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Tumulus
A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones built for various purposes, may also originally have been a tumulus. Tumuli are often categorised according to their external apparent shape. In this respect, a long barrow is a long tumulus, usually constructed on top of several burials, such as passage graves. A round barrow is a round tumulus, also commonly constructed on top of burials. The internal structure and architecture of both long and round barrows has a broad range; the categorization only refers to the external apparent shape. The method of may involve a dolmen, a cist, a mortuary enclosure, a mortuary house, or a chamber tomb. Examples of barrows include Duggleby Howe and Maeshowe. Etymology The word ''tumulus'' is Latin for 'mound' or 'small hill', which is derived fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kurgan
A kurgan is a type of tumulus constructed over a grave, often characterized by containing a single human body along with grave vessels, weapons and horses. Originally in use on the Pontic–Caspian steppe, kurgans spread into much of Central Asia and Eastern, Southeast, Western and Northern Europe during the 3rd millennium BC. The earliest kurgans date to the 4th millennium BC in the Caucasus, and a part of researchers associate these with the Indo-Europeans. Kurgans were built in the Eneolithic, Bronze, Iron, Antiquity and Middle Ages, with ancient traditions still active in Southern Siberia and Central Asia. Etymology According to the Etymological dictionary of the Ukrainian language the word "kurhan" is borrowed directly from the "Polovtsian" language ( Kipchak, part of the Turkic languages) and means: fortress, embankment, high grave. The word has two possible etymologies, either from the Old Turkic root ''qori-'' "to close, to block, to guard, to protect", or ''qur-'' " ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Long Barrow
Long barrows are a style of monument constructed across Western Europe in the fifth and fourth millennia BCE, during the Early Neolithic period. Typically constructed from earth and either timber or stone, those using the latter material represent the oldest widespread tradition of stone construction in the world. Around 40,000 long barrows survive today. The structures have a long earthen tumulus, or "barrow", that is flanked on two sides with linear ditches. These typically stretch for between 20 and 70 metres in length, although some exceptional examples are either longer or shorter than this. Some examples have a timber or stone chamber in one end of the tumulus. These monuments often contained human remains interred within their chambers, and as a result, are often interpreted as tombs, although there are some examples where this appears not to be the case. The choice of timber or stone may have arisen from the availability of local materials rather than cultural differenc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Achilles
In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus ( grc-gre, Ἀχιλλεύς) was a hero of the Trojan War, the greatest of all the Greek warriors, and the central character of Homer's '' Iliad''. He was the son of the Nereid Thetis and Peleus, king of Phthia. Achilles' most notable feat during the Trojan War was the slaying of the Trojan prince Hector outside the gates of Troy. Although the death of Achilles is not presented in the ''Iliad'', other sources concur that he was killed near the end of the Trojan War by Paris, who shot him with an arrow. Later legends (beginning with Statius' unfinished epic ''Achilleid'', written in the 1st century AD) state that Achilles was invulnerable in all of his body except for one heel, because when his mother Thetis dipped him in the river Styx as an infant, she held him by one of his heels. Alluding to these legends, the term " Achilles' heel" has come to mean a point of weakness, especially in someone or something with an otherwise ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chamber Tomb
A chamber tomb is a tomb for burial used in many different cultures. In the case of individual burials, the chamber is thought to signify a higher status for the interred than a simple grave. Built from rock or sometimes wood, the chambers could also serve as places for storage of the dead from one family or social group and were often used over long periods for multiple burials. Most the chamber tombs were constructed from large stones or megaliths and covered by cairns, barrows or earth. Some chamber tombs are rock-cut monuments or wooden-chambered tombs covered with earth barrows. Grave goods are a common characteristic of chamber tomb burials. In Neolithic and Bronze Age Europe, stone-built examples of these burials are known by the generic term of megalithic tombs. Chamber tombs are often distinguished by the layout of their chambers and entrances or the shape and material of the structure that covered them, either an earth barrow or stone cairn. A wide variety of l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mound
A mound is a heaped pile of earth, gravel, sand, rocks, or debris. Most commonly, mounds are earthen formations such as hills and mountains, particularly if they appear artificial. A mound may be any rounded area of topographically higher elevation on any surface. Artificial mounds have been created for a variety of reasons throughout history, including habitation (see Tell and Terp), ceremonial (platform mound), burial (tumulus), and commemorative purposes (e.g. Kościuszko Mound). Archaeology North American archaeology In the archaeology of the United States and Canada, a mound is a deliberately constructed elevated earthen structure or earthwork, intended for a range of potential uses. In European and Asian archaeology, the word "tumulus" may be used as a synonym for an artificial hill, particularly if the hill is related to particular burial customs. While the term "mound" may be applied to historic constructions, most mounds in the United States are pre-Colum ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Passage Grave
A passage grave or passage tomb consists of one or more burial chambers covered in earth or with stone, and having a narrow access passage made of large stones. These structures usually date from the Neolithic Age, and are found largely in Western Europe. When covered in earth, a passage grave is a type of burial mound which are found in various forms all over the world. When a passage grave is covered in stone, it is a type of cairn. Construction and design The building of passage graves was normally carried out with megaliths along with smaller stones. The earliest passage tombs seem to take the form of small dolmens, although not all dolmens are passage graves. The passage itself, in a number of notable instances, is aligned in such a way that the sun shines through the passage, into the chamber, at a significant point in the year, often at sunrise on the winter solstice or at sunset on the equinox. Many later passage tombs were constructed at the tops of hills or mountains, in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mortuary House
In archaeology and anthropology a mortuary house is any purpose-built structure, often resembling a normal dwelling in many ways, in which a dead body is buried. Proper treatment and placing of the dead has always been of great concern to people around the world. While choice of burial location and treatment of the corpse usually depend on beliefs and ritual standards within a specific cultural context, they are as well of a strategic nature. Burial decisions are affected by cultural norms regarding the deceased’s age, gender, vertical or horizontal status and by the relationship of people to places and other people. Ideas concerning proper burial also apply to those who have been defunct for quite some time. Dead bodies have been exhumed, reburied and desecrated in order to redefine – elevate or degrade – the status of their owners, construct new affiliations, rewrite history and to retrieve or construct social memory. Following the laying to rest of the deceased, who is oft ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dolmen
A dolmen () or portal tomb is a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more upright megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from the early Neolithic (40003000 BCE) and were sometimes covered with earth or smaller stones to form a tumulus (burial mound). Small pad-stones may be wedged between the cap and supporting stones to achieve a level appearance.Murphy (1997), 43 In many instances, the covering has eroded away, leaving only the stone "skeleton". The Korean Peninsula is home to the world's highest concentration of dolmens,UNESCO World Heritage List. "Gochang, Hwasun and Ganghwa Dolmen Sites." https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/977 including "cemeteries" consisting of 30–100 examples located in close proximity to each other; with over 35,000 dolmens, Korea alone (for unknown reasons) accounts for approximately 40% of the global total. History It remains unclear when, why and by whom the earliest dolmens were ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Round Barrow
A round barrow is a type of tumulus and is one of the most common types of archaeological monuments. Although concentrated in Europe, they are found in many parts of the world, probably because of their simple construction and universal purpose. In Britain, most of them were built between 2200BC and 1100BC. This was the Late Neolithic period to the Late Bronze Age. Later Iron Age barrows were mostly different, and sometimes square. Description At its simplest, a round barrow is a hemispherical mound of earth and/or stone raised over a burial placed in the middle. Beyond this there are numerous variations which may employ surrounding ditches, stone kerbs or flat berms between ditch and mound. Construction methods range from a single creation process of heaped material to a complex depositional sequence involving alternating layers of stone, soil and turf with timbers or wattle used to help hold the structure together. The center may be placed a stone chamber or cist or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Burial
Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objects in it, and covering it over. A funeral is a ceremony that accompanies the final disposition. Humans have been burying their dead since shortly after the origin of the species. Burial is often seen as indicating respect for the dead. It has been used to prevent the odor of decay, to give family members closure and prevent them from witnessing the decomposition of their loved ones, and in many cultures it has been seen as a necessary step for the deceased to enter the afterlife or to give back to the cycle of life. Methods of burial may be heavily ritualized and can include natural burial (sometimes called "green burial"); embalming or mummification; and the use of containers for the dead, such as shrouds, coffins, grave liners, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cist
A cist ( or ; also kist ; from grc-gre, κίστη, Middle Welsh ''Kist'' or Germanic ''Kiste'') is a small stone-built coffin-like box or ossuary used to hold the bodies of the dead. Examples can be found across Europe and in the Middle East. A cist may have been associated with other monuments, perhaps under a cairn or long barrow. Several cists are sometimes found close together within the same cairn or barrow. Often ornaments have been found within an excavated cist, indicating the wealth or prominence of the interred individual. This old word is preserved in the Nordic languages as "" in Swedish and "" in Danish and Norwegian, where it is the word for a funerary coffin. In English it is related to "cistern".''cistern'' Regional examples ;Sri Lanka * Bellanbedipalassa * Pothana * Ibbankatuwa Megalithic Stones * Udaranchamadama ;England * Bellever Forest, Dartmoor * Hepburn woods, Northumberland ;Estonia * Jõelähtme (Rebala) stone-cist graves, Harju County ; ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beowulf (hero)
Beowulf (; ang, Bēowulf ) is a legendary Geatish hero in the eponymous epic poem, one of the oldest surviving pieces of English literature. Etymology and origins of the character A number of origins have been proposed for the name ''Beowulf''. Beowulf Henry Sweet, a philologist and linguist specializing in Germanic languages, proposed that the name ''Bēowulf'' literally means in Old English "bee-wolf" or "bee-hunter" and that it is a kenning for "bear".Sweet, Henry. (1884) ''Anglo-Saxon Reader in Prose and Verse'' The Clarendon Press, p. 202. Recorded instances of similar names mirror this etymology. The AD 1031 ''Liber Vitae'' records the name ''Biuuuwulf''. The name is attested to a monk from Durham and means ''bee wolf'' in the Old Northumbrian dialect.Chadwick, Hector Munro (1983) ''The Origin of the English Nation'', p. 294. The 11th century English ''Domesday Book'' contains a recorded instance of the name ''Beulf''. The scholar suggested that the name ''Beowulf'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
