megalith

meg·a·lith

(mĕg'ə-lĭth') pronunciation

n.
A very large stone used in various prehistoric architectures or monumental styles, notably in western Europe during the second millennium B.C.

megalithic meg'a·lith'ic adj.

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Huge, often undressed stone used in various types of Neolithic and Early Bronze Age monuments. The most ancient form of megalithic construction is probably the dolmen, a type of burial chamber consisting of several upright supports and a flat roofing slab. Another form is the menhir, a simple upright stone usually placed with others to form a circle, as at Stonehenge and Avebury in England, or a straight alignment, as at Carnac in France. The meaning of megalithic monuments remains largely unknown, but all share certain architectural and technical features suggesting that their creators sought to impose a conspicuously human design on the landscape and imbue it with cultural symbols. See also rock art.

For more information on megalith, visit Britannica.com.

Oxford Dictionary of Geography:

megalith

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Any large stone which has been sited by humans and which may have been erected as a monument. Most megaliths date from between about 3000 to 2000 years bc. Megaliths may be arranged in rows or circles; the most famous British example is Stonehenge.

Oxford Dictionary of Architecture & Landscaping:

megalith

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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)
G. Daniel (1972)
Joussaume (1988)
Mohen (1989)
Reden (1982)
Rudofsky (1977)
Teichmann (1983)

The full bibliography for this book is available to download as a pdf file.
Download the bibliography for A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (PDF: 1.2MB)

Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology:

megalith

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[Ar]

Literally, a big stone. Often applied as a general term to monuments of Neolithic and early Bronze Age date in northwest Europe which incorporate such stones into their construction: for example, chambered tombs, stone circles, and alignments as well as individual standing stones or menhirs. Also used as an abbreviated form of megalithic tomb.

Columbia Encyclopedia:

megalithic monument

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megalithic monument (mĕgəlĭth'ĭk) [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 B.C. to 1100 B.C. Most chamber tombs were probably built during the 4th millennium B.C., 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.

Bibliography

See G. Daniel, The Megalith Builders of Western Europe (1958); A. Thom, Megalithic Sites in Britain (1967) and Megalithic Lunar Observations (1973); C. Renfrew, Before Civilization (1973); J. Mitchell, Megalithomania (1982); R. Joussaume, Dolmens for the Dead (tr. by A. and C. Chippendale, 1988).

Random House Word Menu:

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Random House Word Menu by Stephen Glazier

For a list of words related to megalith, see:

Individuals and Objects - megalith: very large, rough stone, esp. used for primitive religious monuments

Rhymes:

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See words rhyming with "megalith."

Bradford's Crossword Solver's Dictionary:

megalith

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See crossword solutions for the clue Megalith.

Translations:

Megalith

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - megalit

Nederlands (Dutch)
enorm steenblok (m.n. in prehistorisch bouwsel)

Français (French)
n. - mégalithe

Deutsch (German)
n. - Megalith

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - μεγάλιθος

Italiano (Italian)
megalito

Português (Portuguese)
n. - megálito (m) (Geol.)

Русский (Russian)
мегалит

Español (Spanish)
n. - megalito

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - megalit, stort stenblock

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
巨石

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 巨石

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 역사전의 큰 돌

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 巨石, 巨石記念物

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) حجر ضخم‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮אבן גדולה, בייחוד כזו שהוצבה כמצבה או חלק ממנה, מגלית‬

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		American Heritage Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more
		Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 1994-2012 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more
		Oxford Dictionary of Geography. A Dictionary of Geography. Copyright © Susan Mayhew 1992, 1997, 2004. All rights reserved. Read more
		Oxford Dictionary of Architecture & Landscaping. A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. Copyright © 1999, 2006 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. Read more
		Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology. Copyright © 2002, 2003 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. Read more
		Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/. Read more
		Random House Word Menu. © 2010 Write Brothers Inc. Word Menu is a registered trademark of the Estate of Stephen Glazier. Write Brothers Inc. All rights reserved. Read more
		Rhymes. Oxford University Press. © 2006, 2007 All rights reserved. Read more
		Bradford's Crossword Solver's Dictionary. Collins Bradford's Crossword Solver's Dictionary © Anne Bradford, 1986, 1993, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2008 HarperCollins Publishers All rights reserved. Read more
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