Polygonal dolmen

[a] Five to nine supporting stones, or orthostats, shape the ground plan of the polygonal chamber.

Typologically viewed, the chamber of Hemmelmark, Rendsburg-Eckernförde, stands out, with its unusual dimensions of 2.8 × 2.25 metres and the division of sub-chambers by vertical slabs.

Polygonal dolmen occur more rarely within stone enclosures (Schülldorf) and more frequently in round barrows (e.g. Dannewerk, Eckernförde, Haßmoor and Süderende).

These views were refuted by comprehensive research by Ewald Schuldt in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, which emphasized the autochthonous origin of different types.

It is encountered especially frequently in the north of the Danish island of Zealand, in the Swedish province of Bohuslän and on the Cimbrian Peninsula, for example, at Troldkirken in Jutland.

Diagram of a polygonal dolmen seen from above.
The Cava dei Servi [ it ] dolmen, an example of polygonal dolmen in Sicily .