CHAPTER IV 

 THE SCANDINAVIAN MEGALITHIC AREA 



I 



N Scandinavia megalithic monuments abound. 

 They have been studied with unusual care 

 from quite an early date in the history of archaeo- 

 logy, and classified in the order of their develop- 

 ment. The earliest type appears to be the simple 

 dolmen with either four or five sides and a very 

 rough cover-slab. This and the upper part of the 

 sides remained uncovered by the mound of earth 

 which was always heaped round the tomb. In 

 later times the dolmen became more regularly 

 rectangular in shape, and only its roof-block 

 appeared above the mound. Contemporary with 

 this later form of dolmen were several other types 

 of tomb. One was simply the earlier dolmen with 

 one side open and in front of it a sort of portico or 

 elementary corridor formed by two upright slabs 

 with no roofing (cf. the Irish type, Fig. 5, b). 

 This quickly developed into the true corridor- 

 tomb, which had at first a small round chamber 

 with one or two cover-slabs, a short corridor, and 

 a round or rectangular mound. Later types 

 have an oval chamber (Fig. 9) with from one to 

 four cover-slabs or a rectangular chamber with a 



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