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{{Short description|Large stone used to build a structure or monument}}
[[File:강화지석묘의 위용.jpg|thumb|[[Dolmen]] at [[Ganghwa Island]], [[South Korea]] (c. 300 BC)]]   
[[File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Man poseert tussen megalieten bij Batoeberak TMnr 10025819.jpg|thumb|Megalithic Batu Brak, Lampung Province, Indonesia (c. 2100 BC)]]
[[File:Megalithic grave Harhoog in Keitum, Sylt, Germany.jpg|thumb|Megalithic grave [[Harhoog]] in [[Keitum]], [[Sylt]], Germany (c. 3000 BC)]]

A '''megalith''' is a large [[Rock (geology)|stone]] that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. More than 35,000 megalithic structures have been identified across Europe, ranging geographically from [[Sweden]] in the north to the [[Mediterranean Sea]] in the south.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/articles/europe-megalithic-monuments-france-sea-routes-mediterranean-180971467/|title = Europe's Megalithic Monuments Originated in France and Spread by Sea Routes, New Study Suggests}}</ref>

The word was first used in 1849 by the British antiquarian [[Algernon Herbert]] in reference to [[Stonehenge]]<ref>Herbert, A. ''Cyclops Christianus, or the supposed Antiquity of Stonehenge.'' London, J. Petheram, 1849.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/magazine/2017/11-12/history-europe-megaliths-solstice/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200102234739/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/magazine/2017/11-12/history-europe-megaliths-solstice/|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 January 2020|title = Europe's Mighty Megaliths Mark the Winter Solstice| website=[[National Geographic Society]] |date = 21 December 2017}}</ref> and derives from the [[Ancient Greek]] words "[[wikt:μέγας|mega]]" for great and "[[wikt:λίθος|lithos]]" for stone. Most extant megaliths were erected between the [[Neolithic]] period (although earlier [[Mesolithic]] examples are known) through the [[Chalcolithic|Chalcolithic period]] and into the [[Bronze Age]].{{sfnp|Johnson|1908|p=[https://archive.org/details/folkmemory00johngoog/page/n61 67]}}

==Types and definitions==
[[File:Map Megaliths Müller et al. 2023.png|alt=https://www.academia.edu/127169515/A_Map_of_European_Megaliths|thumb|Map showing 17,409 recorded megalithic tombs in Europe, {{c.}} 5000 - 1500 BC<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Müller |first1=Johannes |last2=Kruckenberg |first2=Clemens |last3=Großmann |first3=Ralph |last4=Luckner |first4=Julia |title=A Map of European Megaliths |journal=Journal of Neolithic Archaeology |date=2023 |issue=25 |pages=165–173 |doi=10.12766/jna.2023.6 |url=https://www.jna.uni-kiel.de/index.php/jna/article/view/1452 |language=en |issn=2197-649X}}</ref>]]
While "megalith" is often used to describe a single piece of stone, it also can be used to denote one or more rocks hewn in definite shapes for special purposes.<ref name=PriceFeinman2005>{{cite book |chapter-url=http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/007299634x/student_view0/glossary.html |access-date=July 28, 2018 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930185414/http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/007299634x/student_view0/glossary.html |archive-date=30 September 2007 |chapter=Glossary |first1=T. Douglas |last1=Price |first2=Gary M. |last2=Feinman |author-link2=Gary M. Feinman |title=Images of the Past |edition=4th Student |year=2005 |publisher=McGraw-Hill Higher Education}}</ref> It has been used to describe structures built by people from many parts of the world living in many different periods.{{citation needed|date=January 2020}} The most widely known megaliths are not [[tomb]]s.<ref>{{cite web |website=Rochester's History: An Illustrated Timeline |title=Glossary of Cemetery Terms |at=Definition of ''megalith'' |url=http://www.vintageviews.org/vv-tl/pages/Cem_Glossary.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130605152556/http://www.vintageviews.org/vv-tl/pages/Cem_Glossary.htm |archive-date=June 5, 2013 |access-date=July 28, 2018}}</ref>

===Single stones===
[[File:Megaliths in Baalbek quarry 10216.jpg|thumb|The largest megalith of the ancient world, found in
[[Baalbek]], [[Lebanon]], was quarried during the [[Roman Empire]]<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/baalbek-myth-megalith |title=Baalbek myth megalith |series=Annals of Technology |magazine=New Yorker}}{{full citation needed|date=May 2020}}</ref>]]
;Menhir: [[Menhir]] is the name used in [[Western Europe]] for a single upright stone erected in [[prehistoric]] times; sometimes called a "[[standing stone]]".<ref>{{cite dictionary |url=https://dictionary.cambridge.org/fr/dictionnaire/anglais/menhir |title=menhir |dictionary=Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus |publisher=Cambridge University Press}}</ref>
;Monolith: A [[monolith]] is any single standing stone erected in prehistoric times.<ref>{{cite dictionary |url=https://dictionary.cambridge.org/fr/dictionnaire/anglais/monolith |title=monolith |dictionary=Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus |publisher=Cambridge University Press}}</ref>
;Capstone style: Single megaliths placed horizontally, often over burial chambers, without the use of support stones.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://english.cha.go.kr/cop/bbs/selectBoardArticle.do?ctgryLrcls=CTGRY166&nttId=57997&bbsId=BBSMSTR_1205&mn=EN_03_01 |title=[no title cited] |website=english.cha.go.kr}}{{full citation needed|date=May 2020}}</ref>

===Multiple stones===
;Alignments: Multiple megaliths placed in relation to each other with intention. Often placed in [[stone rows|rows]] or [[spirals]]. Some alignments, such as the [[Carnac Stones]] in [[Brittany]], France, consist of thousands of stones.
;Megalithic walls: Also called ''[[Cyclopean Walls|Cyclopean walls]]''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.architetturadipietra.it/wp/?p=4705 |title=[no title cited] |website=architetturadipietra.it}}{{full citation needed|date=May 2020}}</ref>
;Stone circles: In most languages [[Stone Circles|stone circles]] are called "cromlechs" (a word in the [[Welsh language]]); the word "[[cromlech]]" is sometimes used with that meaning in English.
;Dolmen: A [[Dolmen]] is a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb, typically consisting of a large flat horizontal stone (capstone) supported by two or more vertical stones (uprights). These structures were usually used as burial sites and date from the early Neolithic period. Dolmens are found across many parts of the world, including Europe, Asia, and Africa, with notable examples in countries such as France, Ireland, South Korea, and India.<ref>[https://glosarium.org/arti-dolmen/ Dolman] Glosarium Online. Retrieved 18 December 2022</ref>
;Cist: A [[cist]] is a small stone-built coffin-like box or [[ossuary]] used to hold the [[Dead body|bodies of the dead]]. Burials are megalithic forms very similar to dolmens in structure. These types of burials were completely underground.{{citation needed|date=May 2020}}

==Timeline==
[[File:Göbekli_Tepe,_Urfa.jpg|thumb|[[Göbekli Tepe]] was inhabited from around 9500 BCE to at least 8000 BCE. It is one of the first manifestations of human-made monumental architecture.]]

===Neolithic===
[[File:Megalithic Culture.PNG|thumb|Spread of megalithic culture in Europe]]
[[File:Klekkende Høj barrow.jpg|thumb|[[Klekkende Høj]] passage grave, Denmark, {{circa}}&nbsp;3500-2800 BC]]
* {{circa}} 9000&nbsp;BC: Constructions in [[Asia Minor]], [[Turkey]] ([[Göbekli Tepe]], [[Nevalı Çori]] and other sites); perhaps proto-[[Hattians|Hattian]]{{Citation needed|date=July 2021}}, a yet to be named culture (the oldest discovered ceremonial structures in the world).<ref>{{Cite web|title=Upper Mesopotamia (SE Turkey, N Syria and N Iraq) 14 C databases: 11th – 6th millennia cal BC|url=http://www.canew.org/uppermesop14cbox.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090313082449/http://www.canew.org/uppermesop14cbox.html|archive-date=2009-03-13|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Dietrich|first1=Oliver|last2=Schmidt|first2=Klaus|date=2010|title=A Radiocarbon Date from the Wall Plaster of Enclosure D of Göbekli Tepe|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/234004144|journal=Neo-Lithics|volume=2 |issue=10|pages=82–83}}</ref>
* {{circa}} 7400&nbsp;BC: A 12&nbsp;m long [[monolith]] probably weighing around 15,000&nbsp;kg found submerged 40&nbsp;m under water in the [[Strait of Sicily]] south-west of [[Sicily]]. Its origin and purpose are unknown.<ref name=Lodolo>{{cite journal |last1=Lodolo |first1=Emanuele |last2=Ben-Avraham |first2=Ben |title=A submerged monolith in the Sicilian Channel (central Mediterranean Sea): Evidence for Mesolithic human activity |journal=Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports |date=September 2015 |volume=3 |pages=398–407 |doi=10.1016/j.jasrep.2015.07.003|bibcode=2015JArSR...3..398L }}</ref>
* {{circa}} 7000&nbsp;BC: Construction in [[proto-Canaanite]] Israel ([[Atlit Yam]]).
* {{circa}} 6000&nbsp;BC: Constructions in Portugal ([[Almendres Cromlech]], [[Évora]]) – Possibly first standing stones in Portugal.<ref>{{Cite book |chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/4986883|chapter= Some stones can speak! The social structure, identity and territoriality of SW Atlantic Europe complex appropriator communities reflected in their standing stones|editor1= D. Calado |editor2=M. Baldia |editor3=M. Boulanger |title=Monumental Questions: Prehistoric Megaliths, Mounds, and Enclosures |publisher=British Archaeological Reports |series=BAR International Series |volume=2122 |location=Oxford |pages=7–15 |author1=David Calado |author2=Francisco Nocete |author3=Maria Dolores Càmalich |author4=Dimas Martín-Socas |author5=José Miguel Nieto |author6=António Delgado |author7=Amelia Rodriguez |author8=Moisés Bayona |author9=Esther Alex |author10=Nuno Inácio|date= January 2010}}</ref>
* {{circa}} 5000&nbsp;BC: Emergence of the Atlantic [[Neolithic]] period, the age of agriculture along the western shores of Europe during the sixth millennium BC pottery culture of [[La Almagra]], Spain nearby, perhaps precedent from Africa.
* {{circa}} 4800&nbsp;BC: Constructions in [[Brittany]], [[France]]<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/11/science/megaliths-archaeology-tombs.html|title=Ancient European Stone Monuments Said to Originate in Northwest France|newspaper=The New York Times|date=11 February 2019|last1=Gorman|first1=James}}</ref> ([[Barnenez]]) and [[Poitou]] ([[Tumulus of Bougon|Bougon]]).
* {{circa}} 4500&nbsp;BC: Constructions in south Egypt ([[Nabta Playa]]).
* {{circa}} 4300&nbsp;BC: Constructions in south Spain ([[Dolmen de Alberite]], [[Cádiz]]).
* {{circa}} 4000&nbsp;BC: Constructions in Brittany ([[Carnac]]), Portugal ([[Great Dolmen of Zambujeiro|Great Dolmen of Zambujeiro, Évora]]), France (central and southern), [[Corsica]], Spain ([[Galicia (Spain)|Galicia]]), England and [[Wales]], Constructions in Andalusia, Spain ([[Alberite Dolmen|Villa Martín, Cádiz]]), Construction in [[proto-Canaanite]] Israel c. 4000~3000 BC: Constructions in the rest of the proto-Canaanite [[Levant]], e.g. [[Rujm el-Hiri]] and [[dolmens]].
* {{circa}} 3700&nbsp;BC: Constructions in Ireland ([[Banbridge (district)|Knockiveagh]] and elsewhere).
* {{circa}} 3600&nbsp;BC: Constructions in [[Malta]] ([[Skorba]] temples).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/132/|title = Megalithic Temples of Malta}}</ref>
* {{circa}} 3600&nbsp;BC: Constructions in England ([[Maumbury Rings]] and [[Godmanchester]]), and [[Malta]] ([[Ġgantija]] and [[Mnajdra]] temples).
* {{circa}} 3500&nbsp;BC: Constructions in Spain ([[Málaga]] and [[Guadiana]]), Ireland (south-west), France ([[Arles]] and the north), Malta (and elsewhere in the Mediterranean), Belgium (north-east), and Germany (central and south-west).
* {{circa}} 3400&nbsp;BC: Constructions in Sardinia (circular graves), Ireland ([[Newgrange]]), [[Megaliths in the Netherlands|Netherlands]] (north-east), Germany (northern and central) Sweden and Denmark.
* {{circa}} 3300&nbsp;BC: Constructions in France ([[Carnac stones]])
* {{circa}} 3200&nbsp;BC: Constructions in Malta ([[Ħaġar Qim]] and [[Tarxien Temples|Tarxien]]).
* {{circa}} 3100&nbsp;BC: Constructions in Russia ([[Dolmens of North Caucasus]])
* {{circa}} 3000&nbsp;BC: Constructions in Sardinia (earliest construction phase of the prehistoric altar of [[Monte d'Accoddi]]), France ([[Saumur]], [[Dordogne]], [[Languedoc]], [[Biscay]], and the Mediterranean coast), Spain ([[Los Millares]]), Sicily, Belgium ([[Ardennes]]), and [[Orkney]], as well as the first [[henge]]s (circular earthworks) in Britain.

===Chalcolithic===
[[File:Zorats Karer aerial view.jpg|thumb|[[Zorats Karer]] in Armenia]]
* {{circa}} 2500&nbsp;BC: Constructions in Brittany ([[La Trinité-sur-Mer|Le Menec]], [[Kermario]] and elsewhere), Italy ([[Otranto]]), Sardinia, and [[Scotland]] (northeast), plus the climax of the megalithic [[Beaker culture|Bell-beaker culture]] in [[Iberian Peninsula|Iberia]], Germany, and the [[British Isles]] (stone circle at [[Stonehenge]]). With the bell-beakers, the Neolithic period gave way to the [[Chalcolithic]], the age of copper.
* {{circa}} 2500&nbsp;BC: Tombs at [[Algarve]], [[Portugal]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.visitalgarve.pt/en/3297/archaeology.aspx|title = Archaeology}}</ref> Additionally, a problematic dating (by [[optically stimulated luminescence]]) of Quinta da Queimada Menhir in western Algarve indicates "a very early period of megalithic activity in the Algarve, older than in the rest of Europe and [similar to] the famous Anatolian site of Göbekli Tepe"<ref name=Lodol>{{cite conference
 | first = Manuel
 | last = Calado
 | title = Menhirs of Portugal:all Quiet on the Western Front?
 | book-title =  Statues-menhirs et pierres levéesdu Néolithique à aujourd’hui
 | pages = 243–253
 | publisher =  Direction régionale des affaires culturelles Languedoc-RoussillonGroupe Archéologique du Saint-Ponais
 | date = 2015
 | location = Saint-Pons-de-Thomières
 | url = https://www.academia.edu/17114876
 | access-date =1 September 2016}}</ref>
* c. 2400&nbsp;BC: The Bell-beaker culture was dominant in Britain, and hundreds of smaller [[stone circles]] were built in the British Isles at this time.

===Stone Age===
* {{circa}} 2100&nbsp;BC:The highest plateau Lampung, West Lampung Regency, Batu Brak Liwa, Indonesia Megalith Site.
===Bronze Age===
[[File:Daorson, Bosnia and Herzegovina.jpg|250px|thumb|right|alt=Daorson, Bosnia and Herzegovina|[[Daorson]], [[Bosnia and Herzegovina|Bosnia]], built around a prehistoric central fortified settlement or [[acropolis]] (c. 17–16th to the end of the [[Bronze Age]], c. 9–8th c. BCE), surrounded by [[Cyclopean masonry|cyclopean walls]] (similar to [[Mycenae]]) dated to the 4th c. BCE.<ref name="Urbano biće-1996-Brkljača-IIS">{{cite book |author1=Seka Brkljača |title=Urbano biće Bosne i Hercegovine |date=1996 |publisher=Međunarodni centar za mir, Institut za istoriju |location=Sarajevo |page=27 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GnBPAAAAMAAJ |access-date=28 October 2021 |language=sh}}</ref><ref name="UNESCO-Stolac">{{cite web |title=The natural and architectural ensemble of Stolac |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5282/ |website=UNESCO World Heritage Centre |access-date=28 October 2021 |language=en}}</ref>]]
* {{circa}} 2000&nbsp;BC: Constructions in Brittany ([[Locmariaquer|Er Grah]]), Italy : ([[Bari]]); Sicily ([[Cava dei Servi, Cava Lazzaro]]);, and Scotland ([[Callanish]]). The Chalcolithic period gave way to the [[Bronze Age]] in western and northern Europe.
* {{circa}} 1800&nbsp;BC: Constructions in Italy ([[Giovinazzo]], in Sardinia started the [[Nuragic civilisation]]).
* {{circa}} 1500&nbsp;BC: Constructions in Portugal ([[Alter do Chão|Alter Pedroso]] and [[Peneda-Gerês National Park|Mourela]]).
* {{circa}} 1400&nbsp;BC: Burial of the [[Egtved Girl]] in Denmark, whose body is today one of the best-preserved examples of its kind.
* {{circa}} 1200&nbsp;BC: Last vestiges of the megalithic tradition in the Mediterranean and elsewhere following the [[Bronze Age Collapse]]. Megalithic construction persisted in [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]] into the Iron Age.{{efn|Construction of large stone monuments in the rest of the classical world consisted of assembled sections of relatively small stones, including most construction in Egypt.<!-- Obelisks only? --> Elsewhere in the world some megalithic construction persisted: Occasionally large stone sculptures, relief carvings,<!-- Mostly Buddhist monuments in mid-western and southern Asia --> and open pillared temples were carved in-place in cliff-faces, out of natural rock.<!-- Shiva? temple in India -->{{citation needed|date=May 2020}}}}{{cn|date=November 2023}}

==Geographic distribution of megaliths==
===European megaliths===
[[File:Triangle megalith, Fondachelli Fantina Sicily,.JPG|thumb|Triangular prismatic megalith of Valle Levante, [[Fondachelli-Fantina]], Sicily]]
The most common type of megalithic construction in Europe is the [[portal tomb]]—a chamber consisting of upright stones ([[orthostat]]s) with one or more large flat capstones forming a roof. Many portal tombs have been found to contain human remains, but it is debated if their primary function was use as burial sites. The megalithic structures in the northwest of France are believed to be the oldest in Europe based on radiocarbon dating.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Schulz Paulsson|first=B.|date=2019-02-11|title=Radiocarbon dates and Bayesian modeling support maritime diffusion model for megaliths in Europe|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|volume=116 |issue=9|pages=3460–3465|doi=10.1073/pnas.1813268116 |pmid=30808740|pmc=6397522|bibcode=2019PNAS..116.3460S |issn=0027-8424|doi-access=free}}</ref> Though generally known as "dolmens", the term most accepted by archaeologists is "portal tomb". Local names for portal tombs exist in multiple locations, such as ''anta'' in [[Galicia (Spain)|Galicia]] and Portugal, ''stazzone'' in [[Sardinia]], ''hunebed'' in the Netherlands, ''Hünengrab'' in Germany, ''dysse'' in Denmark, and ''cromlech'' in [[Wales]]. It is assumed that most portal tombs were originally covered by earthen mounds.

The second-most-common tomb type is the [[passage grave]]. It normally consists of a square, circular, or cruciform chamber with a slabbed or [[corbelling|corbelled]] roof, accessed by a long, straight passageway, with the whole structure covered by a circular mound of earth. Sometimes it is also surrounded by an external stone kerb. Prominent examples include the sites of [[Bru na Boinne|Brú na Bóinne]] and [[Carrowmore]] in Ireland, [[Maes Howe]] in [[Orkney]], and [[Gavrinis]] in France.
[[File:paulnabrone.jpg|thumb|[[Poulnabrone dolmen|Poulnabrone portal tomb]], Ireland]]
The third tomb type is a diverse group known as [[gallery grave]]s. These are axially arranged chambers placed under elongated mounds. The Irish [[court tomb]]s, British [[long barrow]]s, and German ''Steinkisten'' belong to this group.

Standing stones, or [[menhirs]] as they are known in France, are very common throughout Europe, where some 50,000 examples have been noted.{{citation needed|date=January 2020}} Some of these are thought to have an astronomical function as a marker or foresight.{{citation needed|date=January 2020}} In some areas, long and complex "alignments" of such stones exist, the largest known example being located at [[Carnac]] in [[Brittany]], France.{{citation needed|date=January 2020}}

In parts of Britain and Ireland a relatively common type of megalithic construction is the [[stone circle]], of which examples include [[Stonehenge]], [[Avebury]], [[Ring of Brodgar]] and [[Beltany stone circle|Beltany]]. These, too, display evidence of astronomical alignments, both solar and lunar. Stonehenge, for example, is famous for its [[solstice]] alignment. Examples of stone circles are also found in the rest of Europe. The circle at [[Lough Gur]], near Limerick in Ireland has been dated to the Beaker period, approximately contemporaneous with Stonehenge. The stone circles are assumed to be of later date than the tombs, straddling the [[Neolithic]] and the [[Bronze Age]]s.

====Tombs====
[[File:hunebed-d27.jpg|thumb|Large, T-shaped ''Hunebed'' D27 in [[Borger-Odoorn]], Netherlands]]
Megalithic tombs are aboveground burial chambers, built of large [[stone slab]]s (megaliths) laid on edge and covered with earth or other, smaller stones. They are a type of [[chamber tomb]], and the term is used to describe the structures built across [[Atlantic Europe]], the Mediterranean, and neighbouring regions, mostly during the [[Neolithic]] period, by Neolithic farming communities. They differ from the contemporary [[long barrow]]s through their structural use of stone.

[[File:Construcción megalito.png|thumb|upright=0.8|Construction of a megalith grave]]
There is a huge variety of megalithic tombs. The free-standing single chamber [[dolmen]]s and [[portal dolmen]]s found in [[Brittany]], Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Sweden, [[Wales]], and elsewhere consist of a large flat stone supported by three, four, or more standing stones. They were covered by a stone [[cairn]] or earth [[tumulus|barrow]].

In Italy, dolmens can be found especially in [[Sardinia]]. There are more than 100 dolmen dating to the Neolithic (3500–2700&nbsp;BC) and the most famous is called ''Dolmen di Sa Coveccada'' (near [[Mores, Sardinia|Mores]]). During the [[Bronze Age]], the [[Nuragic civilization]] built c.&nbsp;800 [[Giants' grave]], a type of megalithic [[gallery grave]] that can be found throughout [[Sardinia]] with different structures. The earliest megalithic tombs in Sardinia are the circular graves of the so-called [[Arzachena culture]], also found in [[Corsica]], [[southern France]] and eastern Spain.

[[File:Dolmenmontebubbonia.jpg|thumb|Dolmen of Monte Bubbonia ([[Sicily]])]]
Dolmens are also in Apulia and in Sicily. In this latter region, they are small structures located in Mura Pregne ([[Palermo]]), Sciacca ([[Agrigento]]), Monte Bubbonia ([[Province of Caltanissetta|Caltanissetta]]), Butera (Caltanissetta), Cava Lazzaro ([[Syracuse, Sicily|Siracusa]]), Cava dei Servi ([[Ragusa, Italy|Ragusa]]), Avola (Siracusa), and [[Argimusco]] in [[Montalbano Elicona]] ([[Messina]]). Dating to the Early Bronze Age (2200–1800 BC), the prehistoric Sicilian buildings were covered by a circular mound of earth. In the dolmen of Cava dei Servi, archaeologists found numerous human bone fragments and some splinters of Castelluccian ceramics (Early Bronze Age) which confirmed the burial purpose of the artefact.{{sfnp|Piccolo|2013|pp=14–17}}

Examples with outer areas, not used for burial, are also known.  The [[Court Cairn]]s of southwest [[Scotland]] and northern Ireland, the [[Severn-Cotswold tomb]]s of southwest England and the [[transepted gallery grave]]s of the [[Loire]] region in France share many internal features, although the links between them are not yet fully understood. That they often have antechambers or forecourts is thought to imply a desire on the part of the builders to emphasize a special [[ritual]] or physical separation of the dead from the living.
[[File:Tumulus Saint-Michel (2).jpg|thumb|[[Saint-Michel tumulus]], megalith grave in [[Brittany]]]]

Megalithic tombs appear to have been used by communities for the long-term deposition of the remains of their dead, and some seem to have undergone alteration and enlargement. The organization and effort required to erect these large stones suggest that the societies concerned placed great emphasis on the proper treatment of their dead. The [[ritual]] significance of the tombs is supported by the presence of [[pre-historic art]] carved into the stones at some sites. Hearths and deposits of pottery and animal bone found by archaeologists around some tombs also implies that some form of burial feast or sacrificial rites took place there.

Further examples of megalithic tombs include the stalled cairn at [[Midhowe Chambered Cairn|Midhowe]] in Orkney and the passage grave at [[Bryn Celli Ddu]] on [[Anglesey]]. There are also extensive grave sites with up to 60 megaliths at [[Louisenlund (Bornholm)|Louisenlund]] and [[Gryet]] on the Danish island of [[Bornholm]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.europage.dk/bornholm/luisenlund/index.htm |title=Louisenlund tæt ved Østermarie på Bornholm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130402054645/http://www.europage.dk/bornholm/luisenlund/index.htm |archive-date=2013-04-02 |website=Europage.dk |language=da |access-date=14 November 2012}}</ref>

Despite its name, the [[Stone Tomb]] in [[Ukraine]] was not a tomb but rather a sanctuary.

====Other structures====
In association with the megalithic constructions across Europe, there are often large [[Earthworks (archaeology)|earthworks]] of various designs—ditches and banks (like the [[Dorset Cursus]]), broad terraces, circular enclosures known as [[henges]], and frequently artificial mounds such as [[Silbury Hill]] in England and [[Sassari|Monte d'Accoddi]] in [[Sardinia]] (the prehistoric step pyramid).

====Spread of megalithic architecture in Europe====
[[File:Nurage1rp.jpg|thumb|Nuraghe in Sardinia]]
In Europe megaliths are, in general, constructions erected during the [[Neolithic]] or late Stone Age and [[Chalcolithic]] or Copper Age (4500–1500 BC). The megalithic structures of [[Malta]] are believed to be the oldest in Europe. Perhaps the most famous megalithic structure is [[Stonehenge]] in England.
In Sardinia, in addition to dolmens, menhirs and circular graves there are also more than 8000 megalithic structures made by a Nuragic civilisation, called [[Nuraghe]]: buildings similar to towers (sometimes with really complex structures) made using only rocks. They are often near [[giants' grave|giant's grave]] or the other megalithic monuments.
[[File:Tumulus de Kercado 2005 02.jpg|thumb|[[Tumulus]] of Kercado, near [[Carnac Stones|Carnac]]. Smaller but older structure in the area. (Part of the [[Cairn]] is visible)]]
The French [[Comte de Caylus]] was the first to describe the [[Carnac stones]]. [[Pierre Jean-Baptiste Legrand d'Aussy]] introduced the terms ''[[menhir]]'' and ''[[dolmen]]'', both taken from the [[Breton language]], into antiquarian terminology. He mistakenly interpreted megaliths as Gallic tombs. In Britain, the [[antiquarian]]s [[John Aubrey|Aubrey]] and [[William Stukeley|Stukeley]] conducted early research into megaliths. In 1805, [[Jacques Cambry]] published a book called ''Monuments celtiques, ou recherches sur le culte des Pierres, précédées d'une notice sur les Celtes et sur les Druides, et suivies d'Etymologie celtiques'', where he proposed a [[Celt]]ic stone cult. This unproven connection between [[druids]] and megaliths has haunted the public imagination ever since.{{citation needed|date=June 2013}} In Belgium, there are the [[Wéris megaliths]] at Wéris, a little town situated in the [[Ardennes]]. In the Netherlands, megalithic structures can be found in the northeast of the country, mostly in the province of [[Drenthe]]. [[Knowth]] is a [[passage grave]] of the [[Brú na Bóinne]] neolithic complex in Ireland, dating from c. 3500–3000 BC. It contains more than a third of the total number of examples of [[megalithic art]] in all Europe, with over 200 decorated stones found during excavations.

===African megaliths===

====North Africa====
[[Nabta Playa]] at the southwest corner of the western Egyptian desert was once a large lake in the [[Nubia]]n Desert, located 500 miles south of modern-day [[Cairo]].<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.archaeology.org/online/news/nubia.html |magazine=Archaeology |title=Neolithic skywatchers |first=Andrew L. |last=Slayman |date=May 27, 1998 |access-date=2007-03-21}}</ref>  By the 5th&nbsp;millennium&nbsp;BC, the peoples in [[Nabta Playa]] had fashioned an astronomical device that accurately marks the summer [[solstice]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/ancient-alignments/|author= Alan Hall |title= Ancient Alignments |work=Scientific American |date=April 6, 1998 |access-date=2015-12-27}}</ref> Findings indicate that the region was occupied only seasonally, likely only in the summer when the local lake filled with water for grazing [[cattle]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://hej3.as.utexas.edu/~www/wheel/africa/nabta_01.htm |title=Nabta|author=J. Clendenon|access-date=2007-03-21 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090503110521/http://hej3.as.utexas.edu/~www/wheel/africa/nabta_01.htm |archive-date=2009-05-03}}</ref> There are other megalithic stone circles in the southwestern desert.

At [[Nabta Playa]], located in Egypt and broader region of the Eastern [[Sahara]], there is a megalithic cultural complex (e.g., [[Animal sacrifice|sacrificed cow]] burial site, [[solar calendar]], [[altar]]) that dates between 4000 BCE and 2000 BCE.<ref name="Holl">{{cite journal  |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/350557762 |doi=10.4314/ijma.v2i15.1|title=Megaliths in Tropical Africa: Social Dynamics and Mortuary Practices in Ancient Senegambia (Ca. 1350 BCE – 1500 CE)|year=2021|last1=Holl|first1=Augustin F.C.|journal=International Journal of Modern Anthropology|volume=2|issue=15|pages=363–412|doi-access=free}}</ref>
Likely part of Copper Age and Bronze Age [[Traditional Berber religion#Megalithic culture|cultural traditions of megalith-building]], megaliths (e.g., [[dolmens]]) were constructed in [[Mediterranean Basin|Mediterranean]] North Africa.<ref name="Holl" />

====West Africa====

In [[Cross-River State]], Nigeria, there are [[Ikom monoliths|megalithic monoliths]] of an anthropomorphic nature.<ref name="Holl" />
At [[Tondidarou]], in the Malian Lakes Region, there are megaliths of an anthropomorphic nature (e.g., face, navel, [[scarifications]]) that date between 600 CE and 700 CE.<ref name="Holl" />
Between 1350 BCE and 1500/1600 CE, [[Senegambian stone circles|Senegambian megaliths]] (e.g., [[tumuli]]) were constructed for the purpose of [[Veneration of the dead#Serer of Senegal and Gambia|ancestral reverence]].<ref name="Holl" />

====Central Africa====

In the northwestern region of the [[Central African Republic]], there are [[Bouar#Bouar Megaliths|megaliths]] that were created for various purposes (e.g., burial, ritual performances).<ref name="Holl" />
Between late 3rd millennium BCE and mid-2nd millennium CE, megaliths (e.g., monuments, cairn burials) were constructed in the regions (e.g., Eastern [[Adamawa Region|Adamawa]], [[Oubanguian]] Ridge, [[Chad Basin#Drainage basin extent|Chad/Congo watershed]]) in Central African Republic and Cameroon, throughout various periods (e.g., Balimbé: 2000 BCE – 1000 BCE; Early Gbabiri: 950 BCE – 200 BCE; Late Gbabiri: 200 BCE – 500 CE; Bouboun: 500 CE – 1600 CE), for various purposes (e.g., ritual practices, territorial marking).<ref name="Holl" />

====Eastern Africa====

In the [[Ethiopian Highlands]] of [[Harar]], the earliest construction of megaliths occurred.<ref name="Holl" />  From this region and its megalith-building tradition (e.g., dolmens, [[tumuli]] with burial chambers organized in cemeteries), the subsequent traditions in other areas of [[Ethiopia]] likely developed.<ref name="Holl" />  In the late 1st millennium BCE, the urban civilization of [[Axum]] developed a megalithic [[Stele#Horn of Africa|stelae]]-building tradition, which commemorated Axumite royalty and elites, that persisted until the [[Christianity in Africa#Early Church|Christian]] period of [[Kingdom of Aksum#Axumite Empire|Axum]].<ref name="Holl" /> In the Sidamo Province, the megalithic monoliths of the stelae-building cultural tradition were utilized as tombstones in cemeteries (e.g., Arussi, Konso, Sedene, Tiya, Tuto Felo), and have engraved anthropomorphic features (e.g., swords, masks), phallic form, and some of that served as markers of territory.<ref name="Holl" />  Sidamo Province has the most megaliths in Ethiopia.<ref name="Holl" />
In 2nd millennium BCE, Namoratunga (Monolith Circles) megaliths were constructed as burials the eastern [[Lake Turkana|Turkana]] region of northwestern [[Kenya]].<ref name="Holl" />

[[Namoratunga]], a group of megaliths dated 300&nbsp;BC, was used by [[Cushitic languages|Cushitic]]-speaking people as an alignment with star systems tuned to a lunar calendar of 354&nbsp;days. This site was excavated by B. N. Lynch and L. H. Robins of [[Michigan State University]].<ref>{{cite book |author=Krup, Edwin C. |year=2003 |title=Echoes of the Ancient Skies |publisher=Courier Dover Publications |pages=170–171 |isbn=0486428826}}</ref>

Additionally, [[Tiya (archaeological site)|Tiya]] in central [[Ethiopia]] has a number of old megaliths. Some of these ancient structures feature engravings, and the area is a World Heritage Site. Megaliths are also found within the Valley of Marvels in the East Hararghe area.

====Southern Africa====

In the mid-2nd millennium CE, the megalithic funerary monuments of [[Madagascar]] were constructed amid the [[History of Madagascar#Rise of the great kingdoms|emergent period]] of the [[Merina Kingdom]].<ref name="Holl" />  Some of the megaliths remain utilized by [[Malagasy language|Malagasy]]-speakers for funerary practices (e.g., ceremony of turning the dead) in present-day.<ref name="Holl" />

===Asian megaliths===
[[File:Example of a northern-style dolmen at Ganghwa Island.jpg|thumb|right|Northern-style megalithic burial dolmen from [[Ganghwa Island]], [[South Korea]]]]
Megalithic burials are found in Northeast and Southeast Asia. They are found mainly in the [[Korean Peninsula]]. They are also found in the [[Liaoning]], [[Shandong]], and [[Zhejiang]] in China, the East Coast of [[Taiwan]], [[Kyūshū]] and [[Shikoku]] in Japan, [[Đồng Nai Province]] in [[Vietnam]] and [[South Asia]]. Some living megalithic traditions are found on the island of [[Sumba]] and [[Nias]] in [[Indonesia]]. The greatest concentration of megalithic burials is in Korea. Archaeologists estimate that there are 15,000 to 100,000 southern megaliths in the Korean Peninsula.<ref>Goindol [Megalith] in ''Hanguk Gogohak Sajeon'' [Dictionary of Korean Archaeology], National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage (ed.) NRICH, Seoul. {{ISBN|8955080255}} pp. 72–75.</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rhee |first1=Song-nai |last2=Choi |first2=Mong-lyong |year=1992 |title=Emergence of Complex Society in Prehistoric Korea |journal=Journal of World Prehistory |volume=6 |issue=1| page=68 |doi=10.1007/bf00997585| s2cid=145722584}}</ref> Typical estimates hover around the 30,000 mark for the entire peninsula, which in itself constitutes some 40% of all dolmens worldwide (see [[Dolmen#Asia|Dolmen]]).

====North East Asia====

=====Northern style=====
Northeast Asian megalithic traditions originated from [[Gojoseon]], which was in modern-day [[Manchuria]] and [[North Korea]]. This was prominent within the [[Liao River]] basin in particular in the early phases.{{sfnp|Rhee|Choi |1992|p=70}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Nelson |first=Sarah M. |year=1999 |chapter=Megalithic Monuments and the Introduction of Rice into Korea |title=The Prehistory of Food: Appetites for Change |editor1=C. Gosden |editor2=J. Hather |publisher=Routledge |place=London |pages=147–165}}</ref> The practice of erecting megalithic burials spread quickly from the Liao River Basin and into the Korean Peninsula, where the structure of megaliths is geographically and chronologically distinct. The earliest megalithic burials are called "northern" or "table-style" because they feature an above-ground burial chamber formed by heavy stone slabs that form a rectangular cist.{{sfnp|Rhee|Choi|1992|p=68}} An oversized capstone is placed over the stone slab burial chamber, giving the appearance of a table-top. These megalithic burials date to the early part of the [[Mumun pottery period]] (c. 1500–850 BC) and are distributed, with a few exceptions, north of the [[Han River (Korea)|Han River]]. Few northern-style megaliths in North Korea and Manchuria contain [[grave goods]] such as [[Liaoning bronze dagger culture|Liaoning bronze daggers]], prompting some archaeologists to interpret the burials as the graves of chiefs or preeminent individuals.{{sfnp|Nelson|1999}} However, whether a result of grave-robbery or intentional mortuary behaviour, most northern megaliths contain no grave goods.

=====Southern style=====
[[File:Orim-dongmegalithpetroglyph.jpg|thumb|upright=0.80|Representations of a dagger (right) and two human figures, one of which is kneeling (left), carved into the capstone of Megalithic Burial No. 5, Orim-dong, [[Yeosu]], Korea]]
Southern-style megalithic burials are distributed in the southern [[Korean Peninsula]]. It is thought that most of them date to the latter part of the Early [[Mumun pottery period|Mumun]] or to the Middle Mumun Period.{{sfnp|Rhee|Choi|1992|p=68}}{{sfnp|Nelson|1999}} Southern-style megaliths are typically smaller in scale than northern megaliths. The interment area of southern megaliths has an underground burial chamber made of earth or lined with thin stone slabs. A massive capstone is placed over the interment area and is supported by smaller propping stones. Most of the megalithic burials on the [[Korean Peninsula]] are of the southern type.

As with northern megaliths, southern examples contain few, if any, artifacts. However, a small number of megalithic burials contain fine red-burnished pottery, bronze daggers, polished groundstone daggers, and greenstone ornaments. Southern megalithic burials are often found in groups, spread out in lines that are parallel with the direction of streams. Megalithic cemeteries contain burials that are linked together by low stone platforms made from large river cobbles. Broken red-burnished pottery and charred wood found on these platforms has led archaeologists to hypothesize that these platform were sometimes used for ceremonies and rituals.<ref>GARI [Gyeongnam Archaeological Research Institute] (2002) ''Jinju Daepyeong Okbang 1–9 Jigu Mumun Sidae Jibrak'' [The Mumun Period Settlement at Localities 1–9, Okbang in Daepyeong, Jinju]. GARI, Jinju.</ref> The capstones of many southern megaliths have 'cup-marks' carvings. A small number of capstones have human and dagger representations.

=====Capstone style=====
[[File:Example of a southern-style dolmen at Ganghwa Island.jpg|thumb|right|Example of a southern-style dolmen at [[Ganghwa Island]], [[South Korea]]]]
These megaliths are distinguished from other types by the presence of a burial shaft, sometimes up to 4 m in depth, which is lined with large cobbles.<ref name="Bale">Bale, Martin T. "[http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~ekp/resources/studies/bale-yulha-ri.html Excavations of Large-scale Megalithic Burials at Yulha-ri, Gimhae-si, Gyeongsang Nam-do]" in ''Early Korea Project''. Korea Institute, Harvard University. Retrieved 10 October 2007</ref> A large capstone is placed over the burial shaft without propping stones. Capstone-style megaliths are the most monumental type in the [[Korean Peninsula]], and they are primarily distributed near or on the south coast of Korea. It seems that most of these burials date to the latter part of the Middle Mumun (c. 700–550 BC), and they may have been built into the early part of the Late Mumun. An example is found near modern [[Changwon]] at Deokcheon-ni, where a small cemetery contained a capstone burial (No. 1) with a massive, rectangularly shaped, stone and earthen platform. Archaeologists were not able to recover the entire feature, but the low platform was at least 56×18 m in size.

====Southeast Asia====
{{Main|Archaeology of Indonesia}}

=====Living megalith culture of Indonesia=====
[[File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Monolithen in Toraja TMnr 10005152.jpg|thumb|right|[[Toraja]] monolith, c. 1935]]

The [[List of islands of Indonesia|Indonesian archipelago]] is the host of [[Austronesian people|Austronesian]] and [[Melanesians]] megalith cultures both past and present. Living megalith cultures can be found on [[Nias]], an isolated island off the western coast of [[North Sumatra]], the [[Batak]] people in the interior of North Sumatra, on [[Ngada Regency|Flores]] and [[Sumba]] island in [[East Nusa Tenggara]] and also [[Toraja]] people from the interior of [[South Sulawesi]]. These megalith cultures remained preserved, isolated and undisturbed well into the late 19th century.<ref name="Desa Megalitikum">{{cite book |title=Indonesian Megaliths: A forgotten cultural heritage |last1=Steimer-Herbet |first1=Tara |publisher= Archaeopress Publishing Ltd |year= 2018 |location=Oxford |isbn= 9781784918446}}</ref>

Several megalith sites and structures are also found across Indonesia. Menhirs, dolmens, stone tables, and ancestral stone statues were discovered in various sites in [[Java]], [[Sumatra]], [[Sulawesi]], [[Lesser Sunda Islands]], and [[New Guinea]].<ref name="Sistem Registrasi Nasional Cagar Budaya 2017">{{cite web | title=Megalit Tutari Doyo Lama | website=Sistem Registrasi Nasional Cagar Budaya | date=2017-10-04 | url=http://cagarbudaya.kemdikbud.go.id/cagarbudaya/detail/PO2016052500027/megalit-tutari-doyo-lama | access-date=2022-07-29 | archive-date=2022-07-26  | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220726090036/http://cagarbudaya.kemdikbud.go.id/cagarbudaya/detail/PO2016052500027/megalit-tutari-doyo-lama | url-status=dead }}</ref>

The [[Cipari]] megalith site also in West Java displays monoliths, stone terraces, and sarcophagi.<ref>{{cite book |title=Hasil Pemugaran dan Temuan Benda Cagar Budaya PJP I |author1=I.G.N. Anom |author2=Sri Sugiyanti |author3= Hadniwati Hasibuan |editor1=Maulana Ibrahim |editor2=Samidi |publisher=Direktorat Jenderal Kebudayaan |year=1996 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BjXkCgAAQBAJ&q=Punden+Berundak+Cipari&pg=PA87 |page=87 |language=id}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sunda.org/SundaClippings/Word_Clippings/img026.doc |date=10 May 1995 |title=Cipari archaeological park discloses prehistoric life in West Java |work=The Jakarta Post |access-date=2009-12-10  |archive-date=2016-03-03  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303171034/http://www.sunda.org/SundaClippings/Word_Clippings/img026.doc |url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[Lore Lindu National Park]] in [[Central Sulawesi]] houses ancient megalith relics such as ancestral stone statues, mostly located in the Bada, Besoa and Napu valleys.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.toraja-sulawesi.com/lore-lindu.html |access-date=2009-12-10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100223085745/http://www.toraja-sulawesi.com/lore-lindu.html |archive-date=2010-02-23 |title=Lore Lindu National Park in Central Sulawesi}}</ref>

==== South Asia ====
{{see also | Archaeology in India }}
[[File:Jawargi Megalith 1873.jpg|thumb|Cross section of a megalithic burial site]]
Megaliths in South Asia are dated before 3000 BC, with recent findings dated back to 5000 BC in southern India.<ref>{{cite news|last1=P|first1=Pavan|title=Megalith from 5000 BC found in Telangana |website=Times of India |date=24 October 2016 |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/megalith-from-5000-bc-found-in-telangana/articleshow/55026234.cms}}</ref> Megaliths are found in almost all parts of South Asia. There is also a broad time evolution with the megaliths in central India and the upper Indus valley where the oldest megaliths are found, while those in the east also old shows evidence of continued traditions of living megalithic practices until recently.<ref name="Vahia and Menon"/><ref>{{Cite journal
| last =Anuja
| first =Geetali
| title =Living Megalithic practices amongst the Madia gonds of Bhamragad, District Gadchiroli, Maharashtra
| journal =Purātattva
| volume =32
| issue =1
| pages =244
| year =2002
| url =http://www.indarchaeology.org/puratattva/puratattva_32.htm
| access-date =2009-06-18
| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20130510070325/http://www.indarchaeology.org/puratattva/puratattva_32.htm
| archive-date =2013-05-10
| url-status =dead
}}</ref> A large fraction of these are assumed to be associated with burial or post burial rituals, including memorials for those whose remains may or may not be available. The case-example is that of Brahmagiri, which was excavated by Wheeler (1975) and helped establish the culture sequence in south Indian prehistory. However, there is another distinct class of megaliths that do not seem to be associated with burials.<ref name="Vahia and Menon">{{cite conference |vauthors=Vahia N, Menon M, Abbas R, Yadav N |date=September 2010 |title=Megaliths in Ancient India and their possible association to astronomy |url=http://www.tifr.res.in/~archaeo/papers/Prehistoric%20astronomy/Megaliths%20in%20Ancient%20India.pdf |conference=7th International Conference on Oriental Astronomy, Japan}}</ref>

[[File:MarayoorDolmen.JPG|thumb|Megalithic dolmen in [[Marayur|Marayoor]], India]]
In South Asia, megaliths of all kinds are noted; these vary from [[List of menhirs#India|menhirs]], rock-cut burial, chamber tomb, [[List of dolmens#India|dolmens]], stone alignment, stone circles and anthropomorphic statue figures.{{sfn|Vahia|Menon|Abbas|Yadav|2010|p=4}} These are broadly classified into two (potentially overlapping) classes (after Moorti, 1994, 2008): ''Sepulchral'' (containing remains of the dead), or memorial stones where mortal remains along with funerary objects are placed; and ''Non-sepulchral'' including large patterned placement of stones over a wide area. The 'non-sepulchral' type is associated with astronomy and cosmology in South Asia and in other parts of the world (Menon and Vahia, 2010).{{sfn|Vahia|Menon|Abbas|Yadav|2010|pp=3–4}}

In the context of prehistoric anthropomorphic figures in India, (Rao 1988/1999, Upinder Singh 2008) note that it is unclear what these giant anthropomorph statues symbolize. They usually occur in association with megalithic monuments and are located in megalithic burial grounds, and may have been connected with ancestor worship.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Singh|first1=Upinder|title=A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India|date=2008|publisher=Pearson Education |location=New Delhi|isbn=978-8131711200|page=252}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Rao|first1=K.P|title=Megalithic Anthropomorphic Statues: Meaning and Significance |website=ResearchWorks Journal Hosting |url=http://journals.lib.washington.edu/index.php/BIPPA/article/viewFile/11729/10358}}</ref>

====West Asia====
{{see also|Matzevah}}
[[File:Göbekli Tepe.jpg|thumb|Göbekli Tepe]]

At a number of sites in southeastern Turkey, ceremonial complexes with large T-shaped megalithic [[orthostat]]s, dating from the [[Pre-Pottery Neolithic]] (PPN, {{circa}} 9600–7000&nbsp;cal BC), have been discovered.

At the most famous of these sites, [[Göbekli Tepe]], parts of the oldest level (III) have been [[Carbon 14 dating|C14-dated]] as far back as to the mid-10th millennium&nbsp;BC (cal).<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.academia.edu/4386577 |title=Establishing a radiocarbon sequence for Göbekli Tepe. State of research and new data |journal=NeoLithics |date=January 2013 |volume=1 |issue=13 |pages=36–47 |last1=Notroff |first1=Jens |last2=Dietrich |first2=Oliver}}</ref> On this level, 20&nbsp;great stone circles (up to 20&nbsp;meters in diameter) with [[standing stone]]s up to 7&nbsp;meters high have been identified.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Site |series=The Tepe Telegrams: News & Notes from the Göbekli Tepe Research Staff |date=<!-- Undated blog entry --> |url=https://www.dainst.blog/the-tepe-telegrams/the-research-project/ |access-date=4 August 2019}}</ref> At least&nbsp;5 of these circles have so far (as of 2019) been excavated.<ref>{{cite web |last=Notroff |first=Jens |title=Introducing: Enclosure&nbsp;H – Welcoming a new member to the Göbekli Tepe-family |series=The Tepe Telegrams: News & Notes from the Göbekli Tepe Research Staff |id=Blog entry 26 |date=May 2017 |url=https://www.dainst.blog/the-tepe-telegrams/2017/05/26/introducing-enclosure-h-welcoming-a-new-member-to-the-goebekli-tape-family/ |access-date=4 August 2019}}</ref> Many of the standing stones are richly ornamented with carved reliefs of "[b]ears, boars, snakes, foxes, wildcats, aurochs, gazelle, quadruped reptiles, birds, spiders, insects, quadrupeds, scorpions" and other animals; in addition, some of the stones are carved in low profile with stylized human features (arms, hands, loincloths, but ''no heads'').<ref>{{cite web |last=Dietrich |first=Oliver |title=Emblematic signs? On the iconography of animals at Göbekli Tepe |series=The Tepe Telegrams: News & Notes from the Göbekli Tepe Research Staff |id=Blog entry 16 |date=August 2016 |url=https://www.dainst.blog/the-tepe-telegrams/2016/08/16/emblematic-signs-on-the-iconography-of-animals-at-gobekli-tepe/ |access-date=4 August 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2008/apr/23/archaeology.turkey |title=7,000&nbsp;years older than Stonehenge: The site that stunned archaeologists |first=Nicholas |last=Birch |date=22 April 2008 |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |place=London, UK}}</ref>

On the younger level (II) rectangular structures with smaller megaliths have been excavated. In the surrounding area, several village sites incorporating elements similar to those of Göbekli Tepe have been identified.<ref>{{cite web |last=Dietrich |first=Oliver |title=Who built Göbekli Tepe? |series=The Tepe Telegrams: News & Notes from the Göbekli Tepe Research Staff |id=Blog entry 18 |date=August 2016 |url=https://www.dainst.blog/the-tepe-telegrams/2016/05/18/who-built-gobekli-tepe/ |access-date=4 August 2019}}</ref> Four of these have Göbekli Tepe's characteristic T-shaped standing stones, though only one of them, [[Nevalı Çori]], has so far been excavated.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Dietrich, O. |author2=Heun, M. |author3=Notroff, J. |author4=Schmidt, K. |author5=Zarnkow, M. |year=2012 |title=The role of cult and feasting in the emergence of Neolithic communities. New evidence from Göbekli Tepe, south-eastern Turkey |journal=Antiquity |volume=86 |issue=33 |pages=674–695 |doi=10.1017/S0003598X00047840|doi-access=free }}</ref> At Göbekli Tepe itself, no traces of habitation have so far been found, nor any trace of agriculture or cultivated plants, though bones of wild animals and traces of wild edible plants, along with many grinding stones, have been unearthed.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Cereal processing at early Neolithic Göbekli Tepe, southeastern Turkey |display-authors=etal |first1=Laura |last1=Dietrich |year=2019 |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=14 |issue=5 |page=e0215214 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0215214 |pmid=31042741 |pmc=6493732 |bibcode=2019PLoSO..1415214D|doi-access=free }}</ref> It is thus assumed that these structures (which have been characterized as the first known ceremonial architecture)<ref name="ArchMag">{{cite web |url=http://www.archaeology.org/0811/abstracts/turkey.html |title=The World's First Temple |work=Archaeology magazine |date=Nov–Dec 2008 |page=23}}</ref> were erected by [[hunter-gatherer]]s.

Göbekli Tepe's oldest structures are about 7,000&nbsp;years older than the [[Stonehenge]] megaliths, although it is doubtful that any of the European megalithic traditions ([[#European megaliths|see below]]) are derived from them.<ref>{{cite book |author=Mithen, S. |year=2003 |title=After the Ice – A global human History, 21,000–5,000&nbsp;BC |place=London |pages=62–71}}</ref> [[File:Karahunj - standing stones (5127916747).jpg|thumb|[[Zorats Karer]] at [[Armenia]] ([[Zorats Karer|''Armenian Stonehenge'']])]]

[[File:Ader, Jordan.JPG|thumb|right|upright=0.8|Standing stone at Ader, Southern Jordan]]
[[Dolmens]] and [[standing stones]] have been found in large areas in other parts of West Asia starting at the [[Turkey|Turkish]] border in the north of [[Syria]] close to [[Aleppo]], southwards down to [[Yemen]]. They can be encountered in [[Lebanon]], Syria, [[Iran]], [[Israel]], [[Jordan]], and [[Saudi Arabia]]. The largest concentration can be found in southern Syria and along the [[Jordan Rift Valley]]; these are threatened with destruction. They date from the late Chalcolithic or Early Bronze Age.{{sfnp|Scheltema|2008|p=}}  Megaliths have also been found on [[Kharg Island]] and [[Pirazmian]] in [[Iran]], at [[Barda Balka]] in [[Iraq]].

[[File:Atlit-Yam, Ritual structure made of stones, restoration.JPG|thumb|Megalithic structure at [[Atlit Yam]], Israel]]
A semicircular arrangement of megaliths was found in Israel at [[Atlit Yam]], a site that is now under the sea. It is a very early example, dating from the [[7th millennium BC]].<ref>{{cite journal |title=Atlit-Yam, Israel |journal=New Scientist |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20427361-400-atlit-yam-israel}}, from the feature by {{cite journal |last1=Jo Marchant |title=Drowned cities: Myths and secrets of the deep |journal=New Scientist |date=Nov 28, 2009 |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20427361-100-drowned-cities-myths-and-secrets-of-the-deep}}</ref>

The most concentrated occurrence of dolmens in particular is in a large area on both sides of the [[Jordan Rift Valley]], with greater predominance on the eastern side. They occur first and foremost on the [[Golan Heights]], the [[Hauran]], and in Jordan, which probably has the largest concentration of dolmen in West Asia. In Saudi Arabia, only very few dolmen have been identified so far in the [[Hejaz]]. They seem, however, to re-emerge in Yemen in small numbers, and thus could indicate a continuous tradition related to those of [[Somalia]] and [[Ethiopia]].

[[File:Smeisani, Amman, Jordan.jpg|thumb|Standing stone in [[Amman]], Jordan.]]
The standing stone has a very ancient tradition in West Asia, dating back from [[Mesopotamia]]n times. Although not always 'megalithic' in the true sense, they occur throughout the area and can reach 5 metres or more in some cases (such as at [[Al Karak|Ader]] in Jordan). This phenomenon can also be traced through many passages from the [[Old Testament]], such as those related to [[Jacob]], the grandson of [[Abraham]], who poured oil over a stone that he erected after his famous dream in which angels climbed to heaven (Genesis 28:10–22). Jacob is also described as putting up stones at other occasions, whereas [[Moses]] erected twelve pillars symbolizing the tribes of Israel. The tradition of venerating standing stones continued in [[Nabatean]] times.
Related phenomena, such as cupholes, rock-cut tombs and circles, also occur in West Asia.

===Melanesian megaliths===
Megaliths occur in many parts of [[Melanesia]], mainly in [[Milne Bay Province]], [[Fiji]] and [[Vanuatu]]. Few excavations have been made and little is known about the structures.
The megalith tomb Otuyam at [[Kiriwina]] has been dated to be approximately 2,000 years old which indicates that megaliths are an old custom in Melanesia. However very few megaliths have been dated. The constructions have been used for different rituals. For example, tombs, sacrifices and rituals of fecundity. Dance sites exist next to some megaliths. In some places in Melanesia rituals are continued to be held at the sacred megalith sites. The fact that the beliefs are alive is a reason that most excavations have been stopped at the sites.

===Micronesian megaliths===
Megalithic structures in Micronesia reach their most developed form on the islands of [[Pohnpei]] and [[Kosrae]] in the Eastern Caroline Islands. On these two islands there was extensive use of prismatic basalt columns to build upland building complexes such as those at Salapwuk on Pohnpei and Menka on Kosrae.  These building sites, remote from the ocean, appear to have been abandoned early.  Megalithic building then shifted to constructing networks of artificial islands on the coast that supported a multitude of common, royal and religious structures.  Dating of the structures is difficult but the complex at [[Nan Madol]] on Pohnpei was probably inhabited as early as c. 800, probably as artificial islands, with the more elaborate buildings and religious structures added to the site from 1000 to 1400 AD.

==Modern theories==
===Purposes===
Megaliths were used for a variety of purposes ranging from serving as boundary markers of territory, being reminder of past events, to being part of the society's religion.{{sfnp|Goblet d'Alviella|Wicksteed|1892|pp=22–23}} Common motifs including crooks and axes seem to be symbols of political power, much as the crook was a symbol of Egyptian pharaohs. Amongst the [[indigenous peoples]] of India, [[Malaysia]], [[Polynesia]], North Africa, North America, and South America, the worship of these stones, or the use of these stones to symbolize a spirit or deity, is a possibility.{{sfnp|Goblet d'Alviella|Wicksteed|1892|p=23}} In the early 20th&nbsp;century, some scholars believed that all megaliths belonged to one global "Megalithic culture"<ref>Gaillard, Gérald (2004) ''The Routledge Dictionary of Anthropologists''. Routledge. {{ISBN|0415228255}}, p. 48</ref> ([[hyperdiffusionism]], e.g. "the Manchester school",{{sfnp|Lancaster Brown|1976|p=267}} by [[Grafton Elliot Smith]] and [[W. J. Perry|William James Perry]]), but this has long been disproved by modern dating methods.{{Citation needed|date=April 2007}} Nor is it believed any longer that there was a pan-European megalithic culture, although regional cultures existed, even within such small areas as the British Isles.  The archaeologist Euan Mackie wrote, "Likewise it cannot be doubted that important regional cultures existed in the Neolithic period and can be defined by different kinds of stone circles and local pottery styles (Ruggles & Barclay 2000: figure 1). No-one has ever been rash enough to claim a nationwide unity of all aspects of Neolithic archaeology!".<ref>Mackoe, Euan W, "The structure and skills of British Neolithic Society: a brief response to Clive Ruggles & Gordon Barclay. (Response)", ''Antiquity'' September 2002</ref>

===Methods of construction===
Much scholarship over history has suggested that Stone Age peoples moved the large stones on cylindrical wooden rollers. However, there is some disagreement with this theory, specifically as experiments have indicated that this method is impractical on uneven ground. In some contemporary megalith building cultures, such as in [[Sumba]], [[Indonesia]], great emphasis is placed on the social status of moving heavy stones without the relief of rollers. In the majority of documented contemporary megalithic-building communities, the stones have been placed on timber sledges and dragged without rollers.<ref>{{Cite journal |doi = 10.1111/ojoa.12142|title = Roll Me a Great Stone: A Brief Historiography of Megalithic Construction and the Genesis of the Roller Hypothesis|year = 2018|last1 = Harris|first1 = Barney|journal = Oxford Journal of Archaeology|volume = 37|issue = 3|pages = 267–281|doi-access = free}}</ref>

=== Types of megalithic structure ===
The types of megalithic structure can be divided into two categories, the "polylithic type" and the "monolithic type".{{sfnp|Keane|1896|p=124}} Different megalithic structures include:

{|width=85% cellspacing=3 style="border: 1px; margin-bottom: 3px;"
|cellspacing=3 cellpadding=3 valign="top"|
;Polylithic type
* [[Dolmen]]: a free-standing chamber, consisting of standing stones covered by a capstone as a lid. Dolmens were used for burial and were covered by mounds.
** [[Great dolmen]]s
** [[Rectangular dolmen]]s
** [[Simple dolmen]]s
** [[Polygonal dolmen]]s
* [[Taula]]: a straight standing stone, topped with another forming a 'T' shape.
* [[Cistvaen]]s
* [[Unchambered long barrow]]s
* [[Guardian stones]]
* [[Passage grave]]
* [[Tumuli]] or barrows
* [[Cairn]]s or ''Galgals''
* [[Cromlech]] (a [[Welsh language|Welsh]] term for a stone circle)
* [[Cyclopean wall]]s
* [[Kurgan]]s
* [[Nuraghi]]
* [[Giants' grave|Giant's grave]]
* [[Talayot]]s
* [[Broch|Round Tower]]s
* [[Marae]] ([[Polynesia]])
* [[Easter Island#Ahu|Ahu]]s with [[Moai]] and [[Pukao]] ([[Easter Island]])
|
|cellspacing=3 cellpadding=3 valign="top"|
;Monolithic type
* [[Menhir]]: a large single upright standing stone.
* [[Baetylus]]
* [[Alignment (archaeology)|Alignments]]<ref>{{harvp|Lancaster Brown|1976|p=6}}: "French word alignement is used to describe standing stones arranged in rows to form long ‘processional' avenues".</ref> (or [[Stone row]] avenues [e.g., Linear arrangement of upright, parallel standing stones])
* [[Cycolith]]s (or [[stone circle]]s)
* [[Trilithon]]: Two parallel upright stones with a horizontal stone (lintel) placed on top, e.g. Stonehenge.
* [[Orthostat]]: an upright slab forming part of a larger structure.
* [[Stone ship]]
* [[Statues]] such as most [[moai]]
* [[Verraco]], central [[Iberia]]
|}

==Contemporary megalith-building cultures==
===The Toraja of Indonesia===
The megalithic culture of the [[Toraja]] people in the mountainous region of [[South Sulawesi]], [[Indonesia]] dates back to around 2500–1000 BC.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://medium.com/@suedavies_77888/the-megaliths-of-indonesia-4f4df24ff52d|title=The Megaliths of Indonesia|date=12 February 2019}}</ref>{{better source needed|reason=website, no author, the next article is on zombies|date=March 2021}}{{Clarify|reason=How is that 'contemporary'? There are at least 3000 years between the modern culture and the construction of the megaliths. Nor is there any reason to think the modern culture is that old. It's like calling the Bretons, Portuguese, English, Maltese and other modern European cultures 'contemporary megalith-building cultures', even though these cultures didn't exist 3000 years ago in  any meaningful sense!|date=August 2023}}

===The Marapu of Indonesia===
In West [[Sumba]], [[Indonesia]], the more than 20,000&nbsp;followers<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/03/17/marapu-people-struggle-get-their-beliefs-recognized.html |newspaper=The Jjakarta Post |date=2014-03-17 |title=Marapu people struggle to get their beliefs recognized}}</ref> of the [[Marapu]] [[animist]] religion construct monolithic tombs by hand.  Originally built with slave labor, the large tombs of nobles are now built by a class of dependents who are paid either in animals or cash (an amount equal to $0.65–0.90 per day). The tombs are planned long in advance, with families sometimes going into extreme debt to finance the construction. In 1971, one leading family sacrificed 350&nbsp;buffalo over the course of a year in order to feed the 1,000&nbsp;people necessary to drag the capstone 3&nbsp;km from the quarry to the tombsite.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/asia/sumba-island-marapu-religion-nihi-tombs-sacrifices-worlds-most-expensive-nihiwatu-bali-a7847006.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220512/https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/asia/sumba-island-marapu-religion-nihi-tombs-sacrifices-worlds-most-expensive-nihiwatu-bali-a7847006.html |archive-date=12 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Sumba: Inside Indonesia's secretive Marapu religion |quote=Sumba’s Marapu religion is possibly the most expensive to follow in the world. |series=Sumba travel / Indonesia travel |newspaper=[[The Independent]] |place=London, UK |first=Mark |last=Eveleigh}}</ref>

Quarrying the stones for a tomb can take almost a month and typically involves 20–40&nbsp;laborours, sometimes subcontracted by a relative. It can be months or years before the stones are actually transported to the gravesite, which is done traditionally by hand, using a wooden sled and rollers with the help of many members of the family's clan. Building the sled itself can take several days, and typically males between the ages of 10–60 are assembled to pull the stone from the quarry to the tombsite. Smaller capstones may be moved by a few hundred members of a clan, but larger ones can involve upwards of 2,000&nbsp;individuals over many days.
Sometimes the stones are draped with woven cloths given as gifts by relatives of the owner. The sidewalls are smaller and usually require fewer participants. The entire process is accompanied by large feasts and ritual singers provided by the owner. Some contemporary practitioners now choose to use large machinery and trucks to move the stones.

Once on site, the stones were traditionally assembled and mortared with a mix of water buffalo dung and ash, but are now more commonly cemented together. Typically, the walls are assembled first, and then the capstone is incrementally elevated to the height of the walls by means of a wood scaffolding which is inserted log by log at alternating ends. Once the capstone is at the correct height beside the walls it is slid into place above the tomb. Alternately, some tombs are constructed by dragging the capstone up a fabricated ramp and then assembling the sidewalls below it, before removing the ramp structure to let the capstone rest upon the walls. Often, but not always, the finished structure is decorated by a professional stone carver with symbolic motifs. The carving alone can at times take over a month to complete.<ref>{{cite report |url=http://passagetoindonesia.com/files/West-Sumba---The-megalithic-tradition-.pdf |title=The megalithic tradition |series=West Sumba |website=Passage to Indonesia}}</ref>

==References in literature==
{{Blockquote |text=And Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. He rose early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel. |source=The Old Testament, Book of Exodus, 24:4 (5th century BC)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Exodus%2024:4|title=Exodus 24:4 ESV – And Moses wrote down all the… &#124; Biblia|accessdate=18 December 2022}}</ref>|author=|title=}}

==Gallery==
<gallery mode="packed">
File:Moai Rano raraku.jpg|[[Easter Island]]'s [[Moai]] at [[Rano Raraku]]
File:Inside the remains of the burial chamber, Mane Braz, Brittany.jpg|Inside the burial chamber at [[Mane Braz]], [[Brittany]], France
File:Almendres_cromlech_3.jpg|Menhirs at the [[Almendres Cromlech]], [[Évora]], Portugal
File:abakan08.jpg|Megalithic tomb in [[Khakasiya]], [[Russian Federation]]
File:Guam Dolmen Sites.JPG|Capstones of southern-style megalithic burials in Guam-ri, [[Jeollabuk-do]], [[Korea]]
File:Ales stenar bred.jpg|[[Ale's Stones]] at Kåseberga, around ten kilometres south east of Ystad, Sweden
File:BrynCelliDdu3.jpg|[[Bryn Celli Ddu]] in [[Wales]]
File:Talaiot.jpg|[[Talaiot]] in [[Majorca]]
File:Sa ena e thomes 2.jpg|Giant's grave near [[Dorgali]] in [[Sardinia]], Italy
File:Deer-stone.jpg|Deer stone near [[Mörön (city)|Mörön]] in [[Mongolia]]
File:Bretagne Morbihan Locmariaquer 14015.jpg|the [[Broken Menhir of Er Grah|Great Menhir of Er Grah]] in [[Brittany]], the largest known single stone erected by Neolithic man, which later fell down
File:Taula-Menorca.jpg|''[[Taula]]'' in Talati de Dalt, [[Menorca]]
File:Tiya Stèles.JPG|Megaliths with engraved figures in [[Tiya (archaeological site)|Tiya]], southern [[Ethiopia]]
File:Dolmen di Avola.JPG|Dolmen of [[Avola]] (Sicily, Italy)
File:Dolmen kueijiyeh.jpg|Dolmen at the Kuejiyeh dolmen field close to [[Madaba]], Jordan
File:Dolmen de Menga 07.jpg|[[Dolmen of Menga]] in [[Antequera]], Spain
</gallery>

== See also ==
* [[British megalith architecture]]
* [[Irish megalithic tombs]]
* [[List of individual rocks]]
* [[List of megalithic sites]]
* [[:Category:Megalithic monuments in Europe|Megalithic monuments in Europe]]
* [[Megaliths in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern]]
* [[Megaliths in the Urals]]
* [[Nature worship]]
* [[Nordic megalith architecture]]
* [[Plain of Jars]] ranging from the [[Khorat Plateau]] in Thailand in the south, through Laos and to [[Dima Hasao]] of northeastern India.
* [[Route of Megalithic Culture]] – tourist route from Osnabrück to Oldenburg via some 33 Megalithic sites.
* [[Stone circles of Junapani]]
* [[Megalithic sites of Charente]]

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}

===Works cited===
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last=Goblet d'Alviella |first=E. |last2=Wicksteed |first2=P. H. |year=1892 |title=Lectures on the origin and growth of the conception of God as illustrated by anthropology and history |place=London |publisher=Williams and Norgate}}
* {{cite book |last=Keane |first=A. H. |year=1896 |url=https://archive.org/details/ethnologyintwop00keangoog |title=Ethnology |publisher=Cambridge University Press}}
* {{cite book |last=Johnson |first=Walter |year=1908 |url=https://archive.org/details/folkmemory00johngoog |title=Folk-Memory: Or, The Continuity of British Archaeology |place=Oxford |publisher=Clarendon Press}}
* {{cite book |last=Lancaster Brown |first=P. |year=1976 |title=Megaliths, Myths, and Men: An Introduction to Astro-archaeology |place=New York |publisher=Taplinger Pub. Co.}}
* {{cite book |last=Piccolo |first=Salvatore |year=2013 |title=Ancient Stones: The Prehistoric Dolmens of Sicily |place=Thornham/Norfolk |publisher=Brazen Head Publishing |isbn=978-0-9565106-2-4}}
* {{cite book |last=Scheltema |first=H. G. |year=2008 |title=Megalithic Jordan: An Introduction and Field Guide |place=Amman, Jordan |publisher=The American Center of Oriental Research |isbn=978-9957-8543-3-1}}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
=== Articles ===
{{refbegin}}
* KL Feder, "Irrationality and Popular Archaeology". ''American Antiquity'', Vol. 49, No. 3 (July 1984), pp.&nbsp;525–541. {{doi|10.2307/280358}}
* A Fleming, "Megaliths and post-modernism. The case of Wales". ''Antiquity'', 2005.
* A Fleming, "Phenomenology and the Megaliths of Wales: a Dreaming Too Far?". ''Oxford Journal of Archaeology'', 1999
* HJ Fleure, HJE Peake, "Megaliths and Beakers". ''The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland'', Vol. 60, Jan. – Jun., 1930 (Jan. – Jun., 1930), pp.&nbsp;47–71. {{doi|10.2307/2843859}}
* {{cite journal | author = P Hiscock | year = 1996 | title = The New Age of alternative archaeology of Australia | url = http://arts.anu.edu.au/arcworld/resources/cult/aocult.htm | journal = Archaeology in Oceania | volume = 31 | issue = 3 | pages = 152–164 | doi = 10.1002/j.1834-4453.1996.tb00358.x | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070610111040/http://arts.anu.edu.au/arcworld/resources/cult/aocult.htm | archive-date = 2007-06-10 |ref=none| url-access = subscription }}
* G Kubler, "Period, Style and Meaning in Ancient American Art". ''New Literary History'', Vol. 1, No. 2, A Symposium on Periods (Winter, 1970), pp.&nbsp;127–144. {{doi|10.2307/468624}}
* J McKim Malville, F Wendorf, AA Mazar, R Schild, "Megaliths and Neolithic astronomy in southern Egypt". ''Nature'', 1998.
* MW Ovenden, DA Rodger, "Megaliths and Medicine Wheels". ''Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society'', 1978
* A Sherratt, "The Genesis of Megaliths". ''World Archaeology''. 1990. (JSTOR)
* A Thom, "Megaliths and Mathematics". ''Antiquity'', 1966.
* {{cite journal | author = D Turnbull | year = 2002| title = Performance and Narrative, Bodies and Movement in the Construction of Places and Objects, Spaces and Knowledges: The Case of the Maltese Megaliths | journal = Theory, Culture & Society | volume = 19 | issue =5–6 | pages = 125–143 | doi = 10.1177/026327602761899183 | s2cid = 145375098 |ref=none}}
{{refend}}

===Books===
{{refbegin}}
* Asthana, S. (1976). ''History and archaeology of India's contacts with other countries, from earliest times to 300 B.C.''. Delhi: B.R. Pub. Corp.
* Deo, S. B. (1973). ''Problem of South Indian megaliths''. Dharwar: Kannada Research Institute, Karnatak University.
* Goudsward, D., & Stone, R. E. (2003). ''America's Stonehenge: the ''. Boston: Branden Books.
* Illustrated Encyclopedia of Humankind (The): ''Worlds Apart'' (1994) Weldon Owen Pty Limited
* Moffett, M., Fazio, M. W., & Wodehouse, L. (2004). ''A world history of architecture''. Boston: McGraw-Hill.
* Nelson, Sarah M. (1993) ''The Archaeology of Korea''. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
* O'Kelly, M. J., et al. (1989). ''Early Ireland: An Introduction to Irish Prehistory''. Cambridge University Press. {{ISBN|0521336872}}
* Parker, Joanne (editor) (2009). ''Written On Stone: The Cultural Reception of British Prehistoric Monuments'' (Cambridge Scholars Publishing; 2009). {{ISBN|1443813389}}
* Patton, Mark (1993). ''Statements in Stone: monuments and society in Neolithic Brittany''. Routledge. 209 pages. {{ISBN|0415067294}}
* Pohribný, Jan (photo) & Richards, J (introduction) (2007). ''Magic Stones; the secret world of ancient megaliths''. London: Merrell. {{ISBN|978-1858944135}}
* Pozzi, Alberto (2013). ''Megalithism – Sacred and Pagan Architecture in Prehistory''. Universal Publisher. {{ISBN|978-1612332550}}
* Stukeley, W., Burl, A., & Mortimer, N. (2005). ''Stukeley's 'Stonehenge': an unpublished manuscript, 1721–1724''. New Haven [Conn.]: Yale University Press.
* Subbayya, K. K. (1978). ''Archaeology of Coorg with special reference to megaliths''. Mysore: Geetha Book House.
* Tyler, J. M. (1921). ''The new stone age in northern Europe''. New York: C. Scribner's Sons.
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Megaliths}}
{{Wikiquote}}
{{Wiktionary}}
* [http://megalithica.ru/ Catalog of megaliths]
* [http://www.megalithicireland.com MegalithicIreland.com]
* [http://bruno.marc1.free.fr/dolmen Dolmens, Menhirs & Stones-Circles in the South of France]
* [http://site.voila.fr/megalithis/ Megaliths in Charente-Maritime, France] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100428024505/http://site.voila.fr/megalithis/ |date=2010-04-28  }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070110000913/http://megalith.ru/en/ Dolmen Path – Russian Megaliths] (archived 10 January 2007)
* [http://www.megalithic.co.uk/ The Megalithic Portal and Megalith Map]
* [http://www.megalithomania.com/ Index of Megalithic monuments in Ireland]
* [http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/ The Modern Antiquarian]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120312110327/http://www.pretanicworld.com/monuments.html Pretanic World – Megaliths and Monuments] (archived 12 March 2012)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/19990125093651/http://www.bigstones.com/ Modern Megalith-Building] (archived 25 January 1999)

{{European Standing Stones}}
{{Middle Eastern megaliths}}
{{Neolithic Europe}}
{{Prehistoric technology}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Megalithic monuments| ]]
[[Category:Burial monuments and structures]]
[[Category:Sacred rocks]]
[[Category:Stone Age]]