Birae-dong Dolmen

Dolmens (jiseongmyo), also called goindol, are the representative tombs of the Bronze Age and are generally known to have been the graves of a ruling class possessing wealth or political power. Korean dolmens are divided into the table type (takja-sik), in which four supporting stones form a stone chamber topped with a huge flat capstone, and the go-board type (baduk-pan-sik), in which a stone chamber is built underground with small supporting stones set beneath a capstone. There are two dolmens in the rice paddy in front of the village hall of Biraegol, Birae-dong, and one more dolmen on the top of the hill opposite. Half of the capstone of Dolmen No. 1 stands upright like a menhir; it is said that during the Saemaul (New Village) Movement in 1963, local residents split the capstone and painted the Saemaul flag on its surface. Dolmen No. 2 lies about 5m east of Dolmen No. 1; its capstone measures 2.9m in length and 2.6m in width, and its surface bears sixteen irregularly placed cup marks (seonghyeol), small hollows made to pray for a good harvest or for children.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Daedeok-gu, Daejeon

Designation

Provincial Monument · 시도기념물