Ristinge

Facts

A cartoon-style dolmen

By Jørgen Westphal, Konsulent, cand. mag. (14 stories)

The dolmen at Ristinge Klint is 30 metres above sea level, looks a lot like a cartoonist's drawing of a dolmen: Four corner stones with a fifth on top. Most people imagine this rather simple design when they hear the word dolmen and with good reason – most dolmens are ruins. Many of the original dolmens with their ring of outer stones forming the sides and earth mounds have been eroded and removed. But up close you can see that the top stone is 3.5 metres tall.

Public place

Selected entry

Potted presents

Story written by Jørgen Westphal

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Most dolmen chambers were once surrounded by a ring of large stone slabs on end. Earth and stones were then added between this ring of stones and the chamber as part of the burial mound. The cracks between the ring of large slabs were then filled in with a fine wall of flat sandstone tiles to form a compact closely-built wall. Clay pots were placed on top of the outer wall during Stone Age religious ceremonies. The gifts in the clay pots appear to have been given on different occasions. But we don't know whether this tradition took place during new burials in the passage graves or during other Stone Age rituals.