4.5 A second primary grave?
Another pit was discovered to the south-east of the burial. The pit was lined with stones, one of these can be seen standing upright in one of the photographs (Holwerda 1908, pl.I-1). Holwerda claims that this stone was partially weathered, although re-examination of this stone at the museum does not indicate any such weathering. The stone is weathered on one side and less on the other. It is clear that the stone (e1908/1.24; dimensions: L. 59 cm x W. 27 cm x T. 16 cm, weighing 41 kg), stood on the side of the pit, yet how far it protruded above the old surface is difficult to say. The other stones with which the pit was lined were not collected. The dimensions of the pit can be estimated at 0.5 m by 1.5 m, although the depth of the pit is unknown. Holwerda mentions that the feature contained the unrecognisable remains of some decomposed matter. Whether we are dealing with another grave pit containing the completely decomposed remains of an inhumation, or a pit, perhaps unrelated to the barrow, containing some other type of material is unclear. Grave pits lined with stones do occur in Late Neolithic contexts (e.g. Eext Kerkweg tumulus 3, Lanting 1973, 270-271; Diever, tumulus 1, Lanting 2008, 173-177).