There are numerous dolmens in India. They are in Marayoor, an area in the Idukki district of the Kerala state in the South of India, 42 km north of Munnar. The dolmens usually consist of 4 standing stones and a cap stone on top of them. All dolmens are made of hard granite. Some of the stones are so neatly dressed that it I believed that they originate from the Iron Age while the less sophisticated worked stones are believed to be Stone Age dolmen. Many dolmens are small, not higher than 1 meter and are often buried in the ground, though there are also bigger dolmens.
The dolmens are believed to be burial places since remains of burial urns have been found in the region, though solid proof is lacking. They are usually grouped in two of more dolmens which might be an indication that they were used as cemetery.
During the Stone age, the same type of dolmens were built in very remote regions like Western Europe, the Caucasus, Korea and India. Did the inhabitants of these regions invent the same idea, or did they have mutual contacts. |