Can anyone give me the DL on Neolithic culture in Taiwan and its megaliths? I’ve heard there are a spattering of monoliths on the east coast.
There are - you mean standing stones and such, right?
I can give you (the estimated) locations of some. Many require trekking to and many have been knocked down. However, there are a few which are near major roadways and are easy to get to.
Yes, that is what I’m referring to. Do you know of any online resources or maps that would have the locations of a decent amount of these? I’m not in the country as of yet and it will be a couple of months before I am. And/Or if you feel like posting, I’m sure there have to be at least one or two other folks that wouldn’t mind having the locations for some of the more accessible ones.
I’ve got the locations somewhere - I’ll dig them out. Give me a while as I’m not sure where they are.
Take your time. I’m in no hurry…
And those stones aren’t going anywhere.
Btw, outside Dulan, in Taitung, you can find some old stone coffins just off a side road.
Looks like he is in no hurry either.
About ten years ago there were some reports of megaliths underwater near Penghu. But those stories were spread mainly by UFO cultists and, ahem, the China Post. So I advise not wasting your time tracking down more info on those particular ones (which aren’t on the east coast anyway). IIRC, the “structures” turned out to be natural basalt formations.
They probably are natural basalt formations, but remember the Taiwan strait was land during the ice age, it’s not completely barmy.
There are two cool standing stones off one of the main roads in Hualian county. Then there are the coffin stones in Dulan as mentioned previously.
I’ve read about the standing stones in Hualian, but the way the article was worded made it sound like there were others along the East coast. Hmmm… I’ll definitely put the coffin stones in Dulan on my list of places to visit.
Wow! Ancient megaliths in Taiwan? I want to know more.
I’ve been to see some fascinating dolmens in Korea (a kind of megalith with supporting vertical slabs with a big flat slab on top, much like those found in Europe). I had a quick look at Wikipedia, and turns out that “(t)he greatest concentration of megalithic burials is in Korea… constitutes some 40% of all dolmens worldwide” - didn’t know that.
I also saw a map here of the distribution of Dolmen Sites in East Asia, and it shows an area that not only includes the Korean Peninsula, but also the adjoining Liaodong Peninsula of China, the Shandong Peninsula just across the Yellow Sea from Korea, and also the parts of Japan’s Kyushu closest to Korea - but no Taiwan.
There are two old photos of dolmens in China and Japan here. Anyone have pictures of megaliths in Taiwan?
I’ve been to the three UNESCO dolmen sites in Korea. They are def worth visiting, though only one of them is very accessible unless you have a personal vehicle. As far as the monoliths in Taiwan, I read about these standing stones in Taiwan http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=31823. I am trying to find information on others, if they exist. 