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dolmen

dolmen

A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology | 2004 | | Copyright

dolmen [Bret. tol, table; men, stone]. A large prehistoric monument found throughout the Celtic world, usually made of two or more large, rough stones set on end and capped with a huge single stone or several stones, especially in Brittany or Ireland; capstones may weigh as much as 40 tons. In Wales and Cornwall preferred usage favours cromlech [W crom, bent; llech, flat stone], although cromlech may also imply a more circular monument. Peter Harbison (1988) argues that the dolmen should more accurately be called the portal tomb or chamber, but the older, more popular usage persists.

In Ireland dolmens are often called ‘Beds of Diarmait and Gráinne’ from the belief that the fleeing lovers may have slept on them in their escape from Fionn. In Irish folklore the stones were thought to induce barrenness in women who strayed near them. In Cornwall cromlechs/dolmens were thought to be the quoits or playthings of giants, and the recesses in them the marks of giants' fingers. At many times they were thought to be druids' altars, or, more commonly, ‘druids' tables’, from the unfounded assumption that they dated from the time of the druids. Modern archaeology suggests, however, that they were built as tombs by pre-Celtic peoples.

More than 161 dolmens may be found in Ireland; other outstanding examples are at Callernish, Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides, and at Carnac and Essé in Brittany. Comparable monuments are found as far away as Japan.
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JAMES MacKILLOP. "dolmen." A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

JAMES MacKILLOP. "dolmen." A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O70-dolmen.html

JAMES MacKILLOP. "dolmen." A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. 2004. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O70-dolmen.html

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dolmen

The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable | 2006 | | Copyright

dolmen a megalithic tomb with a large flat stone laid on upright ones, found chiefly in Britain and France. The word is recorded from the mid 19th century and comes from French, perhaps via Breton from Cornish tolmen ‘hole of a stone’.
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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "dolmen." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "dolmen." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-dolmen.html

ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "dolmen." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-dolmen.html

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dolmen

World Encyclopedia | 2005 | Copyright

dolmen Megalithic monument comprising a stone lintel supported by upright stones. Dolmens were originally used as burial chambers and covered by a barrow. They are most common in Cornwall, sw England, and Brittany, nw France.
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dolmen

A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture | 2000 | | Copyright

dolmen. Prehistoric enclosure (usually a tomb-chamber) formed by three or more upright megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal stone usually covered with earth to form a tumulus. Also known as a cromlech.
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JAMES STEVENS CURL. "dolmen." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

JAMES STEVENS CURL. "dolmen." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O1-dolmen.html

JAMES STEVENS CURL. "dolmen." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O1-dolmen.html

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dolmen

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. | 2008 | Copyright

dolmen [Breton,=stone table], burial chamber consisting of two or more upright stone slabs supporting a capstone or table, typical of the Neolithic period in Europe. See megalithic monuments .

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dolmen

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology | 1996 | | Copyright

dolmen cromlech. — F., perh. improperly f. Bret. taol table, maen stone (the Bret. form being taolvaen), or repr. the Corn. comp. cited as tolmēn ‘hole of stone’ in 1754.
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T. F. HOAD. "dolmen." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

T. F. HOAD. "dolmen." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-dolmen.html

T. F. HOAD. "dolmen." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-dolmen.html

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dolmen

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English | 2009 | Copyright

dol·men / ˈdōlmən; ˈdäl-/ • n. a megalithic tomb with a large flat stone laid on upright ones, found chiefly in Britain and France.

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dolmen

The Oxford Companion to Irish History | 2007 | Copyright

dolmen, see megalithic tombs.
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dolmen

Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes | 2007 | Copyright

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"dolmen." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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