|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries: |
Research categories | Follow us on Twitter |
Research categories
View all topics in the newsView all reference sources at Encyclopedia.com |
|||
megalithic monument
megalithic monument [Gr.,=large stone], in archaeology, a construction involving one or several roughly hewn stone slabs of great size; it is usually of prehistoric antiquity. These monuments are found in various parts of the world, but the best known and most numerous are concentrated in Western Europe, including Brittany, the British Isles, Iberia, S France, S Scandinavia, and N Germany. Aside from the standing stones and stone heaps that are still raised occasionally as boundary marks or memorials of personal and public events, most megalithic monuments seem to have been erected for funerary and religious purposes. The Western European megaliths were constructed during the Neolithic and the Bronze Age and are believed to range in date from c.4000 BC to 1100 BC Most chamber tombs were probably built during the 4th millennium BC, and the stone circles generally date somewhat later. Megalithic monuments may be divided into four categories: the chamber tomb, or dolmen ; the single standing stone, or menhir ; the stone row; and the stone circle. Chamber tombs were usually covered with earth mounds, forming a barrow . Menhirs sometimes stood alone near the entrance of a tomb or on top of the mound. Sometimes they were set in long rows called alignments, as at Carnac in Brittany; in other places they were arranged in a circle, the most elaborate of which is Stonehenge in England (these are known as cromlechs outside Britain). The individual stone slabs may reach 65 ft (20 m) in length and 100 tons (90 metric tons) in weight. Such massive structures testify to the engineering feats possible with the concerted efforts of relatively ill-equipped peoples.
|
|
|
Cite this article
"megalithic monument." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "megalithic monument." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-megalith.html "megalithic monument." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-megalith.html |
|
megalith
megalith Literally a large stone. The practice of building with large stones occurred in such diverse places as Inca Peru, ancient Egypt, and Easter Island. Megaliths usually consist of blocks built into tombs and other monuments in western Europe in the NEOLITHIC to BRONZE AGE, c.4000–1500 BC. They were once thought to have been derived from a single source, but further study and close dating suggest that that is too simple a view, and that many areas were involved.
While many monuments consist of separate stones raised on end as menhirs, stone circles (as at STONEHENGE), and avenues (as seen at Carnac, in France), the same technique was often used in walling chambers. Roofs could be of horizontal capstones to make the so-called dolmens, or of oversailing courses of slabs, which are known as corbelled vaults. The largest block recorded is the capstone of the tomb at Browneshill, County Carlow, Ireland, estimated to weigh 100 tonnes. The movement, handling and dressing of such large stones, and, in some cases, their precise orientation, indicate that those responsible had considerable skill in mechanics, mathematics, and the organization of labour. |
|
|
Cite this article
"megalith." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "megalith." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O48-megalith.html "megalith." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O48-megalith.html |
|
megalith
megalith. Large block of undressed or partially dressed stone used singly or with other megaliths as prehistoric monuments in c.4000–c.1000 BC. A single standing-stone is a menhir, sometimes arranged in regular rows (as at Carnac, Brittany). Megaliths are also found set in a circle, as at Stonehenge, Wilts. (c.1800 BC), with lintels forming a continuous band around the tops. Structures formed of uprights supporting a large flat slab were usually chamber-tombs, known as cromlechs or dolmens.
Bibliography Burl (1976, 1995); |
|
|
Cite this article
JAMES STEVENS CURL. "megalith." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JAMES STEVENS CURL. "megalith." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O1-megalith.html JAMES STEVENS CURL. "megalith." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O1-megalith.html |
|
megalith
megalith (lit. huge stone) Prehistoric stone monument. Historians usually apply the term to the gigantic slabs that form stone circles, half circles and rows in n Europe. These constructions date from the Neolithic and early Bronze Age. One of the best-known and complex examples is Stonehenge (c.2100–2000 bc). Megaliths existed long before the first stone buildings of Mycenean Crete. See also dolmen; menhir
|
|
|
Cite this article
"megalith." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "megalith." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-megalith.html "megalith." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-megalith.html |
|
megalith
meg·a·lith / ˈmegəˌli[unvoicedth]/ • n. Archaeol. a large stone that forms a prehistoric monument (e.g., a menhir) or part of one (e.g., a stone circle or chamber tomb). |
|
|
Cite this article
"megalith." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "megalith." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-megalith.html "megalith." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-megalith.html |
|
megalith
megalith a large stone that forms a prehistoric monument (e.g. a standing stone) or part of one (e.g. a stone circle or chambered tomb).
|
|
|
Cite this article
ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "megalith." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "megalith." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-megalith.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "megalith." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-megalith.html |
|
megalith
megalith •myth, outwith, pith, smith
•twentieth • seventieth • eightieth
•fiftieth • sixtieth • ninetieth
•fortieth • thirtieth • Edith • Judith
•Meredith • Griffith • Hesketh
•tallith • Delyth • Lilith • megalith
•monolith • blacksmith • Nasmyth
•tinsmith • Ladysmith • locksmith
•songsmith • goldsmith • gunsmith
•coppersmith • silversmith
•wordsmith
•Kenneth, zenith
•Gwyneth • Lapith • Hollerith
•Asquith • Sopwith
|
|
|
Cite this article
"megalith." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "megalith." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-megalith.html "megalith." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-megalith.html |
|
|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries:
HighBeam™ Research, Inc. © Copyright 2012. All rights reserved.
The Encyclopedia.com advertising network includes:
