Dolmen
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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"With the growth of communities, social organization, and trade and industry, monumental stone structures appear. Dolmens (dol, table, and men, stone), tombs or monuments to the dead, consisted of several stones set on end with a covering slab, hence the name. Single megaliths, menhirs (men, stone, hir, long), at times seventy feet high, were set up on end individually, or were arranged in long rows, as at Carnac in Brittany. Their purpose, though not clear, may have had to do with a cult of the dead or the worship of the sun." --Gardner's Art Through the Ages (1926) by Helen Gardner |
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A dolmen is a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more upright megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from the Late Neolithic period (4000 - 3000 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".
See also
- Antequera Dolmens Site
- Gochang, Hwasun and Ganghwa Dolmen Sites
- Irish megalithic tombs
- Kistvaen
- List of dolmens
- List of megalithic sites
- Megalithic art
- Neolithic Europe
- Nordic megalith architecture
- Rujm el-Hiri
- Taula
