Composite dolmen - a type of dolmen , partially or fully assembled from separate blocks .
Composite dolmens have a rather complex geometric connection; such dolmens may be round, horseshoe-shaped or rectangular in shape. The roof was always made of one stone slab. There are significantly fewer integral dolmens than trough-like or tiled ones, since smaller stones are easier to carry.
In the Caucasus, composite dolmens can be seen on the River Zhane (a whole round and almost preserved round without a roof), on Mount Nexis (a composite rectangular of L-shaped blocks, with separate lost blocks), horseshoe-shaped half-preserved “Singing” dolmens near Novorossiysk . There are also the remains of one round composite dolmen in the Adler area.
Other Similar Types of Megaliths
Polygonal tombs can also be referred to as composite dolmens. Unfortunately, although there are many references to them in the 18th-19th and early 20th centuries, not one of them has survived to our time. The famous explorer of the Caucasian dolmens V. I. Markovin mentioned several such structures in Karachaevo-Cherkessia, as well as one polygonal tomb in the region of the dolmen group of the 3 Oaks tract. The former, apparently, have already been destroyed, and the search for the latter is extremely complicated by the strong forest cover of the area. According to Markovin, such structures consisted of 6-8 plates, dug vertically and forming a closed ring, with a monolithic roof.
In Karachay-Cherkessia, ruins of dolmen-like tombs dating from the early Middle Ages are also known. They are distinguished by rich stone carvings on the facade and a design similar to the composite dolmen on Mount Nexis . Their remains are observed in the valley of the Käfar River (the left tributary of the Bolshoy Zelenchuk River ).