Dolmen Sites

Dolmens are megalithic funerary monuments, which are numerous in Asia, Europe, and North Africa. Korea has the greatest number of any country. Dolmens usually consist of two or more undressed stone slabs supporting a huge capstone. It is generally accepted that they were simple burial chambers, erected over the bodies or bones of Neolithic and Bronze Age worthies. These are of great archaeological value for the information that they provide about the prehistoric peoples who built them and their social and political systems, beliefs and rituals, arts and ceremonies, etc.

The Korean dolmens constitute what is probably the largest and is certainly the most representative assemblage of these exceptional examples of prehistoric culture in East Asia. The Kochang, Hwasun, and Kanghwa sites contain the highest density and greatest variety of dolmens in Korea, and indeed of any country.

They also preserve important evidence of how the stones were quarried, trannsported, and raised and of how dolmen types changed over time in Northeast Asia.

Kochang Dolmen Site (8.38ha)
The Chungnim-ri dolmens, the largest and most diversified group, center on the village of Maesan. Most of them are located at altitudes of 15-50m along the southern foot of the hills that run east to west. The capstones of the dolmens here are 1-5.8m in length and can weigh 10-300 tons. A total of 442 dolmens have been recorded, of various types, based on the shape of the capstone.

Hwasun Dolmen Site (31ha)
Like those in the Kochang group, the Hwasun dolmens are located on the slopes of low ranges of hills, along the Chiseokgang River. Individual dolmens in this area are less intact than those in Kochang. The Hyosan-ri group is estimated to comprise 158 monuments and the Taesin-ri group 129. In a number of cases the stone outcrops from which the stones making up the dolmens were quarried can be identified.

Kanghwa Dolmen Sites (12.27ha)
These sites are on the offshore island of Kanghwa, once again on mountain slopes. They tend to be higher than those in the other sites and stylistically early, notably those at Bugun-ri and Gochon-ri.