Hexenstein, Glacial erratic in Neerstedt, Germany

The Hexenstein is a single glacial erratic of reddish Scandinavian granite, mostly buried in the soil of an arable field between Dötlingen and Kirchhatten near Neerstedt. It rises 1.2 metres above the ground and measures 4.3 by 3.1 metres, with an estimated volume of 15 cubic metres and a weight of 39 tonnes. Its uneven surface carries three large and 47 smaller cup marks, a few millimetres to 2 cm deep.

The Hexenstein is a glacial erratic of reddish Scandinavian granite, most of it buried in a field; it rises 1.2 m above the ground and measures 4.3 by 3.1 m, with an estimated volume of 15 m³ and weight of 39 tonnes. Its surface carries three large and 47 smaller cup marks, a few millimetres to 2 cm deep, some arranged in groups of three or four, in pairs or in rows. Archaeologists usually date such cup-marked stones to the Bronze Age, though the exact age of these marks is unknown.

The name Hexenstein comes from legends: witches were said to fly from the stone to Bremen and back on St. John's Night, and the three deep cup marks were seen as traces of a witch's spinning wheel. Other tales say dwarfs lived beneath the stone and ate from the hollows. Archaeologists note the cups were ground deeper in recent times, possibly linked to rituals still said to be held on certain days.

The stone lies mostly buried in a ploughed field between Dötlingen and Kirchhatten, near Neerstedt and south of the Wehe forest. Only 1.2 metres of it rise above the soil, so approach across the field edge and look for the low, domed grey surface among the grass. Nearby lie the Gerichtsstätte megalithic tomb and the Dötlinger Steingrab.

The three deepest hollows were said to be the footprints of a witch's spinning wheel, left when witches flew from the stone to Bremen and back on St John's Night. Other tales place dwarfs beneath the block, eating from the hollows.