Adolmen (/ˈdɒlmɛn/), orportal tomb, is a type of single-chambermegalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more uprightmegaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from theLate Neolithic period (4000–3000BCE) and were sometimes covered with earth or smaller stones to form atumulus (burial mound). Small pad-stones may be wedged between the cap and supporting stones to achieve a level appearance.[1] In many instances, the covering has eroded away, leaving only the stone "skeleton".
InSumba (Indonesia), dolmens are still commonly built (about 100 dolmens each year) for collective graves according to lineage. The traditional village ofWainyapu has some 1,400 dolmens.[2]
The worddolmen entered archaeology whenThéophile Corret de la Tour d'Auvergne used it to describe megalithic tombs in hisOrigines gauloises (1796) using the spellingdolmin (the current spelling was introduced about a decade later and had become standard in French by about 1885).[3][4] Some sources indicate that dolmen isBreton,[5] although theOxford English Dictionary (OED) describes its origin as "Modern French" and argues that de la Tour d'Auvergne used the Cornish word for a cromlech,tolmên, but misspelled it asdolmin,[6] and other sources refer to dolmen as a "continental term."[7]
Whatever the origin, dolmen has replacedcromlech as the usual English term in archaeology, when the more technical and descriptive alternatives are not used. The later Cornish term wasquoit – an English-language word for an object with a hole through the middle preserving the original Cornish language term oftolmen – the name of another dolmen-like monument isMên-an-Tol 'stone with hole' (Standard Written Form:Men An Toll.)[8]
Danish andNorwegian:dysse,Swedish:dös,Korean:고인돌,romanized: goindol (go-in = 'propped' + dol = 'stone'), andHebrew:גַלעֵד.Granja is used inPortugal andGalicia.[10] The formsanta andganda also appear. InCatalan-speaking areas, they are known simply asdolmen, but also by a variety of folk names, includingcova ('cave'),[11]caixa ('crate' or 'coffin'),[12]taula ('table'),[13]arca ('chest'),[11]cabana ('hut'),barraca ('hut'),llosa ('slab'),llosa de jaça ('pallet slab'),[14]roca ('rock') orpedra ('stone'), usually combined with a second part such asde l'alarb ('of the Arab'),[12]del/de moro/s ('of the Moor/s'),[12][15]del lladre ('of the thief'),del dimoni ('of the devil'),d'en Rotllà/Rotllan/Rotlan/Roldan ('ofRoland').[13][12] In theBasque Country, they are attributed to thejentilak, a race of giants.
Theetymology of theGerman:Hünenbett, Hünengrab andDutch:hunebed – withHüne/hune meaning 'giant' – all evoke the image ofgiants buried (bett/bed/grab = 'bed/grave') there. Of otherCeltic languages,Welshcromlech was borrowed into English andquoit is commonly used in English inCornwall.
The oldest dolmens found inWestern 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 be analyzed withradiocarbon dating, it is difficult to confirm whether said remains coincide with the date the stones were originally set in place.[16]
Early in the 20th century, before the advent of scientific dating,Harold Peake proposed that the dolmens of western Europe were evidence ofcultural 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.[17]
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 theTaurus Mountains to theArabian Peninsula."[19] In the Levant, they are ofEarly Bronze rather than Late Neolithic age.[19] They are mostly found along the Jordan Rift Valley's eastern escarpment, and in the hills of the Galilee, in clusters near Early Bronze Iproto-urban settlements (3700–3000 BCE), additionally restricted by geology to areas allowing the quarrying of slabs of megalithic size.[19] In the Levant, geological constraints led to a local burial tradition with a variety of tomb forms, dolmens being one of them.[19]
Dolmens (go-in-dol in Korean) were built in Korea from the Bronze Age to the early Iron Age, with about 40,000 to be found throughout the peninsula.[21] In 2000 the dolmen groups of Jukrim-ri and Dosan-ri inGochang, Hyosan-ri and Daesin-ri inHwasun, and Bujeong-ri, Samgeori and Osang-ri inGanghwa gained World Cultural Heritage status.[21][22][23] (SeeGochang, Hwasun and Ganghwa Dolmen Sites.)
The tens of thousands of dolmens on theKorean Peninsula account for approximately 40% of the world's total;[24] the Gochang, Hwasun, and Ganghwa dolmen sites possess over 1,000 dolmens and feature the highest concentrations of dolmens anywhere in the world.[22]
These are mainly distributed along the West Sea coastal area and on large rivers from the Liaoning region of China (theLiaodong Peninsula) toJeollanam-do. In North Korea, they are concentrated around theTaedong andJaeryeong Rivers. In South Korea, they are found in dense concentrations in river basins, such as theHan andNakdong Rivers, and in the west coast area (Boryeong in South Chungcheong Province,Buan in North Jeolla Province, and Jeollanam-do.[21] They are mainly found on sedimentary plains, where they are grouped in rows parallel to the direction of the river or stream.[21] Those found in hilly areas are grouped in the direction of the hill.[21]
Also called Muniyaras, these dolmens belong to theIron 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 theseDolmenoids 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.
Apart from the dolmens from the Stone Age, several dolmens from the Iron Age exist in this region, particularly on the left side of the Pambar River, as evidenced by the use of neatly dressed granite slabs for the dolmens. At least one of these dolmens features a perfectly circular hole with a diameter of 28 cm inside the underground chamber. This region contains various types of dolmens. A large number of them are above ground, with heights ranging from 70 to 90 cm. Another type has a height of 140 to 170 cm. There is also an above-ground dolmen with a double length of up to 350 cm. Fragments of burial urns can be found in the area near the dolmens, indicating that the dolmens with heights of 70 to 90 cm were used for the burial of individuals of high social status, while burial urns were used for the remains of commoners. The dolmens with raised roofs may have served as habitation for people. However, the reasons why some individuals lived in cemeteries have not been satisfactorily explained.
Murphy, Cornelius (1997).The Prehistoric Archaeology of the Beara Peninsula, Co. Cork. Department of Archaeology,University College Cork.[ISBN missing]
Holcombe, Charles (2011).A History of East Asia: From the Origins of Civilization to the Twenty-First Century. Cambridge University Press.ISBN978-0521515955.
Knight, Peter (1996).Ancient Stones of Dorset. Power Publications.ISBN978-1898073123.
Piccolo, Salvatore; Woodhouse, Jean (2013).Ancient Stones: The Prehistoric Dolmens of Sicily. Brazen Head Publishing.ISBN978-0956510624.
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