The Volkonsky Dolmen was carved from ONE sandstone block instead of being assembled from slabs. Its roughly 1.5m-high chamber has a circular entrance, and no human remains were found. The video asks why its builders chose the more laborious monolithic method. 🗿
Volkonsky Dolmen: chamber carved from one sandstone block
Site mentioned
📍 Vulcansky Dolman
Key facts
- The monument is the Volkonsky Dolmen near Volkonka in Sochi, Russia; “Vulcansky Dolman” is incorrect.
- It was carved from a single large sandstone block, contrasting with many Caucasian dolmens assembled from slabs.
- Its interior chamber is about 1.5 metres high and has a circular entrance.
- It is generally dated to the 3rd or 2nd millennium BCE, within the Bronze Age.
- The chamber contained no human remains or burial goods, and its precise function remains debated.
- Many other regional dolmens were later reused as burials, with human remains found at some sites.
- The video argues that monolithic construction involved more labour than slab construction and asks why builders chose it; greater coordination is the presenter’s inference.
Sources
Volkonsky dolmen - Ancient dolmen in Volkonka, Russiaaroundus.com
The Volkonsky dolmen is a burial chamber carved into a single large sandstone block. The interior features a dome-shaped ceiling, flat ...
Dolmens of the North Caucasusen.wikipedia.org
These dolmens cover the Western Caucasus on both sides of the mountain ridge, in an area of approximately 12,000 square kilometres of Russia and Abkhazia.
Investigations, Reconstruction and Geological Aspects of ...article.sapub.org
The stone blocks, from which the dolmens are built, can weigh up to several tons. The dolmens were built from slabs or individual blocks, caved in a lump of ...
Did you know Russia has 3000 megalithic tombs?rbth.com
These dolmens date back to approximately 3000-2000 BC. They were used as tombs by their creators, and later reused by other cultures for the ...
Volkonsky dolmen - Stellersteller.co
The Volkonsky dolmen is an ancient Bronze Age megalithic monument located near the village of Volkonka in the Lazarevskoye District of Sochi, Krasnodar Krai, ...
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