Chamber Tomb

A prehistoric tomb, often megalithic in construction, that contained a large burial chamber. Such a vault was usually used for successive burials over a long period of time. The term is also used for a rock-cut tomb, especially the shaft-and-chamber tomb, with a similar burial rite. Chamber tombs were built in many parts of the world and at many different times. The European varieties were called court cairn, dolmen, entrance grave, gallery grave, giants' grave, hunebed, passage grave, portal dolmen, tholos, transepted gallery grave, and wedge-shaped gallery grave. Many were rectangular chambers cut into the side of a hill and approached by a long entrance passage (dromos), especially in the Aegean.

Term for any tomb, whether rock-cut or built above ground, with a large or fairly large chamber to contain the dead and accompanying grave goods. Chamber tombs were often, but by no means always, used for collective burial over long periods of time. They occur in many parts of the world at different times, but the term is particularly widely used in Europe to describe tombs of the prehistoric and classical periods. See also