Sillye-ri Dolmen No. 1

Dolmens are the representative tombs of the Bronze Age, also known as goindol, and are known to have mainly been the tombs of a ruling class with economic wealth or political power. Korean dolmens are divided into the table type, in which four supporting stones are set up to form a stone chamber topped with a huge, flat capstone, and the go-board type, in which a stone chamber is built underground with small supporting stones set up before the capstone is placed on top. The Sillye-ri dolmen was built around the first century BC and takes the typical go-board form, but in the distinctive Jeju style, where several supporting stones are stacked so that the capstone forms an arch. This dolmen is an especially unusual example among those found on Jeju Island: around the capstone, large and small natural basalt stones form an oval mound of piled stone, its edge built up neatly with large broken stones, and at the centre of the mound a stone-lined chamber was set to hold the body, with propping stones placed beneath the capstone to level it before it was laid on top. Because the dolmen has kept its original condition, and because of the distinctive character of both its setting — on a hill higher than the surrounding flat land — and its method of construction, it is highly valued for its historical and academic significance.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Seogwipo, Jeju

Designation

Provincial Monument · 시도기념물