The Megalith reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Jul-2004 (provided by Fixed Reference: snapshots of Wikipedia from wikipedia.org)

Megalith

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A megalith is a large stone which has been used to construct a structure or monument either alone or with other stones. Megalithic means made of such stones, but without the use of mortar or cement. The term can be used to describe buildings erected by people from many parts of the world living in many different periods. In the early twentieth century, some scholars believed that all megaliths belonged to one global "Megalithic culture" (Hyperdiffusionism, e. g. by Grafton Elliot Smith and William James Perry), but this has long been disproved by modern dating methods.

In Western Europe and the Mediterranean, megaliths are generally constructions erected during the Neolithic or late stone age and Chalcolithic or Copper Age (4500 - 1500 B.C.E).

The word "megalith" comes from the Ancient Greek "megas" meaning large, and "lithos" meaning stone.

Different megalithic structures include:

• Orthostat: This is an upright slab forming part of a larger structure.
• Menhir: This is single standing stone.
• Dolmen (or cromlech in Welsh): This is a free standing chamber consisting of standing stones covered by a capstone as a lid. They were used for burial and were covered by mounds.
• Taula: This is a straight standing stone, topped with another forming a 'T' shape.

Many megalithic monuments were burial mounds which were often re-used by different generations. The chambered cairn is a common type of collective tomb. Some of these are passage graves generally built of drystone walling and/or megaliths often with a round burial chamber in a round mound with a straight passage leading out. Gallery graves have a long megalithic chamber with parallel sides often in a long mound with an entrance at one end.

Perhaps the most famous megalithic structure is Stonehenge in England, although many others are known throughout the world.

Many megaliths were thought to have a purpose in determining important astronomical events such as the solstice and equinox dates (see archaeoastronomy).

There are even some modern megalithic structures. The Coral Castle is an unusual stone structure created in the 1920s in Homestead, Florida by Edward Leedskalnin.

Other megaliths include:

• Carnac, Brittany, France
• Filitosa, Corsica, France
• New Grange, Ireland
• Skara Brae, Orkney, Scotland
• Mnajdra, Malta, the oldest free-standing structure known
• Ħaġar Qim, Malta
• Ġgantija, Gozo, Malta
• Tarxien, Malta
• Easter Island

External Links

• The Megalithic Portal and Megalith Map
• Dolmen Path - Russian Megaliths
• the modern antiquarian

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