A dolmen, also known as a portal tomb, portal grave or quoit, is a type of single-chamber
megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more upright stones supporting a large
flat horizontal capstone, although there are also more complex variants. Most date from
the early Neolithic period. Dolmens were typically covered with earth or smaller stones to form
a barrow. In many instances, that covering has weathered away, leaving only the stone
"skeleton" of the burial mound intact. It remains unclear when, why, and by whom
the earliest dolmens were made. The oldest known dolmens are in Western Europe, where
they were set in place around 7000 years ago. Archaeologists still do not know who erected
these dolmens, which makes it difficult to know why they did it. They are generally all
regarded as tombs or burial chambers, despite the absence of clear evidence for this. Human
remains, sometimes accompanied by artifacts, have been found in or close to the dolmens
which could be scientifically dated. However, it has been impossible to prove that these
archaeological remains date from the time when the stones were originally set in place.
Etymology The word dolmen has a confused history. The
word entered archaeology when Théophile Corret de la Tour d'Auvergne used it to describe
megalithic tombs in his Origines gauloises using the spelling dolmin. The OED does not
mention "dolmin" in English and gives its first citation for "dolmen" from a book on
Brittany in 1859, describing the word as "The French term, used by some English authors,
for a cromlech ...". The name was supposedly derived from a Breton language term meaning
"stone table" but doubt has been cast on this, and the OED describes its origin as "Modern
French". A book on Cornish antiquities from 1754 said that the current term in the Cornish
language for a cromlech was tolmen and the OED says that "There is reason to think that
this was the term inexactly reproduced by Latour d'Auvergne [sic] as dolmen, and misapplied
by him and succeeding French archaeologists to the cromlech". Nonetheless it has now replaced
cromlech as the usual English term in archaeology, when the more technical and descriptive alternatives
are not used. The etymology of the German Hünenbett or
Hünengrab and Dutch Hunebed all evoke the image of giants building the structures. Of
other Celtic languages, cromlech derives from Welsh and quoit is commonly used in Cornwall.
Anta is the term used in Portugal and Galicia, Spain. Dös or dyss is used in Sweden. Since
all the names come from languages used long after the dolmens were erected, they do not
indicate the intentions of the civilisations that constructed them.
Dolmens are known by a variety of names in other languages, including dolmain, cromlech,
anta, Hünengrab/Hünenbett, Adamra, Ispun, Hunebed, dysse, dös, goindol, and "גַלעֵד"
Types Great dolmen
Passage grave Polygonal dolmen
Rectangular, enlarged or extended dolmen Simple dolmen
Dolmen sites
Asia Korea
The largest concentration of dolmen in the world is found on the Korean peninsula. With
an estimated 35,000 dolmen, Korea alone accounts for nearly 40% of the world’s total.
The largest distribution of these is on the west coast area of South Korea, an area that
would eventually become host to the Mahan confederacy and be united under the rule of
the ancient kingdom of Baekje at one time. Three specific UNESCO World Heritage sites
at Gochang, Hwasun and Ganghwa by themselves account for over 1,000 dolmen.
The Korean word for dolmen is goindol. Serious studies of the Korean megalithic monuments
were not undertaken until relatively recently, well after much research had already been
conducted on dolmen in other regions of the world. After 1945, new research is being conducted
by Korean scholars. Korean dolmen exhibit a morphology distinct
from the Atlantic European dolmen. In 1981 a curator of Seoul's National Museum
of Korea, Gon-Gil Ji, classified Korean dolmen into two general types: northern and southern.
The boundary between them falls at the Bukhan River although examples of both types are
found on either side. Northern style dolmens stand above ground with a four sided chamber
and a megalithic roof, while southern style dolmens are normally built into the ground
and contain a stone chest or pit covered by a rock slab.
Korean dolmen can also be divided into three main types: the table type, the go-table type
and the unsupported capstone type. The dolmen in Ganghwa is a northern-type, table-shaped
dolmen and is the biggest stone of this kind in South Korea, measuring 2.6 by 7.1 by 5.5
metres. There are many sub-types and different styles. Southern type dolmen are associated
with burials but the reason for building northern style dolmen is uncertain.
Due to the vast numbers and great variation in styles, no absolute chronology of Korean
dolmen has yet been established. It is generally accepted that the Korean megalithic culture
emerged from the late Neolithic age, during which agriculture developed on the peninsula,
and flourished throughout the Bronze Age. Thus, it is estimated that the Korean dolmen
were built in the first millennium BC. How and why Korea has produced so many dolmen
are still poorly understood. There is no current conclusive theory on the origin of Korea's
megalithic culture, and so it is difficult to determine the true cultural character of
Korean dolmen. A few northern style dolmens are found in Manchuria and the Shandong Peninsula.
Off the peninsula, similar specimens can be found in smaller numbers, but they are often
considerably larger than the Korean dolmen. It is a mystery why this culture flourished
so extensively only on the Korean peninsula and its vicinity in Northeast Asia.
India
There are also dolmens in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu in South
India. Andhra Pradesh
In Andhra Pradesh, prehistoric monuments abounding a cluster of hillocks of Pandavulametta, Sangamayya
Konda, Amudalavalasa and Sailada are located just about 14 km from the district headquarters
of Srikakulam. Pandavulametta has remnants of prehistoric structures like Dolmen, Menhir,
cave, caverns and cisterns. The most distinct of them is the big dolmen chamber erected
on the northern slopes of the Pandavulametta hillock. Legends abound and local villagers
call it Pandavula Illu and believe that Pandava brothers stayed there and Bhima, one of them,
had built these rock structures and lifted the huge cap stone with one hand and kept
on the top of the dolmen! But for archaeologists dolmen used to be megalith burial chamber
meant for funeral rites Karnataka
In Karnataka more than 50 Dolmens are identified on top of Pandavara Betta about 7 km away
from Somwarpet towards Shaniwar Sante in Madikeri District.
Tamil Nadu In Tamil Nadu more than 100 Dolmens are identified
in the Moral Pari near Mallachandram located 19 km from Krishnagiri district, Tamil Nadu.
Eurasia Circassia
Over 3,000 dolmens and other structures can be found in the North-Western Caucasus region
in Russia, where more and more dolmens are discovered in the mountains each year.
Middle East Dolmens are also found in Israel, Syria and
Jordan. Numerous large dolmens can be viewed in the Israeli National park at Gamla.
There are many examples of flint dolmens in the historical villages of Johfiyeh and Natifah
in northern Jordan. The greatest number of dolmens are around Madaba, like the ones at
Al Faiha village, 10 km to the west of Madaba city see Madaba dolmens on YouTube. Two dolmens
are in Hisbone, and the most have been found at Zarqa Ma'in at Al-Murayghat, which are
being destroyed by gravel quarries see where have all the dolmens gone? on YouTube .
Africa Horn of Africa
In northern Somalia, the town of Aw Barkhadle, named in honour of the 13th century scholar
and saint Yusuf bin Ahmad al-Kawneyn, is surrounded by a number of ancient structures. Among these
are dolmens, burial mounds, menhirs, and stelae. North Africa
In northern Tunisia, Dougga is an important ancient site, which contains a necropolis
with dolmens. The settlement also features a sanctuary dedicated to Ba'al Hammon, neo-Punic
stelae, the mausoleum, architectural fragments, and a temple dedicated to Masinissa, the remains
of which were found during archaeological excavations.
Europe
Megalithic tombs are found from the Baltic Sea and North Sea coasts south to Spain and
Portugal. Hunebedden are chamber tombs similar to dolmens and date to the middle Neolithic.
They consist of a kerb surrounding an oval mound, which covered a rectangular chamber
of stones with the entrance on one of the long sides. Some have a more complex layout
and include an entrance passage giving them a T-shape. It has been suggested that this
means they are related to the passage graves found in Denmark and elsewhere.
Dolmen sites fringe the Irish Sea and are found in south-east Ireland, Wales, Devon
and Cornwall. In Ireland, however, more dolmens are found on the west coast, particularly
in the Burren—and Connemara, which includes some of the better-known examples, such as
Poulnabrone dolmen. Examples, such as the Annadorn dolmen, have also been found in northern
Ireland, where they may have co-existed with the court cairn tombs.
Many examples appear on the Channel Islands of Jersey and Guernsey, such as La Pouquelaye
de Faldouet, La Sergenté, and La Hougue des Géonnais. The term Houge derives from the
Old Norse word haugr, meaning a mound or barrow. The most famous of these sites is La Hougue
Bie, a 6,000 year old neolithic site that sits inside a large mound; later a chapel
was built on the top of the mound. Amongst the vast Neolithic collections of
the Carnac stones in Brittany, France, several dozen dolmens are found. And all around the
country, several dolmens still stand, such as the ones of Passebonneau and des Gorces
near Saint-Benoît-du-Sault. Various menhirs and dolmens are located around
the Mediterranean islands of Malta and Gozo. Pottery uncovered in these structures allowed
the attribution of the monuments to the Tarxien cemetery culture of the Early Bronze Age.
This later culture is not to be confused with the Neolithic inhabitants of Malta, who built
the Tarxien Temples circa 3100 BC. In France, important megalithic zones are
situated in Brittany, Vendée, Quercy and in the south of France. More than 10,000 dolmens
and menhirs cover a large part of the country. Importants menhirs alignments in Brittany
In Spain dolmens can be found in Galicia, Basque Country and Navarre and the basque
name for theme is Trikuharri or Jentiletxe, Catalonia, Andalusia and Extremadura.
Dolmens can be found across Portugal, from simple ones to the more complex examples of
megalithic architecture, such as the Almendres Cromlech or the Anta Grande do Zambujeiro.
In Mecklenburg and Pomerania/Pomorze in and, Drenthe, large numbers of these graves were
disturbed when harbours, towns, and cities were built. The boulders were used in construction
and road building. Others, such as the Harhoog, in Sylt, were moved to new locations. There
are still many thousands left today in Europe. In Italy dolmens can be found in Apulia, Sardinia
and in Sicily where they are located in Mura Pregne, Sciacca, Monte Bubbonia, Butera, Cava
Lazzaro, Cava dei Servi, Avola.
In Turkey, there are some dolmens in the Regions of Lalapasa and Suloglu in the Province of
Edirne and the Regions of KOfcaz, Kirklareli and Demirkoy in the Province of Kirklareli,
in the Eastern Thrace. They have been studied by Prof. Dr. Engin Beksaç, since 2004. And
also, some of so-called monuments are in the different regions of Anatolia, in Turkey.
There are interesting dolmens in the regions related to the Sakar and Rhodope and Strandzha
Mountains in Bulgaria. The largest dolmen in Europe is the Brownshill
Dolmen in County Carlow, Ireland. Its capstone weighs about 150 tonnes.
Lanyon Quoit is a dolmen in Cornwall, 2 miles southeast of Morvah. It stands next to the
road leading from Madron to Morvah. The capstone rested at 7 feet high with dimensions of 9
feet by 17.5 feet weighing 13.5 tons. See also
References
Further reading Trifonov, V., 2006. Russia's megaliths: unearthing
the lost prehistoric tombs of Caucasian warlords in the Zhane valley. St.Petersburg: The Institute
for Study of Material Culture History, Russian Academy of Sciences. Available from [1]
Kudin, M., 2001. Dolmeni i ritual. Dolmen Path – Russian Megaliths. Available from
[2] Knight, Peter. Ancient Stones of Dorset, 1996.
External links World heritage site of dolmen in Korea
The Megalithic Portal and Megalith Map Dolmen Museum in Italian and English
Goindol: Dolmen of Korea Research Centre of Dolmens in Northeast Asia
Poulnabrone Dolmen in the Burren, County Clare, Ireland
Dolmen sites in Korea PDF on UNESCO's World Heritage List.
Jersey Heritage Trust Dolmen Pictures by Robert Triest.