A dolmen, also known as a portal tomb, portal grave, or quoit, is a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb, usually consisting of three or more upright stones supporting a large flat horizontal capstone (table). Most date from the early Neolithic period (4000 to 3000 BC). Dolmens were usually covered with earth or smaller stones to form a barrow, though in many cases that covering has weathered away, leaving only the stone "skeleton" of the burial mound intact.

It remains unclear when, why, and by whom the earliest dolmens were made. The oldest known dolmen are in Western Europe, where they were set in place around 7000 years ago, at the same time as the ancient civilisations of Egypt, India, and the Middle East.^{[citation needed]} Archaeologists still do not know who erected these dolmens, which makes it difficult to know why they did it. The most widely accepted theory^{[citation needed]} is that all dolmen are tombs or burial chambers. Human remains, sometimes accompanied by artefacts, have been found in or close to them, which allowed a scientific dating. There is however no firm evidence that even this theory is correct. It has been impossible to prove that these archeologic remains date back to the time when the stones were set in place.

Meredith Jane Monk (born November 20, 1942 in New York) is an American composer, performer, director, vocalist, filmmaker, and choreographer. Since the 1960s, Monk has created multi-disciplinary works which combine music, theatre, and dance, recording extensively for ECM Records.

Meredith Monk is primarily known for her vocal innovations, including a wide range of extended techniques, which she first developed in her solo performances prior to forming her own ensemble. In December 1961, she appeared at the "Actor's Playhouse" in Greenwich Village (NYC) as a solo dancer in an Off Broadway children's musical theater adaptation of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," entitled "Scrooge" (music and lyrics by Norman Curtis; directed and choreographed by Patricia Taylor Curtis). In 1964, Monk graduated from Sarah Lawrence College after studying with Beverly Schmidt Blossom, and in 1968 she founded The House, a company dedicated to an interdisciplinary approach to performance.

Monk's performances have influenced many artists, including Bruce Nauman, whom she met in San Francisco in 1968. In 1978 Monk formed Meredith Monk and Vocal Ensemble (modelled after similar ensembles of musical colleagues, such as Steve Reich and Philip Glass), to explore new and wider vocal textures and forms, which often were contrasted with minimal instrumental textures. Monk began a long-standing relationship with the Walker Art Center of Minneapolis, which continues to showcase her work to this day. Pieces from this time include Dolmen Music (1979), which also was recorded for her first album released at Manfred Eicher's record label ECM in 1981.

Øystein Dolmen (born 19 February 1947 in Trondheim), also known as Knutsen, is a Norwegian singer-songwriter best known for being one half of the duo Knutsen & Ludvigsen, alongside Gustav Lorentzen ("Ludvigsen"). Knutsen & Ludvigsen was a humorous duo whose albums were primarily intended for children, but also became popular with more mature audiences.

Dolmen and Lorentzen formed Knutsen & Ludvigsen in 1970, and released five albums between 1970 and 1983, twice winning Spellemann awards for best children's record. They split up in 1986, but reformed for a series of one-off reunion concerts in 2004, 2005 and 2006.

In 1989, Dolmen released his first album without Lorentzen, called "På frifot". This time he collaborated with female singer Ellen Klemp (aka Nellie Neuf), and the album earned Dolmen another Spellemann award for best children's record. In 1991, he released his first solo album as the character "Feskhandler Thorske" ("Fishmonger Cod").

In addition to his musical career, Dolmen has also hosted children's shows on NRK television, and authored several children's books.

Ingrid Chauvin (born 3 October 1971, Argenteuil, Val-d'Oise) is a French actress known for her roles in the miniseries Méditerranée, Dolmen, and the series Femmes de loi.

Ingrid was born to a lifeguard father and a painter mother. Despite her parents' opposition, Ingrid sought to be an actress since she was a child. After her studies, she worked as a professional make-up artist while attending some castings for models. Her first successes allowed her to take acting classes. She was noticed by AB Production, which lead to small roles in TV for young viewers, like the series Salut les Musclés, Seconde B, Les Années fac, Le Miel et les abeilles, L'École des passions and Studio des artistes.

It was in the theatre that Ingrid got a serious start in her career, acting alongside Michel Creton in A. R. Gurney's Sylvia in 1998, in the Théâtre Hébertot in Paris and then opposite Michel Roux in Patrick Cargill's Tromper n'est pas jouer in the Théâtre Saint-Georges in Paris. She revived these roles in a tour through the French countryside.