"Almost flat slabs of stone, of a greater height than those forming the vaults, and of rather considerable dimensions, are placed on edge so as to form a square chamber. A partition, formed of stones of a similar character, leaving a space or passage between them, separates the chamber into two unequal portions. Some arrangement of this kind has been observed in most of the finest dolmens; it is found at a spot not far from Chamant, in a covered way known under the name of the Pierres Turquoises, in the forest of Carnelle, near Beaumont-sur-Oise (Seine-et-Oise).
"At Chamant, however, the chamber was not more than 3 to 4 feet in height under the roof, which was formed of large flat stones, and was large enough to allow of a considerable number of bodies to be deposited within it, either in a recumbent or contracted position. Near them there were placed delicately-wrought flints, and also some fine-polished hatchets, one of which was of serpentine; another of large dimensions, sculptured after the fashion of the diluvial hatchets, appeared to me to have been prepared for polishing.
"The researches which have been made have brought to light but slight traces of pottery, and the small fragments that I have examined do not point out any very remote age for this monument. Nevertheless, the investigation of this sepulchre, in which I was guided by a somewhat different idea from that of merely studying the monument itself, was not carried out with the exact care that would be necessary for collecting all the indications which it might have furnished.
"Between the sepulchre of Chamant and the finest dolmens, the distinction is nothing more than a question of dimensions rather than any chronological point. The latter are formed of colossal stones, and when one examines them and seeks to realise the process which must have been employed for raising them, the mind is utterly perplexed, and the imagination finds a difficulty in conceiving how it was possible to move these immense masses, and, especially, to place them in the positions they now occupy; for at the present day, in order to arrive at similar results, it would be necessary to employ all the means which science has at command."[27]
The megalithic constructions do not all date back to the same epoch. Some were raised during the Stone Age, others during the Bronze Age. There is nothing in their mode of architecture which will enable us to recognise their degree of antiquity; but the relics which they contain afford us complete information in this respect. Thus, in France, according to M. Alexandre Bertrand, the dolmens and the tumuli-dolmens contain, in a general way, nothing but stone and bone articles; those of bronze and gold are very rare, and iron is never met with. In the true tumuli, on the contrary, bronze objects predominate, and iron is very abundant; this is an evident proof that these monuments are of less ancient origin than the dolmens. In the same way we ascertain that the Danish dolmens and the great sepulchral chambers of Scandinavia, all belong to the polished-stone epoch. When, therefore, we class the dolmens in this last-named epoch of man's history, we are deciding in full harmony with the great body of data which bear upon the point.
In order to fix the period with still greater accuracy, we might add that the dolmens belong to the latter portion of the polished-stone epoch and the commencement of the bronze age. But, as we before said, we do not attach any importance to these distinctions, which would only uselessly embarrass the mind of the reader.
An examination of the Danish dolmens has led the author of the 'Catalogue of Pre-historic Objects sent by Denmark to the Universal Exposition of 1867,' to sum up in the following words the details concerning these sepulchral monuments:—
"As regards the Danish dolmens, the number of skeletons contained in them varies much; in the largest, there are as many as twenty, and in the smallest there are not more than five or six; sometimes they are placed in stages one above the other.
"The bones are never found in natural order; the head lies close to the knees, and no limb is in its natural place. It follows from this, that in the course of interment the body was contracted into a crouching position.