DOLMEN, a table stone used by ancient races as a sepulchral monuinent. The British apply the word cromlech to widely different structures. Its true meaning is a circle of upright stones, like the Hurlers' and Nine Maidens ' in Cornwall. The cromlech of the British antiquarian is the same as the Welsh and English quoit,' such as Arthur'a quoit or coetan, near Criccieth, Lanyon quoit and Chun quoit and others in Cornwall, Stanton Drew quoit in Somersetaiiire, the Kitts koty or quoit near Maidstone, and the Coity-y enroc in Guernsey, all of them circlos of upright stones. Professor Sven Nilsson (On the Stone Age, p. 159) defines tile English cromlech as synonymous to the French dolmen, the Scandi navian dos, and the dyss of Denmark, consisting of one large block of stone, supported by some three to five stones arranged in a ring, and intended to contain one corpse only, several of these dorm being sometimes enclosed in circles of raised stones. Following, however, the nomenclature given by the late Dr. Lukis, we cannot be far wrong in assigning the word cromlech to ell clalxirate megalithic structures of one or more chambers, in which category the passage graves may be included. The dolmen (Dol, a table, Moen, a stone) is, as its name implies, of different structure. The cromlechs of Jersey and the adjacent islands partake of the character of the French grottes aux fees, the fairy's grotto, as well as the Gang rifter, the gallery tombs of the Swedes, the jettestuer or chambered tumuli of the Danes, and the German Hunenbetten. In China, the cham
bered tumuli associated with megalithic avenues have attained their greatest development. The great tomb (the Ling or resting-place of Yung Lo of the Ming dynasty), 30 rniles from Pekin, con sists of an enormous mound or earth barrow covered with trees, and surrounded by a wall a mile in circumference. In the centre of the mound is a stone chamber containing the sarco phagus, in which is the corpse. This chamber or vault is approached by an arched tunnel, the entrance to which is bricked up. This entrance is approached by a paved causeway, passing through numerous arches, galleries, courts, and halls of sacrifice, and through a long avenue of colossal marble figures, sixteen pairs of wolves, kelins, lions, horses, camels, elephants, and twelve pairs of warriors, priests, and civil officers.
There was a fine celled dolmen formerly existing near Nidi-mund, on the Neilgherriu, and through out the Belgaum and Kahulgi collectorates are scattered groups of dolmens, formed of large rough slabs set on edge, NI ith a huge cap-stone laid over them. Many of these are to be seen to the S.W. of Konur, in the Belgauni collectorate. A dolmen was discovered in Gujerat. Barrows occur in Zompur. Upright monumental stones or menhirs also occur.—Ind. Ant.