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dolmen (DOHL-men, DOL-muhn) - n., a prehistoric monument of two or more upright stones supporting a horizontal stone slab, most having originally been covered with earth or smaller stones to form a barrow tomb.
Especially such megalithic structures found in England and France, but similar structures have been found throughout Eurasia -- this one's from Cornwall:
Thanks, WikiMedia!
Most European examples are from the late Neolithic period (4000–3000 BCE). We got the term from French, coined in 1796 by antiquarian Théophile de la Tour d'Auvergne incorrectly (i.e., using French phonological rules) from Breton roots taol, table + maen, stone. (La Tour d'Auvergne also introduced menhir to general use.)
---L.
Especially such megalithic structures found in England and France, but similar structures have been found throughout Eurasia -- this one's from Cornwall:
Thanks, WikiMedia!
Most European examples are from the late Neolithic period (4000–3000 BCE). We got the term from French, coined in 1796 by antiquarian Théophile de la Tour d'Auvergne incorrectly (i.e., using French phonological rules) from Breton roots taol, table + maen, stone. (La Tour d'Auvergne also introduced menhir to general use.)
---L.
