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Types of Megaliths

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Types of Megaliths Types of Megaliths 5. 1 Glossary Staring Related Term Definition Character Term C Cairn A heap of earth or rubble or a mixture of both erected as Cist, Pit a mound over cist or pit burials. burials Cist burial An underground stone-lined chamber, maybe marked by Cairn, cairn or menhir or stone circle on the surface. One of the menhir, stone slabs forming the side of the chamber (orthostats) stone may have a porthole in it. circle D Dolmen A rectangular chamber erected above the ground, and made by three or four vertical slabs (orthostats) set on end, surmounted by a capstone. In case of closed Orthostat, chambers, one of the orthostats may have a circular, porthole semi-circular, U-shaped, rectangular or a crude porthole in one of the orthostats. Dolmenoid Cist Similar in construction to cists and closed dolmens, Orthostat, except that the chamber is partly sunk into the ground. porthole I Irregular A crude form of the dolmen, also called “boulder Polygonal supported dolmen.” Consists of a capstone slab raised on Chamber (IPC) boulders and the sides blocked with stone blocks or chips to form a chamber. M Menhir A single erect slab or boulder marking the spot of a burial Stone or serving as a memorial. May be part of a stone alignment alignment too. O Orthostat One of the vertical slabs forming the chamber and supporting the capstone in a dolmen, dolmenoid cist or Porthole cist. May or may not contain a porthole. P Pit burial An unlined burial, maybe marked by cairn or menhir or Cairn, stone circle on the surface. menhir, stone circle Porthole A circular, semi-circular, U-shaped, rectangular opening in an orthostat of a dolmen, dolmenoid cist or a cist. In Orthostat some cases the opening is crude, with no definite shape. R Rock-shelter A chamber made by blocking the sides of a natural rock Chamber overhang with stone blocks or chipped pieces of stone. S Sarcophagus An elongated terracotta container with lid used for Cist, Pit burial holding mortal remains. May be buried in a pit or a cist burials and marked by boulder circles, cairns or menhirs. Stone Alignment An arrangement of menhirs in a definite geometric Menhir pattern, usually a grid aligned to the cardinal directions. Stone Circle A ring of boulders marking the surface over a cist or pit Cist, Pit burials. Occasionally double or multiple rings are seen. burials U Urn burial A terracotta urn used for holding mortal remains. Usually buried in a pit and marked by boulder circles, cairns or Pit burials menhirs. In Kerala, marked by kudakkals, too. 5.2 Web links (These are general sites intended to widen the perception of megaliths for the interested students. All the material presented in these websites are not verified and may be coloured by the authors’ views.) Web links http://www.megalithindia.in/ http://www.frontline.in/arts-and-culture/heritage/megalithic-wonder/article4265456.ece http://www.saigan.com/heritage/swaminathan/sittannavasal/megalith.html http://www.tifr.res.in/~archaeo/ http://archive.archaeology.org/1005/etc/india.html https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAyJGi_Eg04 http://www.megalithic.co.uk/ 5.3Bibliography Bibliography Allchin, F. R. 1956. The Stone Alignments of Southern Hyderabad.Man Vol. 56: 133-136. Bauer, A. M. 2015. Before Vijayanagara: Prehistoric Landscapes and Politics in the Tungabhadra Basin. Manohar, New Delhi. Brubaker, R. 2001. Aspects of Mortuary Variability in the South Indian Iron Age.Bulletin of the Deccan College Postgraduate Research Institute, 60-61, Deccan College, Pune, 253-302. Menon, S. M. 2012.Ancient Stone Riddles: Megaliths of the Indian Subcontinent.Manipal University Press, Manipal. Moorti, U. S. 1994.Megalithic Culture of South India: Socio-Economic Perspectives.Ganga Kaveri Publishing House, Varanasi. Moorti, U. S. 2008. Megaliths, in Pearsall, D. M. (ed.), Encyclopedia of Archaeology. Academic Press, New York. Rao, B. K. G. 1972.The Megalithic Culture in South India.Prasaranga, University of Mysore, Mysore. Ruggles, C. 1999.Astronomy in Prehistoric Britain and Ireland. Yale University Press, New Haven and London. Sundara, A. 1975.The Early Chamber Tombs of South India: a Study of the Iron Age Megalithic Monuments of N. Karnataka. University Publishers, Delhi. Wheeler, R. E. M. 1948. Brahmagiri and Chandravalli 1947: Megalithic and Other Cultures in the Chitaldrug District, Mysore State. Ancient India, IV, (1948) 81-308. .
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