Dolmen (redirected from portal tomb)

dolmen (dŏl`mĕn, dōl–) [Breton,=stone table], burial chamber consisting of two or more upright stone slabs supporting a capstone or table, typical of the Neolithic period in Europe. See megalithic monuments.

---

dolmen

Dolmen at Pentre Evan, Dyfed, Wales

(credit: Crown Copyright: Cadw: Welsh Historic Monuments)

Prehistoric monument usually consisting of several large stone slabs set edgewise in the earth to support a flat stone roof, all covered by a mound of earth that in most cases has weathered away. Designed as a burial chamber, the structure is typical of the Neolithic Period in Europe. Dolmens, though found as far east as Japan, are mainly confined to western Europe and northern Africa. See also megalith; menhir.

---

dolmen

1. (in British archaeology) a Neolithic stone formation, consisting of a horizontal stone supported by several vertical stones, and thought to be a tomb

2. (in French archaeology) any megalithic tomb

---

dolmen, table stone

A prehistoric tomb of standing stones, usually capped with a large horizontal slab.

---

Dolmen 

an ancient burial structure, one of the types of megalithic structures. Dolmens were built from huge stone slabs weighing tens of thousands of kilograms placed vertically and supporting one or several flat slabs. They were one of the first examples of integral architectural composition based on the laws of architectonics. Dolmens usually contained the remains of several dead with stone or bronze weapons and ornaments. Some dolmens were used for burials over a few decades or even centuries. It is assumed that they were originally constructed for the burial of tribal elders. According to another hypothesis, they initially served as tribal sanctuaries and only later were converted into burial places. Dolmens are widespread in the coastal regions of Europe, North Africa, and Asia. In the USSR they are found along the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus and in the Crimea. In Europe and North Africa dolmens date from the Bronze Age; in India and Japan, from the Iron Age; and in the Caucasus, from the Early and Middle Bronze Age (the second and third millennia B.C.), with some built as late as the first millennium B.C.

REFERENCES

Kuftin, B. A. MaterialykarkheologiiKolkhidy, vol. 1. Tbilisi, 1949. Lavrov, L. I. “Dol’meny severo-zapadnogo Kavkaza.” In Tr. Aokhazkogo instituta iazyka, literatury i istorii, vol. 31. Sukhumi, 1960.
Childe, V. G. U istokov evropeiskoi tsivilizatsii. Moscow, 1952. (Translated from English.)
Vseobshchaia istoriia arkhitektury, vol. 1. Moscow, 1944. Pages 24-25.

A. L. MONGAIT