Several dolmen tombs dating back to the 5th Millennium BC or the Stone–Copper Age (the Eneolithic Age) have been unearthed in several sites in southern Syria such as Ein Zakkar, Tsil, al-Bakkar and Jibilieh to the west of Daraa, in addition to al-Maysara, southeast Daraa, Syrian Archaeologists said.
The dolmen means "stone table" or the "holy cemeteries". It represents the beginning of human architectural art as the findings indicate that man used this kind of tombs for burial 5,000 years ago.
Archaeologist Yasser Abu Noktah said that the discovered dolmens at al-Maysara Spring consist of roofs with huge flagstones, on which animals' drawings are carved, adding that a number of stone and flint tools were also unearthed at the site.
Al-Maysara site is one of the most important Syrian sites which date back to the Neolithic Age between 7,000 to 4,500 BC.
Abu Noktah added the archaeological expeditions have also unearthed several dolmen tombs to the northwest of Enkhil city.
"Other dolmen tombs were unearthed to the northwest of Nawa city where a large number of the Neolithic cemeteries were built," Abu Noktah said.
The tombs were built of rock on double bench with a circular 3-foot high basaltic projection. On the bench a row of upper slabs were built with a height of 10 to 17 cm surrounding a covered chamber with unsymmetrical sides.
Abu Noktah said the tombs which were discovered to the west of Tsil Village consist of two rows of straight irregular polished stones.
Chairman of Daraa Antiquities Department Mohammed Nasrallah said that the dolmen represents the prevailing lifestyle thousands of years ago, adding that his department set up a plan to study these tombs for identifying the food, burial rites and the tools used by man during these ages.
The dolmen is a stone-made burial chamber. Originally, it would have had soil over it in a mound but this has eroded away. It measures about 8-10ft across by 6ft high (2.4-3m by 2m).
Author: H. Zain | Source: Global Arab Network [November 25, 2010]