Shepsi, the Oldest Dolmen with Port-Hole Slab in the Western Caucasus

Abstract

The dolmen known as Shepsi was accidentally discovered on the Black Sea coast (Tuapse region, Russia). Radiocarbon dates show that the classic trapezoidal construction of the Caucasian dolmens with a port-hole appeared in the region as early as 3250 BC. The distinctive structural characteristic for dolmens of that time was a floor slab laid between the side slabs, which were embedded in the ground. The material complex and 14 C dates show that this type of dolmen coexisted with the Novosvobodnaya-type of the Maikop culture, located on the northern slope of the main Caucasus ridge. This leads to a new hypothesis concerning the regional origin and further development of the megalithic structures in the western Caucasus.