A dolmen is a prehistoric megalithic structure of two or more upright supporting stones bearing one or more large capstones, together forming a stone chamber that usually served as a tomb. The word comes from Breton (taol = table, men = stone), meaning “stone table”.
Construction
A dolmen is built of rough, unworked natural stones:
- Supporting stones — two or more heavy upright stones form the chamber walls
- Capstone — one or more massive flat stones rest on top as a roof slab
- Earthen mound — many dolmens were originally covered by a tumulus of soil or smaller stones
- Entrance — sometimes provided with a passage or vestibule
The stones were stacked without mortar; their weight and fit alone have kept them in place for millennia.
Age and distribution
Dolmens date from the Neolithic (New Stone Age), roughly between 4500 and 2000 BC. They occur across large parts of Europe, North Africa and Asia:
- France — Brittany has hundreds of dolmens
- Ireland and Britain — famous for cromlechs and portal tombs
- Iberian Peninsula — especially in Portugal
- The Netherlands — the Hunebedden in Drenthe are the regional variant
Function
Dolmens were built by early farming communities, probably as collective tombs for a family or tribe. Finds of human remains, pottery and grave goods point to ceremonial burials. The size of the stones — sometimes weighing tens of tonnes — shows the organisational capacity of these societies.
Related terms
- Hunebed
- Megalith
- Cromlech
- Mastaba
- Tumulus
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