12/1966

PETERBOROUGH N. H.
Contents
Dolmen Studies in Palestine, by James I,. Swaugcr     106
Science and Archaeology, by Henry 0. Thompson     114
A New Book on Masada and a Publication Notice     125

Textauszug
Dolmen Studies in Palestine JAMES L. SWAUGER

Carnegie :Museum, Pittsburgh
Among the classes of archaeological phenornena in Palestine that cry for explanation are dolmens, hut-like structures built of Large slabs of stone. We need to know (following the journalism dass directive of my high school days) the who, what, where, when, why and how of these structures. So far only the what, where, and how seem clear enough. The who, when and why may engage our efforts for a long time to come.
What is easy. A dolmen is a megalithic building, a usually rectangular structure consisting of a single massive horizontal "roof" stone resting on two or more equally massive vertical "wall" stones, or some variation on this theme. What can bc called a "classic" dolmcn is essentially a stone box made up of six slabs: one roof, two sides, two ends (one of which can be called a "door" slab), and one floor (fig. 1).
Variations occur. Some dolmens have more than one roof slab; some more than one slab making up a wall; some more than one slab serving as a floor; some slabs as inner partition walls. Door slabs often have "portholes" carved in them. Two-decker dolmens (fig. 2), dolmens with "trailers"
 

gutes Exemplar, ordentlich