A dolmen (Breton for 'stone table') is a tomb constructed from huge rocks ('megaliths') and there are six types of them on the Golan Heights, from the crude - a flat slab laid across two uprights - to the sophisticated - with a triangular gabled roof (a 'tank dolmen'). Dolmens are known all over the world and all presumably serve the same purpose. On the Golan alone there are hundreds. A dolmen burial seems to have been secondary burial, that is, all or some of the deceased's bones were taken from their first grave and transferred to the dolmen along with objects that had served the deceased during his lifetime. The Golan dolmens were erected between 4,000 and 5,000 years ago, probably by nomadic or semi-nomadic herdsmen. Not having known a fixed dwelling during their first lifetime, their dead were provided one for the second life after death. A dolmen of moderately sophisticated design was dismantled and brought from its original site to the Museum grounds, where it has been reconstructed exactly as it used to stand.
Some thirty Golan dolmens have been excavated by Dr. Clare Epstein and Moshe Hartal, yielding, however, only meager finds, beads and bronze sword blades mainly.