tholos

American  

[thoh-los, -lohs] / ˈθoʊ lɒs, -loʊs /

noun

plural

tholoi

1. (in classical architecture)

   1. a circular building.

   2. a small, round structure, as a lantern.

   3. a circular subterranean tomb, lined with masonry.

2. a subterranean domed tomb chamber of the Mycenaean age.

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tholos British  

/ ˈθəʊlɒs /

noun

1. a dry-stone beehive-shaped tomb associated with the Mycenaean culture of Greece in the 16th to the 12th century _bc

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Etymology

Origin of tholos

First recorded in 1895–1900, tholos is from the Greek word thólos literally, rotunda

Example Sentences

Fortunately the huge stones of the tholos tomb prevented even the backhoe operator from making much progress or destroying the site’s archaeological value.

From New York Times • Dec. 17, 2019

Also, monumental architecture, including many tholos tombs, was excavated at Mycene in the 19th century.

From New York Times • Dec. 17, 2019

Both were originally built in a beehive shape known as a tholos but had collapsed.

From New York Times • Dec. 17, 2019

When they did find the first tholos tomb, they realized to their horror that another excavator had been at work before them, using a backhoe.

From New York Times • Dec. 17, 2019

It is confessedly not the method of the Mycenaeans of the shaft grave, or of the latter tholos or stone beehive-shaped grave; again, the Mycenaeans did not burn the dead; they buried.

From Homer and His Age by Lang, Andrew