Taken from the on-site information board:
The Mechelsdorf dolmen opens to the south-east via a bent passage. Originally, the chamber and passage were completely covered by a mound of earth. Small cup marks have been chiselled into the capstone of the chamber and into a standing stone.
Dolmen
Neolithic megalithic tomb
(3200–3000 BC)
This tomb is a so-called grand dolmen with an attached passage. The term ‘dolmen’ originates from Breton and literally means ‘stone table’.
Dolmens were probably originally intended as graves for single individuals. They differ in this respect from the larger passage graves or megalithic tombs (collective graves), which were built to accommodate several.
This large dolmen, which was archaeologically investigated in 1967, is a unique example due to its unusually long and angled passage. The passage, composed of four side stones and two capstones, was 2 m long, approx. 0.8 m wide and the same height. The burial chamber itself is also exceptionally large, measuring 2.8 m in length, 1.5 m in width and 1.25 m in height.
Small cup-shaped indentations have been chiselled into the capstone of the chamber and one of the side stones. Such indentations were created during ritual acts which may have served to obtain rock powder considered to have healing properties.