ROUGH STONE MONUMENTS 



3> 5> 7> 9> or T1 , and in front of these two structures 

 of dolmen form. These are raised in honour of 

 some important member of the tribe who has 

 died, and whose spirit is thought to have done 

 some good to the tribe. If the benefits continue 

 it is usual to increase the number of menhirs. 



The earliest burials in Japan are marked by 

 simple mounds of earth. It was not until the 

 beginning of the iron age that megalithic tombs 

 came into use. The true dolmen is not found in 

 Japan, and all the known graves are corridor- 

 tombs covered with a mound. They are of four 

 types. First, we have a simple corridor with no 

 separate chamber ; secondly, a corridor broaden- 

 ing out at one side near the end ; thirdly, a true 

 chamber with a corridor of access ; and fourthly, a 

 type in which the corridor is preceded by an ante- 

 chamber. All four types occur in rough unworked 

 stone, roofed with huge slabs, but a few examples 

 of the third type are made of well-cut and dressed 

 blocks. The mounds are usually conical, though 

 some are of a complex form shortly to be described. 

 Some of these contain stone sarcophagi. The 

 bodies were never cremated, but the bones are so 

 damaged that it is impossible to say what the 

 most usual position was. Objects of bronze and 

 iron together with pottery and ornaments were 

 found in the tombs. 



The more important tombs are of a more 



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