Buan Guamri Dolmen Group

About this place

The Buan Guamri dolmen group consists of Bronze Age dolmens in Guamri, Haseo-myeon, Buan-gun. Dolmens (jiseongmyo) are Bronze Age tombs that come in a northern table type—where four upright stones form a chamber topped by a large flat capstone—and a southern type where a large stone rests on smaller support stones. Originally there were 13 dolmens in Guamri, but only 10 remain today. They were said to have been inside a private household fence. These are generally southern-type (go-board-style) dolmens made by cutting natural rock for capstones, with eight support stones arranged in a circle. Ten or more such southern-type dolmens cluster in Buan Guamri, and because the dolmens resemble a turtle, the village came to be called Guamri (Turtle Rock Village). The Guamri dolmens are distinguished by their large, gently curved capstones supported by eight support stones—characteristics rarely seen in dolmens elsewhere.