Vicki Cummings and Colin Richards write: This paper discusses a form of Neolithic monument found in Ireland and western Britain. We argue that these are a particular type of monument found specifically in Britain and Ireland. It is argued that ‘dolmens’ are a distinctive type of monument, where the key characteristic is the use of enormous capstones which were lifted up and displayed on smaller upright supporters. These monuments were not built in order to create a chamber area, but were displays of important stones and astonishing feats of engineering.
Considerable social prestige could be gained or lost through the construction of these monuments, and the paper details some examples which clearly ended in disaster.
Finally, this paper suggests that dolmen construction originated in France, amongst communities who had a long tradition of building with big stones. The idea that these monuments were part of a Neolithic package introduced into Britain some time around 4000 BC is also challenged.
In particular we describe some of the key elements of a larger and on-going research project which is investigating the construction of these monuments. The project, entitled ‘Building the Great Dolmens’, is exploring the construction of dolmens in a variety of different ways, including through excavation. This paper outlines the underlying ideas behind the project and some preliminary observations.
Read here:
https://www.academia.edu/10011202/ (Free registration required)
From Préhistoires Méditerranéennes - Functions, uses and representations of space in the monumental graves of Neolithic Europe
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