Papeloze Kerk (catalogued as D49)[1] is a restored megalithic tomb (Dutch: hunebed) near Schoonoord in the Netherlands.
Shown within Netherlands | |
Location | Schoonoord, Coevorden |
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Region | Netherlands |
Coordinates | 52°49′12″N 6°46′26″E / 52.8201°N 6.7738°E |
Type | Dolmen |
History | |
Periods | Neolithic |
The meaning of the name is disputed but it is generally thought to mean "priestless church" (Dutch: paap = priest) or "popeless church".[1] It is sometimes said that anti-Catholic (anti-"popish") sermons were held here in the 16th century.[2]
The monument was heavily damaged in the 1860s by people using it as a quarry for building material.[3] It was excavated in 1938 and again in 1958 by A. E. van Giffen.[3] In 1959 he chose to restore it as a demonstration model of a Dutch "hunebed" tomb.[2] Some of the stones were taken from elsewhere, including eleven stones taken from another hunebed (D33).[3] Half the tomb was covered in earth and the chamber was reconstructed with dry-stone walling.[3] The other half of the tomb was left in skeleton form.[3]
Media related to Papeloze kerk at Wikimedia Commons