Glossary A B C D E F H I J K L M N O P R S T U V W

A Alignment A series of standing stones set in a more or less straight line. Antechamber First section of a megalithic tomb, separate from the chamber, but with same width and height. Archaeoastronomy The study of astronomical practices amongst ancient societies. Avenue Two parallel rows of standing stones leading to a ceremonial centre such as at Callanish. B Barrow Also tumulus. Round or long mound of earth generally covering a burial tomb. It can be of many different shapes and it is often surrounded by a ditch. Beaker Distinctive and elegant pot with a rounded lower part narrowing to a neck. It is usually decorated with incised patterns. Beakers were often buried with the dead under round barrows. A particular culture (Beaker people) was associated with this kind of pottery. They first entered Britain around 2600 BC and they may have been the first metal-users in the British Isles. Broch Round tower-like drystone defensive structure, confined mainly to the North and West of Scotland, and dating back to the Iron Age. There are often galleries and cells within its walls. Bronze Alloy of copper (dominant) and tin or lead. Bronze Age In Britain the period from 2500-2000 to 750-500 BC, after the Neolithic and before the Iron Age, characterized by the use of bronze for the manufacture of tools and weapons. Burial chamber The burial or funerary chamber is a stone or wooden construction greater than 2 x 1 m externally and 1 x 1 m internally: these measures distinguish it from the cist. The chamber usually contains collective graves, either inhumations or cremations; a single internment is much rarer. C Cairn Round or long mound of small stones, often covering a chamber (chambered cairn) or a burial. Sometimes the word is used for 'earth mound'. Capstone Horizontal stone on top of chamber, passage or dolmen. Carbon-14 (C-14) Substance found in all living material which gradually disappears from the moment life ceases. Its measurement enables any organic matter to be dated (radiocarbon dating). Chambered cairn Chamber tomb covered by a mound of stones. Chamber tomb Common form of tomb, comprising orthostats, sometimes with interstices filled with drystone walling, and a megalithic capstone over a burial chamber. It is often approached by a passage. Cist Small box-like square or rectangular grave. It is usually lined and covered with stone slabs. Clava-type tomb Tombs found in the Inverness area. They are of two different plan-forms: 'passage-grave' (with a central circular burial chamber approached through the cairn by a low passage) and 'ring-cairn' (with no passageway to the central chamber). Both types are surrounded by a ring of stones. Clyde-type tomb Cairn with a forecourt of upright stones. Compartment Internal subdivision of a burial chamber, usually obtained with stone slabs. Corbelling Beehive-shaped style of roofing formed by horizontal stones which overlap each other as they rise and are closed off at the top. Cove Three standing stones, one at the back, two at the sides like an unroofed sentry-box. Crannog Lake dwelling, built on a small artificial island. Cremation Burning of the dead, before burial or disposal. Ashes often placed in urns. Cupmark Cup shaped depression carved out from stone. Often grouped together, they are the result of a repeated ritual gesture of unknown significance. Cup-and-ring marking A cupmark with one or more concentric rings carved around it. Its meaning is unknown. D Dolmen Simple burial chamber with three or more uprights and one or more capstones. A dolmen is often the denuded core of a chambered cairn or mound. Drystone Walling built without any cementing material. The stones are arranged carefully in courses, with many smaller stones filling the gaps between. Dun Gaelic for "fortified place". A small drystone fortification, usually dating to the Iron Age or later, and found mainly in western Scotland. E Earth-house Underground storerooms for domestic settlements, used in Scotland from 800 BC to about AD 200. Also known as souterrains. F Façade Setting of upright stones flanking the entrance to a chambered tomb. Flanker One of two standing stones on either side of the prostrate stone in a recumbent stone circle. The flankers are often the tallest stones in the circle. Flint A hard glassy rock which flakes easily and can be worked to produce a sharp cutting edge. Used in prehistoric times for the manufacture of tools and weapons such as scrapers and arrowheads. Forecourt The space in front of the concave façade of certain monuments. Four-poster A small stone circle of four stones, sometimes set in a rectangle shape. H Henge Late Neolithic earth enclosure consisting of a ditch and an external bank. It can be circular or oval in shape and sometimes it encloses a stone circle as at Ring of Brodgar (Orkney). A Class I henge has one single entrance; a Class II has two or more entrances. Hillfort Hilltop enclosure fortified by one or more ramparts and ditches. Many contain the outlines of huts and were probably defended villages. Horned cairn Many megalithic long mounds present a concave façade with its two extremities ending in extensions known as horns (or wings). They define a partly enclosed space described as the forecourt, probably used for ceremonies commemorating the dead. I Inhumation Burial of a dead body (as opposed to exposure or cremation). Position may be extended, flexed or crouched, prone, supine or on its side. Iron Age Final period of prehistory beginning around 500 BC and lasting into the early centuries of the first millennium AD. Iron superseded bronze as popular material for the manufacture of tools and weapons. J Jet Black soft stone used for jewels in ancient times. K Kerb Ring of retaining stones against mound or cairn base. L Lintel A stone across the top of two uprights, often placed over an entrance. M Megalith "Great stone" from the Greek mega (large) and lithos (stone). Menhir French word for a single standing stone. Mesolithic Middle Stone Age, between Palaeolithic and Neolithic. From about 7000 to 4500 BC. Mica A group of minerals that crystallize in thin, flexible and easily separated layers. Monolith Single stone block, monument or pillar. From the Greek monos (one) and lithos (stone). Mound Of either earth or stone pebbles, generally covering a burial chamber or deposit. N Neolithic Period when settled farming superseded nomadic life, from around 4500 BC to 2200 BC. O Ogham (ogam) Ancient alphabet, in which letters are formed of parallel lines which meet or cross a base-line. Possibly of Irish origin (2nd century AD). Orthostat Large stone or slab, set vertically in a structure often supporting the capstone of a dolmen. P Palaeolithic Old Stone Age: it begins around 500.000 years ago and ends with the Mesolithic around 7000 BC. Passage Usually narrow and low gallery (sometimes with lateral chambers) leading to a broader burial chamber within a mound or a cairn. Façaded forecourt entrance common. Paving Stone slabs on passage and chamber floors. In a megalithic tomb paving stones superimposed on each other may indicate several phases of use. Portal stones Large stones forming the entrance to a structure, usually a tomb. R Radiocarbon dating Measurement in ancient material of the Carbon-14 that enables it to be dated. Rampart Large bank of earth or stones or both forming the defence of a fortified site such as a hillfort. Recumbent stone circle Unique Scottish and Irish circle with one large stone (the recumbent) lying horizontally between two uprights (the flankers). Rock-cut tomb A monument hollowed out of solid rock, and generally designed to take a collective burial. Rock-cut tombs are found in the Mediterranean basin. The only one in the British Isles is Dwarfie Stane on Hoy island (Orkney). Runes Norse alphabet dating from before the 2nd century AD. S Schist Fine-grain rock altered after formation by heat or pressure or both so that it can be split into thin plates. Setting Arrangement of stones which does not fit into any megalithic categorie, such as Achavanich in the Highlands. Sherd Fragment of pottery. Slab Flat comparatively thin dressed stone. Souterrain Underground or semi-subterranean storage chamber or gallery used in Scotland from 800 BC to about AD 200. Also known as earth-house. Standing stone Stone set vertically by man. Also called a menhir when single. Stone circle Ring which may not be circular, of spaced or contiguous standing stones. Stone row Sometimes alignment. Line of regularly spaced standing stones. T Tomb From the Latin "tumba", meaning a burial stone, simple or monumental. Generally it is used in very broad terms to denote megalithic graves. Tumulus Latin for mound or barrow; generally covers a burial. U Urn A pot used from about 2000 to 1000 BC to contain cremated human bones in burials. V Vitrification Fusing together of stones by heat. Vitrification is still visible in some hillforts, for example Craig Phadrig (Highlands). W Wheelhouse Scottish Iron Age circular stone house with internal walls radiating from the centre.

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