prettygoodword (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
prettygoodword) wrote2015-04-07 07:54 am
prettygoodword) wrote2015-04-07 07:54 am
cromlech
cromlech (KROM-lek) - n., a dolmen or portal tomb; prehistoric monument consisting of a group of megaliths, sometimes arranged in a circle or in concentric circles.
Or sometimes also just a pair of upright stones with a horizontal cap. This is no longer used in archaeology except informally, but both meanings persist colloquially, especially in Wales, but also in the rest of Britain where pre-historic Celtic monuments persist. Adopted in the late 17th century from Welsh where it was used in the first meaning, from crom, feminine of crwm, bent/arched + llech, flat stone.
Or sometimes also just a pair of upright stones with a horizontal cap. This is no longer used in archaeology except informally, but both meanings persist colloquially, especially in Wales, but also in the rest of Britain where pre-historic Celtic monuments persist. Adopted in the late 17th century from Welsh where it was used in the first meaning, from crom, feminine of crwm, bent/arched + llech, flat stone.