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A dolmen (/ˈdɒlmɛn/), or portal tomb, 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.^[1] In many instances, the covering has eroded away, leaving only the stone "skeleton".

The oldest dolmens found in Western 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 with radiocarbon dating, it is difficult to confirm whether said remains coincide with the date the stones were originally set in place.^[15]

Early in the 20th century, before the advent of scientific dating, Harold Peake proposed that the dolmens of western Europe were evidence of cultural 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.^[16]

Dolmens can be found in the Levant, some along the Jordan Rift Valley (Upper Galilee in Israel, Palestine, the Golan Heights,^[17] Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and southeast Turkey.^[18][19]

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 the Taurus Mountains to the Arabian Peninsula."^[18] In the Levant, they are of Early Bronze rather than Late Neolithic age.^[18] They are mostly found along the Jordan Rift Valley's eastern escarpment, and in the hills of the Galilee, in clusters near Early Bronze I proto-urban settlements (3700–3000 BCE), additionally restricted by geology to areas allowing the quarrying of slabs of megalithic size.^[18] In the Levant, geological constraints led to a local burial tradition with a variety of tomb forms, dolmens being one of them.^[18]

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.^[20] In 2000 the dolmen groups of Jukrim-ri and Dosan-ri in Gochang, Hyosan-ri and Daesin-ri in Hwasun, and Bujeong-ri, Samgeori and Osang-ri in Ganghwa gained World Cultural Heritage status.^[20][21][22] (See Gochang, Hwasun and Ganghwa Dolmen Sites.)

The tens of thousands of dolmens on the Korean Peninsula account for approximately 40% of the world's total;^[23] the Gochang, Hwasun, and Ganghwa dolmen sites possess over 1,000 dolmens and feature the highest concentrations of dolmens anywhere in the world.^[21]

These are mainly distributed along the West Sea coastal area and on large rivers from the Liaoning region of China (the Liaodong Peninsula) to Jeollanam-do. In North Korea, they are concentrated around the Taedong and Jaeryeong Rivers. In South Korea, they are found in dense concentrations in river basins, such as the Han and Nakdong Rivers, and in the west coast area (Boryeong in South Chungcheong Province, Buan in North Jeolla Province, and Jeollanam-do.^[20] They are mainly found on sedimentary plains, where they are grouped in rows parallel to the direction of the river or stream.^[20] Those found in hilly areas are grouped in the direction of the hill.^[20]

In Sumba (Indonesia), dolmens are still commonly built (about 100 dolmens each year) for collective graves according to lineage. The traditional village of Wainyapu has some 1,400 dolmens.^[25]

• Great dolmen – Type of dolmen in Nordic megalith architecture
• Inuksuk – Inuit built stone landmark or cairn
• Polygonal dolmen – Type of dolmen with five to nine supporting stones
• Rectangular dolmen – Rectangular, enlarged or extended dolmen
• Simple dolmen – Early form of dolmen or megalithic tomb

• 
  Trethevy Quoit – one of the best-preserved in Cornwall, UK dated to around 3500–2500 BCE
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  Chûn Quoit in Cornwall, UK, about 2400 BCE
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  Lanyon Quoit in Cornwall, UK, 3500–2500 BCE
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  A dolmen erected by Neolithic people in Marayur, Kerala, India.
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  Dolmens of Marayoor, India.
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  A southern-style dolmen at Ganghwa Island, South Korea
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  The biggest dolmen near Hwasun, South Korea
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  The dolmen Er-Roc'h-Feutet in Carnac, Brittany, France
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  Crucuno dolmen in Plouharnel, Brittany, France
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  Kilclooney More dolmen near Ardara, County Donegal, Ireland
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  Lancken-Granitz dolmen, Germany
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  T-shaped Hunebed D27 in Borger-Odoorn, Netherlands
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  Dólmen da Aboboreira, Baião, Portugal
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  Dolmen of Avola, Sicily
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  Dolmen of Bisceglie, Apulia
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  Dolmen of Fasano, Apulia
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  Tinkinswood, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, around 3000 BCE
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  Dolmen of Oleiros, Galicia
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  Dolmen Sa Coveccada, Mores, Sardinia
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  Circassia
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  Bulgaria
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  Keriaval Dolmen, Carnac, Brittany, France

• Cooney, Gabriel (2023). Death in Irish Prehistory. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. ISBN 978-1-8020-5009-7.
• Holcombe, Charles (2011). A History of East Asia: From the Origins of Civilization to the Twenty-First Century. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521515955.
• Knight, Peter (1996). Ancient Stones of Dorset. Power Publications. ISBN 978-1898073123.
• Piccolo, Salvatore; Woodhouse, Jean (2013). Ancient Stones: The Prehistoric Dolmens of Sicily. Brazen Head Publishing. ISBN 978-0956510624.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dolmen.

Look up dolmen in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• World heritage site of dolmen in Korea
• The Megalithic Portal and Megalith Map
• "Dolmen (Goindol) sites in Korea". on UNESCO's World Heritage List.
• Jersey Heritage Trust