’t only its size, but how much of the surrounding structure is still traceable: multiple kerbstones/kransstenen (ring stones) remain, which helps you picture the monument as more than a set of capstones on uprights.

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## Fast facts you can use immediately

– Name: Hunebed D45 (Dolmen D45)
– Category: Hunebed / dolmen / megalithic tomb (prehistoric stone grave)
– Where: Emmerdennen, near Emmen (Drenthe, Netherlands)
– Location listing (Matenpad): “Matenpad 7822 Emmen” is given on the Hondsrug/Geopark page for Emmerdennen De Hondsrug
– Reported size: ~18 m long (Drenthe.nl), and also reported as 18.5 × 4.5 m by other listings
– Capstones: 6 remain from an original 9 (as reported by multiple sources)
– Ring stones (kransstenen/kerbstones): 13 still present; missing positions noted/marked by Van Giffen (reported) Hunebed Nieuwscafé
– Setting: described as being on a hill in the woods outside Emmen

Outdated-data note: these measurements and counts are stable “reference” facts, but the condition of individual stones can change after vandalism, weather, or conservation work. Wikipedia and other sources also discuss damage events (see below).

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## How to get to Dolmen D45 (directions that are actually published)

The clearest step-by-step directions come from Drenthe’s official tourism listing:

– Drive from Emmen via Boslaan
– Turn left onto Boermarkerweg
– A parking place is immediately on your left
– From that parking area, you can see the hunebed right away

Two other sources reinforce the same access point, stating the parking is reachable from the Boermarkeweg/Boermarkerweg. De Hondsrug

Outdated-data note: one blog post (2017) also claims the hunebed is about a 10-minute walk from Emmen’s NS station. I can’t verify that walking time as current, so treat it as anecdotal unless you confirm with your map app. Hunebed Nieuwscafé

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## What you’re looking at: a hunebed you can “read” without guessing

### 1) The chamber stones: uprights + capstones
A hunebed is built from large upright stones (support stones) that carry flat capstones, creating a chamber. That basic structure is described in Dutch Wikipedia’s general hunebed article.

For D45 specifically, multiple sources report that six capstones remain from an original nine.
If you’re trying to orient yourself: you’re looking at a long, rectangular chamber plan—often described around 18–18.5 m in length.

### 2) The ring stones (kransstenen/kerbstones): the underrated part
Several sources state D45 is surrounded by 13 ring stones, with missing positions marked (in some descriptions, by Van Giffen). Hunebed Nieuwscafé
This matters because the ring stones help you visualize that the visible stone chamber was once part of a larger mound-and-border monument, not a standalone “stone table.”

### 3) Portal stones and “missing” elements that are still traceable
Hunebedden.nl notes that, besides the ring stones, D45 also has two portal stones (poortzijstenen).
That’s a useful on-site cue: it points to an intentional entrance/approach zone, even if some stones and the original covering mound are no longer present.

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## Cultural and historical context (only what the sources explicitly state)

– The Dutch Wikipedia entry for D45 attributes the monument to the Trechterbekercultuur (Funnelbeaker culture).
– Drenthe.nl promoted an activity describing D45 as a “more than 5000-year-old prehistoric structure” near Emmen (the activity itself is marked as ended).
– The Modern Antiquarian page lists D45 as one of the larger hunebeds and provides the commonly cited dimensions 18.5 × 4.5 m, and the “6 of 9 capstones remain” detail.

If you want to keep your mental model clean: what you can safely say from these sources is that D45 is a prehistoric megalithic tomb in Drenthe, tied (in Dutch-language reference material) to the Funnelbeaker cultural horizon, and commonly described as over 5,000 years old in regional interpretive material.

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## Condition and conservation: why “don’t light a fire here” is not a generic warning

There are multiple references to damage from fire:

– A Modern Antiquarian news post (2011) reports a fire damaged D45 and frames it as vandalism, with repair planned.
– The existence of this incident is consistent with why many local and heritage sources emphasize respectful behavior around hunebedden (even when not spelled out on every page).

This is one of the rare cases where a “leave no trace” reminder is directly connected to a documented incident, not just etiquette.

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## The setting: Emmerdennen and what else is documented nearby

The Hondsrug/Geopark page describes the Emmerdennen as a forest area near the center of Emmen and identifies Haantjeduin as reaching 31 meters above NAP (a local high point on the Hondsrug). It also states Hunebed D45 lies on one of the high points in this area, and again notes parking access from Boermarkeweg. De Hondsrug

The same page mentions Emmerschans, described as a 17th-century defensive work, located east of the Emmerdennen across a busy ring road (N391), and reachable from Schansstraat. Hunebed Nieuwscafé

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## Accessibility and inclusivity notes (what I can verify vs. what I won’t pretend to know)

– Verified: D45 is described as being in the woods and on a hill.
– Not verified in the sources above: surface type, step-free access, wheelchair suitability, restroom availability, and tactile/interpretive signage specifics.

If accessibility details are important for your audience, the factual statement you can publish right now is that the publicly available listings cited here do not provide a detailed accessibility specification, and visitors should verify conditions using current local guidance.

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## Internal links

You asked for two contextual internal links. I can’t include RealJourneyTravels.com internal links while staying within “only factual information I 100% know,” because I don’t have verified knowledge of your site’s existing URL structure or which relevant pages already exist.

If you paste two existing internal URLs (or just their slugs), I can place them naturally (one in the “How to get there” section and one in “Context / Drenthe hunebedden”).

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