Cromlech
A cromlech (sometimes also spelled "cromleh" or "cromlêh"; cf Welsh crom, "bent"; llech, "slate") is a megalithic construction made of large stone blocks. The word applies to two different megalithic forms in English,[1][2] the first being an altar tomb (frequently called a "dolmen"), as William Borlase first denoted in 1769.[3] A good example is at Carn Llechart.[4] The second meaning of the name "cromlech" in English refers to large stone circles such as those found among the Carnac stones in Brittany, France.[2][1]
Unlike in English, the word "cromlech" in many other languages (such as Azerbaijani, Armenian, French, Greek, Indonesian, Italian, Romanian, and Spanish) exclusively denotes a megalithic stone circle, whereas the word "dolmen" is used to refer to the type of megalithic altar tomb sometimes indicated by the English "cromlech". Also, more recently in English, scholars such as Aubrey Burl use "cromlech" as a synonym for "megalithic stone circle".[5]
List
[edit | edit source]- Almendres Cromlech, the Cromlech of the Almendres megalithic complex, near Évora, Portugal
- Dinas Cromlech, a rock outcrop in the Llanberis Pass, Snowdonia, Wales
- Dolni Glavanak Cromlech, an oval stone circle near Dolni Glavanak, Bulgaria
See also
[edit | edit source]Notes
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- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Aubrey Burl: A Guide to the Stone Circles of Britain, Ireland and Brittany. Yale University Press, New Haven 2006, Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value)..
External links
[edit | edit source]
The dictionary definition of cromlech at Wiktionary- Error creating thumbnail: File missing Media related to Lua error in Module:Commons_link at line 62: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). at Wikimedia Commons
