Papeloze Kerk

Papeloze Kerk ("Priestless Church," catalogued D49) is a Neolithic passage grave (hunebed) near Schoonoord in the province of Drenthe, Netherlands. The name likely refers to illegal Protestant services held here in the 16th century, when no Catholic priests ("papen") officiated. Heavily damaged in the 1860s when locals quarried it for building material, the tomb was excavated in 1938 and 1958 by Professor A. E. van Giffen, who restored it in 1959 as a demonstration model. The northwestern half was reconstructed with its earth mound using stones partly taken from ruined hunebed D33, while the southeastern half was left in skeletal form.