The resulting digital reconstruction was not only visually educating, but there also was actual scientific knowledge gained from the reconstruction. Most of the megalithic tombs of the Funnel Beaker culture are oriented east-west, the Düwelsteene fit roughly in this alignement. With the reconstruction of the tomb, the orientation was compared to how the tomb is oriented today and a possible displacement was detected.
Through the comparison of the orthographic floorplan of the current megalithic grave structure with the 3D reconstruction model it was possible to detect a change in the alignment of the grave that occurred during the restoration work. The megalithic tomb was rotated around 3 to 4 degrees down further along the north axis when it was restored in 1932. The current rotation of the Düwelsteene is 39 degrees off the northern axis.
Possible changes of alignement of the Düwelsteene after restoration in 1932
Comparing the axis to the reconstruction shows that the megalithic tomb was rotated slightly more towards the north-south axis. While this is not a major difference, it still is informative and important for research concerning astronomical alignments of megalithic tombs, even if conclusive results are still forthcoming.
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