dolmen

[ dohl-men, -muhn, dol- ]

noun

, Archaeology.

1. a structure usually regarded as a tomb, consisting of two or more large, upright stones set with a space between and capped by a horizontal stone.

dolmen

/ ˈdɒlmɛn /

noun

1. (in British archaeology) a Neolithic stone formation, consisting of a horizontal stone supported by several vertical stones, and thought to be a tomb
2. (in French archaeology) any megalithic tomb

Other Words From

• dol·men·ic [dohl-, men, -ik, dol-], adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of dolmen¹

First recorded in 1855–60; from French, from Cornish, form of tolmen “hole of stone” (taken by French archaeologists to mean cromlech ), from toll “hole” (compare Irish toll, Welsh twll ) + men “stone” ( menhir ); alternatively, perhaps from a corruption of Breton taol “table” (from Latin tabula; table ) + maen “stone”

Word History and Origins

Origin of dolmen¹

C19: from French, probably from Old Breton tol table, from Latin tabula board + Breton mēn stone, of Celtic origin; see table

Example Sentences

She said: "The seed of Weymouth Pirate Fest was sown in the '90s, but really began to take off when the band The Dolmen became involved, writing concept albums and making the live music and parade elements central to the event."

From BBC

In all likelihood, the people buried in the dolmen were farmers.

From Science Daily

Last summer, archaeologists from Gothenburg University and Kiel University excavated a dolmen, a stone burial chamber, in Tiarp near Falköping in Sweden.

From Science Daily

"But this dolmen is older. It's about 200 to 150 years older than the passage graves, making it one of the oldest stone burial chambers in Sweden and across the whole of Scandinavia," says Karl-Göran Sjögren.

From Science Daily

The monument is called the “Dolmen of Guadalperal” and it’s made of large stones standing upright in a circular pattern.

From NewsForKids.net