Dolmens (in Korean: koindol or chisongmyo) are simple structures made of monolithic stones erected during the late Neolithic period or Korean Bronze Age (1st millennium BCE). In ancient Korea they appear most often near villages and the archaeological finds buried within them imply that they were constructed as tombs for elite members of the community. Over 200,000 megalithic structures have been recorded in Korea with 90% of them in South Korea where they have the status of protected monuments. Most of the stones used are massive with the largest example found being 5.5 metres wide and 7.1 metres tall, and many weigh over 70 tons.

Table Dolmen, Ganghwa, Korea by Hairwizard91 (CC BY-SA)

Geographical Spread

Archaeological evidence illustrates that Bronze Age culture spread down into the Korean peninsula from Manchuria, especially the Sungari and Liao River basins. Mixing with the indigenous Neolithic population, this new culture likely created a societal elite which was responsible for and was honoured by the erection of dolmen tombs. The presence on the Korean islands of Jeju and Ganghwa and areas of Japan of similar dolmens suggests that the cultural wave did not stop at the Korean mainland but also crossed the relatively narrow straits to the Japanese islands.

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While dolmens usually occur as a single isolated monument, there are 'cemeteries' in the south which consist of 30-100 examples in close proximity.

Design

The dolmen structures can take three different forms and precise configurations differ depending on the region. The first type, more common in the north of the peninsula (across the Han River), is the 'table' or takcha form where one large stone rests horizontally on two or more upright stones often arranged in a square. The second type, known as paduk, has one large flat stone set on top of a mound of smaller stones. The third type, seen more often in the south, has a single large stone laid flat above a small rectangular buried tomb which is lined with stone slabs and usually measuring 2000 x 30 cm. Alternatively, the tomb may consist of a simpler jar burial, perhaps for a child. The first type of dolmen most often occurs in isolation while the others are sometimes found set in rows or groups.

An explanation for the design of dolmens is suggested by the historian Jinwung Kim as follows:

The appearance of dolmen tombs is unique. The round, flat capstone presumably symbolised heaven and the square upright stones represented the earth; people at the time believed that the souls of their chieftains reposed where heaven and earth met. (8)

Outstanding examples of ancient Korean dolmens are the table-type structures on Ganghwa Island which date to c. 1000 BCE in the Korean Bronze Age. Single standing stones (menhirs), unrelated to a burial context and perhaps used as marker stones, are also found across Korea.

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Dolmen, Gochang, Korea by Kussy (CC BY-SA)

Excavation