Yeoncheon Chatan-ri Dolmen

Dolmens are representative tombs of the Bronze Age, known chiefly as the burial places of a ruling class with economic wealth or political power. They typically consist of a huge capstone exposed above ground, resting on supporting stones, with a burial precinct and burial chamber beneath. Their form, however, varies greatly by region and period. In general they are classified as the table type, in which the burial chamber sits above ground, or the go-board type, in which it lies underground. The Chatan-ri Dolmen stands on flat ground west of Chatancheon Stream, a tributary of the Hantangang River. It now sits in the middle of a village in Yeoncheon town; villagers call it 'Goindol', and until the 1950s they held it sacred and performed rites there. In 2012 an excavation by the Sejong University Museum showed it to be a table-type dolmen. Its capstone is made of tuff and is close to a long rectangle in plan, measuring 3.8m in length; its long axis runs north-south, following the line of Chatancheon Stream, though it has since tilted slightly to the south. On its upper surface some ten cup-marks, 7-12cm in diameter, have been carved, with traces of stone-dressing surviving around them. Comb-pattern and plain pottery fragments and a whetstone were found nearby, but as these appear to have washed in from elsewhere, the dolmen's exact date cannot be determined.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi

Designation

Provincial Monument · 시도기념물