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
U Urn burial
A ring of boulders marking the surface over a cist or pit Cist, Pit
burials. Occasionally double or multiple rings are seen. burials
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.