Search results
A dolmen is a type of megalithic tomb with a flat capstone supported by upright stones. Learn about the origin and meaning of the word dolmen, and how it is used in different languages and regions of the world.
Dolmens are also known from parts of Africa and Asia. More than 30,000 such monuments, making up some two-fifths of the world’s total, are in Korea alone, and in 2000 three of the Korean dolmen sites—at Koch’ang (Gochang), Hwasun, and Kanghwa (Ganghwa) in South Korea—were designated UNESCO World Heritage sites.
- Vicki Cummings
- Naming
- Preliminary Investigations
- Dating
- Principal Characteristics
- GeneratedCaptionsTabForHeroSec
Megalithic architecture, specifically the construction of sanctuaries and tombs using enormous blocks of stone, occupies an important position in the cultural experience of Prehistory. The word dolmen, which derives from Breton t(d)aol meaning table and men or min meaning stone, appears in the scientific debate around the end of the 1700s CE. Until...
In the second half of the 1800s CE, the publication of the first European map of the known megalithic localities highlighted so many coincidences that it led to the belief that they were the work of one unique population. Therefore it seemed justifiable to consider the “megalithic phenomena” an unusual cultural manifestation of the Near East and do...
The perfection of absolute dating systems, thanks to the 14C radio-carbon method, put an end to this thesis once and for all. It was proven that the oldest megalithic tombs originated in central/northern Europe. Breton dolmens date back to 4500 BCE (earlier, therefore, than the Egyptian pyramids, Mesopotamian ziggurats and the great Cretan and Myce...
The most elementary configuration of the dolmen is trilithic: a horizontal slab of stone placed on top of two vertically positioned stones in order to form a construction where the structural elements frame a quadrangular space. Such forms can be found just about anywhere, in Iceland, Scotland, England, North Germany, France, Spain, Scandinavia, De...
A dolmen is a megalithic structure formed from a horizontal stone slab resting on two or more upright slabs. Learn about the origin, distribution, and characteristics of dolmens in Europe, Asia, and Africa, and their possible functions as burial chambers or cult sites.
- Salvatore Piccolo
Aug 23, 2024 · Each stone of the Menga Dolmen is many times bigger than Stonehenge’s megaliths. A new study shows how a 5,600-year-old monument in what’s now Spain was erected.
Learn how the ancient builders of Menga, one of the largest megaliths in Europe, used advanced knowledge of geology, physics, geometry, and astronomy to construct a colossal monument over 6,000 years ago. Discover how they transported, placed, and wedged huge stones with millimeter precision and solved complex problems of stress distribution.
Dolmen of Menga is a large megalithic burial mound in Spain, dating from 3750–3650 BCE. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Antequera Dolmens Site" and has a link to a nearby cave with Neolithic paintings.
A dolmen is a type of megalithic tomb with a flat capstone supported by upright stones, dating from the early Neolithic period. Learn about the etymology, architecture, significance, and distribution of dolmens in Europe and Asia, with examples and images.
