Dolmen in Jodong-ri, Chungju

A jiseokmyo, or dolmen, is a representative tomb type of the Bronze Age. Dolmens in Korea are divided into the table type, in which four supporting stones are set upright to form a stone chamber topped with an enormous flat capstone, and the go-board type, in which a stone chamber is built underground with small supporting stones set up beneath a capstone. The dolmen in Jodong-ri, Chungju, stands at the centre of Tappyeong village in Jodong-ri, surrounded by houses. It takes the typical form of a go-board-type dolmen, with several natural stones used as supporting stones beneath a large capstone. Unlike dolmens found elsewhere, however, it has a flat, oval stone placed on top of the capstone, forming a three-tiered structure resembling a pagoda — a highly unusual arrangement. This second, upper tier appears to date from a different period than the dolmen's original construction, and is thought to have been added in imitation of a pagoda after the introduction of Buddhism, making it a distinctive style formed where dolmen and Buddhist traditions met. The Jodong-ri dolmen, a go-board-type dolmen with an unusual three-tiered external structure, is in a very good state of preservation and provides important academic material for the study of Bronze Age burial customs. Because it also stands close to the prehistoric (Neolithic-to-Bronze Age) settlement site at Jodong-ri, it is a highly significant relic for research into Bronze Age everyday life in the Jungwon region.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Chungju, Chungbuk

Designation

Provincial Monument · 시도기념물