Passage grave

2025-10-09T08:31:25Z

188.87.109.94: /* Construction and design */

{{Short description|Type of megalithic tomb}}
[[File:File Denghoog 1 24-10-2011.jpg|thumb|A [[Cutaway drawing|cutaway view]] model of a passage tomb]]

A '''passage grave''' or '''passage tomb''' consists of one or more burial chambers covered in earth or stone and having a narrow access passage made of large stones. These structures usually date from the [[Neolithic]] Age and are found largely in Western Europe.<ref>{{cite book |last=De Breffny |first=Brian |author-link= |date=1983 |title=Ireland: A Cultural Encyclopedia |url= |location=London |publisher=Thames and Hudson |page=190|isbn=}}</ref> When covered in earth, a passage grave is a type of [[tumulus|burial mound]]<ref>More technically called a [[tumulus]], and also referred to as a barrow.</ref> which is found in various forms all over the world. When a passage grave is covered in stone, it is a type of [[cairn]].

==Construction and design==
The building of passage graves was normally carried out with [[megalith]]s along with smaller stones. The earliest passage tombs seem to take the form of small [[dolmen]]s, although not all dolmens are passage graves. The passage itself in a number of notable instances is aligned in such a way that the sun shines through the passage and into the chamber at a significant point in the year, often at sunrise on the [[solstice|winter solstice]] or at sunset on the [[equinox]]. Many later passage tombs were constructed at the tops of hills or mountains, indicating that their builders intended them to be seen from a great distance.

The interior of passage graves varies in number of burials, shape, and other aspects. Those with more than one chamber may have multiple sub-chambers leading off from the main burial chamber. One common interior layout, the [[cruciform passage grave]], is cross-shaped, although prior to the [[Christian Era]] and thus having no Christian associations. Some passage tombs are covered with a cairn, especially those Passage tombs of the cairn type often have elaborate [[Corbel arch|corbelled roofs]] rather than simple slabs. [[Prehistoric art|Megalithic art]] has been identified carved into the stones at some sites. Not all passage "graves" have been found to contain evidence that they were used for burial. One such example is [[Maeshowe]].

==Origins and distribution==
The passage tomb tradition is believed to have originated in the French region of [[Brittany]]. It was introduced to other regions such as Ireland by colonists from Brittany.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Sheridan|first=Alison|title=Megaliths and Megalomania: An account and interpretation of the development of passage tombs in Ireland.|journal=The Journal of Irish Archaeology|volume=3|pages=17–30}}</ref>

[[image:Tustrup jaettestue.jpg|thumb|250px|left|Tustrup-dysserne, the largest passage grave in Eastern [[Jutland]], is an example of [[Funnelbeaker culture]] circa 3200 BC.]]

In a 1961 survey of [[Irish Megalithic Tombs|megalithic tombs in Ireland]], Irish scholars Seán Ó Nualláin and [[Rúaidhrí de Valera]] describe four categories of megalithic tombs: [[court cairn]]s, portal [[dolmen]]s, [[wedge-shaped gallery grave]]s, and passage tombs.<ref>{{cite book | last= Ó Nualláin, Seán & [[Rúaidhrí de Valera|De Valera, Rúaidhrí]] | year=1961 |title= Survey of the Megalithic Tombs of Ireland | publisher=Ordnance Survey (Ireland) | location=Dublin}}</ref> This appears to be one of the first uses of the term. It is likely that the writers borrowed from the Spanish term ''tumbas de corredor'', "corridor tombs", which is used for tombs in [[Cantabria]], [[Galicia (Spain)|Galicia]] and the [[Basque Country (greater region)|Basque Country]]. Of the megalithic tombs in Ireland, only passage tombs appear to have widespread distribution throughout Europe.

Passage graves are distributed extensively in lands along the Atlantic seaboard of Europe. They are found in [[Ireland]], [[Great Britain|Britain]], [[Scandinavia]], northern [[Germany]] and the [[Drenthe]] area of the [[Netherlands]]. They are also found in [[Iberian Peninsula|Iberia]], some parts of the [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]], and along the northern coast of [[Africa]]. In [[Ireland]] and Britain, passage tombs are often found in large clusters, giving rise to the term passage tomb cemeteries.

==See also==
*[[Passage tombs in Ireland]]
*[[Entrance grave]]
*[[Chambered cairn]]
*[[Kofun]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Passage graves}}
*[http://www.newgrange.com/ newgrange.com]
*[http://www.worldheritageireland.ie/bru-na-boinne/ World Heritage IE - Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth]

{{Neolithic Europe}}
{{Prehistoric technology| state=expanded}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Passage graves| ]]
[[Category:Megalithic monuments in Europe]]
[[Category:Burial monuments and structures]]

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Passage grave