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THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



synonyms for a well-known class of monuments — namely, the dolmens. 

 To make the matter more perplexing, structures of quite a differ- 

 ent form, and possibly intended for a different purpose, are called by 

 the same name. 



A dolmen, generally speaking, consists of an arrangement of stones, 

 few or many in number, supporting one or more stones in such a way 

 as to inclose a cavity beneath. These supporting stones may form the 

 four walls of a chamber, which may or may not be covered by a mound 

 of earth. This chamber may or may not communicate outwardly by 

 a long, narrow gallery {allee couverte). The mound may or may 

 not have one or more rows of stones encircling it. And, finally, the 

 stone structure may be on top of a mound of earth, instead of be- 

 neath it ! 



The simplest form of dolmen, if indeed it can be compared to the 

 more elaborate structures bearing the same name, consists of several 

 standing stones supporting one or more stones which rest upon them 

 horizontally. If the roofing-atones rest with one end upon the ground, 

 then it is called a demi-dolmen. A holed dolmen has one of the sup- 

 porting stones (which generally forms one side of a square chamber) 

 perforated. The demi-dolmens are not sufficiently specialized to es- 

 tablish any line of distribution. The holed dolmens are found in 

 France and in India, and their curious resemblance has led many to 

 believe in their common origin. 



In the mound-covered dolmens a relationship is also seen between 



Fig. 1.— Genebai Appearance op Dolmens. 



those of Brittany and Scandinavia, in the passageway generally open- 

 ing toward the south or east and never to the north.* 



From the mass of observations brought together regarding the 

 dolmens, Mr. Fergusson f has prepared a map showing their distribu- 

 tion in the Old World. From this map, dolmens are found to occur in 

 the greatest number in France. They are also found in various parts 

 of Great Britain, more abundantly on the eastern coast of Ireland, 



* Lubbock, "Prehistoric Times," p. 124. 



f Fergusson, "Rude Stone Monuments," 1872. 



