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A dolmen, () or portal tomb, is a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more upright supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from the Late Neolithic period (40003000 BCE) and were sometimes covered with earth or smaller stones to form a tumulus (burial mound). Small pad-stones may be wedged between the cap and supporting stones to achieve a level appearance. In many instances, the covering has eroded away, leaving only the stone "skeleton".
In Sumba (Indonesia), dolmens are still commonly built (about 100 dolmens each year) for collective graves according to lineage. The traditional village of Wainyapu has some 1,400 dolmens.
In Irish Gaelic, dolmens are called .
Danish language and , , , and . Granja is used in Portugal and Galicia. The forms anta and ganda also appear. In Catalan language, they are known simply as dolmen, but also by a variety of folk names, including cova ('cave'), caixa ('crate' or 'coffin'),Alcover, Antoni M.; Moll, Francesc de B. "caixa" (in Catalan). In: Diccionari català-valencià-balear. Palma: Moll, 1930–1962. . taula ('table'),Alcover, Antoni M.; Moll, Francesc de B. "taula" (in Catalan). In: Diccionari català-valencià-balear. Palma: Moll, 1930–1962. . arca ('chest'), cabana ('hut'), barraca ('hut'), llosa ('slab'), llosa de jaça ('pallet slab'),Alcover, Antoni M.; Moll, Francesc de B. "llosa de jaça" (in Catalan). In: Diccionari català-valencià-balear. Palma: Moll, 1930–1962. . roca ('rock') or pedra ('stone'), usually combined with a second part such as de l'alarb ('of the Arab'), del/de moro/s ('of the Moor/s'),Alcover, Antoni M.; Moll, Francesc de B. "cova" (in Catalan). In: Diccionari català-valencià-balear. Palma: Moll, 1930–1962. . del lladre ('of the thief'), del dimoni ('of the devil'), d'en Rotllà/Rotllan/Rotlan/Roldan ('of Roland'). In the Basque Country, they are attributed to the , a race of giants.
The etymology of the and – with Hüne /hune meaning 'giant' – all evoke the image of giants buried (bett/bed/grab = 'bed/grave') there. Of other Celtic languages, Welsh language cromlech was borrowed into English and quoit is commonly used in English in Cornwall.
Early in the 20th century, before the advent of scientific dating, Harold Peake proposed that the dolmens of western Europe were evidence of cultural diffusion from the eastern Mediterranean. This "prospector theory" surmised that Aegean-origin prospectors had moved westward in search of metal ores, starting before 2200 BCE, and had carried with them the concept of megalithic architecture.
Dolmens in the Levant belong to a different, unrelated tradition to that of Europe, although they are often treated "as part of a trans-regional phenomenon that spanned the Taurus Mountains to the Arabian Peninsula." In the Levant, they are of Early Bronze rather than Late Neolithic age. They are mostly found along the Jordan Rift Valley's eastern escarpment, and in the hills of the Galilee, in clusters near Early Bronze I Proto-city (3700–3000 BCE), additionally restricted by geology to areas allowing the quarrying of slabs of megalithic size. In the Levant, geological constraints led to a local burial tradition with a variety of tomb forms, dolmens being one of them.
They are mainly distributed along the West Sea coastal area and on large rivers from the Liaoning region of China (the Liaodong Peninsula) to Jeollanam-do. In North Korea, they are concentrated around the Taedong River and Chaeryong River. In South Korea, they are found in dense concentrations in river basins, such as the Han and , and in the west coast area (Boryeong in South Chungcheong Province, Buan County in North Jeolla Province, and Jeollanam-do. They are mainly found on sedimentary plains, where they are grouped in rows parallel to the direction of the river or stream. Those found in hilly areas are grouped in the direction of the hill.
Apart from the dolmens of Stone Age, several dolmens of Iron Age exist in this region especially on the left side of river Pambar as is evident from the usage of neatly dressed granite slabs for the dolmens. At least one of them has a perfectly circular hole of 28 cm diameter inside the underground chamber. This region has several types of dolmens. Large number of them are overground with about 70–90 cm height. Another type has a height 140–170 cm. There is an overground dolmen with double length up to 350 cm. Fragments of burial urns are also available in the region near the dolmens. This indicates that the dolmens with 70–90 cm height were used for burial of the remains of people of high social status. Burial urns were used for the burial of the remains of commoners. The dolmens with raised roofs might have been used for habitation of people. Why some people lived in the cemeteries has not been satisfactorily explained.
Western Europe
The oldest dolmens found in Western Europe are roughly 7,000 years old. Although archaeological evidence is unclear regarding their creators, the structures are often associated with tombs or burial chambers. Human remains, sometimes accompanied by artefacts, have been found in proximity of dolmen sites. While the remains can by analyzed with radiocarbon dating, it is difficult to confirm whether said remains coincide with the date the stones were originally set in place.Lewis, S. (2009) Guide to the Menhirs and other Megaliths of Central Brittany, Nezert Books,
Middle East
Dolmens can be found in the Levant, some along the Jordan Rift Valley (Upper Galilee in Israel, the Golan Heights, Megalithic Structures in the Golan and the Galilee Reveal Rock Art of a Mysterious Ancient Culture, Friends of the Israel Antiquities Authority, New York,12 July 2020. Accessed 12 Nov 2023. Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and southeast Turkey.James A. Fraser, Dolmens in the Levant, 1st ed., 2018: "Description". Routledge homepage. Access 12 Nov 2023.
Korea
Dolmens were built in Korea from the Bronze Age to the early Iron Age, with about 40,000 to be found throughout the peninsula. In 2000, the dolmen groups of Jukrim-ri and Dosan-ri in Gochang County, Hyosan-ri and Daesin-ri in Hwasun County, and Bujeong-ri, Samgeori and Osang-ri in Ganghwa Island gained World Cultural Heritage status. (See Gochang, Hwasun and Ganghwa Dolmen Sites.)
India
Marayoor, Kerala
Also called Muniyaras, these dolmens belong to the Iron Age. These dolmenoids were burial chambers made of four stones placed on edge and covered by a fifth stone called the cap stone. Some of these Dolmenoids contain several burial chambers, while others have a quadrangle scooped out in laterite and lined on the sides with granite slabs. These are also covered with cap stones. Dozens of dolmens around the area of old Siva temple (Thenkasinathan Temple) at Kovilkadavu on the banks of the River Pambar and also around the area called Pius nagar, and rock paintings on the south-western slope of the plateau overlooking the river have attracted visitors.
Types
See also
Works cited
Further reading
(2025). 9780956510624, Brazen Head Publishing. ISBN 9780956510624
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