Megalithic art

Last updated July 18, 2024

Megalithic art refers to art either painted or carved onto megaliths in prehistoric Europe. Elizabeth Shee Twohig has coined the term Megalithic art in her study of 'The Megalithic Art of Western Europe'.^[1] Her original definition of Megalithic art focused on paintings or carvings found on the structural elements, like the kerbstones, orthostats, or capstones of megalithic tombs, but recent investigations have included decorations on stelae and menhirs.

Megalithic art is found in many places in Western Europe although the main concentrations are in England, Malta, Ireland, Brittany and Iberia. Megalithic art started in the Neolithic and continued into the Bronze Age. Although many monument types received this form of art the majority is carved on Neolithic passage graves. Megalithic art tends to be highly abstract and contains relatively few representations of recognizable real objects. Megalithic art is often similar to prehistoric rock art and contains many similar motifs such as the 'cup and ring mark', although the two forms of rock carving also have large stylistic differences. The meaning of megalithic art is the subject of much debate.

Weathering and vandalism have affected many examples of the art, and little of it remains today.

Ireland

Ireland has the largest concentration of megalithic art in Europe, particularly in the Boyne Valley. This art form appears to be entirely abstract and is perhaps the most famous with its well-known multiple-spirals. It has been suggested that much of this artwork is entoptically derived from induced states of altered consciousness (Dronfield 1993). Stylistically the art of Ireland is similar to occasional finds in nearby Wales and the Scottish Isles. Approximately 70% of Ireland's ancient decorated rocks and stones are to be found in the Boyne Valley (o'Sullivan 1997;19)

France

The French region of Brittany has the second highest concentration of megalithic art. The earliest examples in this area are with anthropomorphic representations on menhirs which later continued in passage graves. Brittany shares some motifs with both Ireland and Iberia and the level of contact between them has always been debated. Among the most famous examples are the passage grave at Gavrinis and the Barnenez mound.

Iberia

Iberian megalithic art contains the most number of realistic representations of objects, although there is also a strong abstract element. Iberia is the only place to have painted decoration as well as carved. Other areas may also have originally been painted, but Iberia's dry climate lends itself to preservation of the paint. The paint (as it currently survives) is normally restricted to black and red, although occasionally features white as well.

Germany

Megalithic art is extremely rare in Central Europe. The gallery grave at Züschen in Germany is an intriguing exception, as it appears to mix motifs known from the west European megalithic tradition with others more familiar from alpine Rock art.

Non-abstract art

As well as abstract or geometric art, some carvings are considered to represent tools, weapons, animals, human figures, deities or idols. The gallery graves of the Seine-Oise-Marne culture such as that at Courjeonnet have images of axes, breasts and necklaces carved on their walls.^[2] The meaning of some of these is disputed. For instance, some of the tombs in the valley of the Petit Morin in France and elsewhere contain engravings of breasts, noses, hair, and a collar or necklace. These have been described both as deities (occasionally as 'dolmen deities') and as representations of the deceased.^[3]

Related Research Articles

A dolmen or portal tomb is a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more upright megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from the Late Neolithic period and were sometimes covered with earth or smaller stones to form a tumulus. Small pad-stones may be wedged between the cap and supporting stones to achieve a level appearance. In many instances, the covering has eroded away, leaving only the stone "skeleton".

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. When covered in earth, a passage grave is a type of burial mound which are found in various forms all over the world. When a passage grave is covered in stone, it is a type of cairn.

Newgrange is a prehistoric monument in County Meath in Ireland, located on a rise overlooking the River Boyne, eight kilometres west of the town of Drogheda. It is an exceptionally grand passage tomb built during the Neolithic Period, around 3200 BC, making it older than Stonehenge and the Egyptian pyramids. Newgrange is the main monument in the Brú na Bóinne complex, a World Heritage Site that also includes the passage tombs of Knowth and Dowth, as well as other henges, burial mounds and standing stones.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Menhir</span> Large upright standing stone

A menhir, standing stone, orthostat, or lith is a large upright stone, emplaced in the ground by humans, typically dating from the European middle Bronze Age. They can be found individually as monoliths, or as part of a group of similar stones. Menhirs' size can vary considerably, but they often taper toward the top.

A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. There are over 35,000 in Europe alone, located widely from Sweden to the Mediterranean sea.

Cup and ring marks or cup marks are a form of prehistoric art found in the Atlantic seaboard of Europe (Ireland, Wales, Northern England, Scotland, France, Portugal, and Spain – and in Mediterranean Europe – Italy, Azerbaijan and Greece, as well as in Scandinavia and in Switzerland.

Knowth is a prehistoric monument overlooking the River Boyne in County Meath, Ireland. It comprises a large passage tomb surrounded by 17 smaller tombs, built during the Neolithic era around 3200 BC. It contains the largest assemblage of megalithic art in Europe. Knowth is part of the Brú na Bóinne complex, a World Heritage Site that also includes the similar passage tombs of Newgrange and Dowth.

Brú na Bóinne, also called the Boyne Valley tombs, is an ancient monument complex and ritual landscape in County Meath, Ireland, located in a bend of the River Boyne. It is one of the world's most important Neolithic landscapes, comprising at least ninety monuments including passage tombs, burial mounds, standing stones and enclosures. The site is dominated by the passage tombs of Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth, built during the 32nd century BC. Together these have the largest assemblage of megalithic art in Europe. The associated archaeological culture is called the "Boyne culture".

Locmariaquer is a commune in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France.

The Carnac stones are an exceptionally dense collection of megalithic sites near the south coast of Brittany in northwestern France, consisting of stone alignments (rows), dolmens, tumuli and single menhirs. More than 3,000 prehistoric standing stones were hewn from local granite and erected by the pre-Celtic people of Brittany and form the largest such collection in the world. Most of the stones are within the Breton municipality of Carnac, but some to the east are within neighboring La Trinité-sur-Mer. The stones were erected at some stage during the Neolithic period, probably around 3300 BC, but some may date to as early as 4500 BC.

This article describes several characteristic architectural elements typical of European megalithic structures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Irish megalithic tombs</span>

Megalithic monuments in Ireland typically represent one of several types of megalithic tombs: court cairns, passage tombs, portal tombs and wedge tombs. The remains of over 1,000 such megalithic tombs have been recorded around Ireland.

Gavrinis is a small island in the Gulf of Morbihan in Brittany, France. It contains the Gavrinis tomb, a Neolithic passage tomb built around 4200–4000 BC, making it one of the world's oldest surviving buildings. Stones inside the passage and chamber are covered in megalithic art. It is likened to other Neolithic passage tombs such as Barnenez in Brittany and Newgrange in Ireland.

The Cairn of Barnenez is a Neolithic monument located near Plouezoc'h, on the Kernéléhen peninsula in northern Finistère, Brittany (France). It dates to the early Neolithic, about 4800 BC. Along with the Tumulus of Bougon and Locmariaquer megaliths, also located in Great West France, it is one of the earliest megalithic monuments in Europe and one of the oldest man-made structures in the world. It is also remarkable for the presence of megalithic art.

The Locmariaquer megaliths are a complex of Neolithic constructions in Locmariaquer, Brittany. They comprise the elaborate Er-Grah tumulus passage grave, a dolmen known as the Table des Marchand and "The Broken Menhir of Er Grah", the largest known single block of stone to have been transported and erected by Neolithic people.

In the Neolithic and Bronze Age British Isles, rock art was produced across various parts of the islands. Petroglyphic in nature, the majority of such carvings are abstract in design, usually cup and ring marks, although examples of spirals or figurative depictions of weaponry are also known. Only one form of rock art in Europe, this late prehistoric tradition had connections with others along Atlantic Europe, particularly in Galicia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British megalith architecture</span> Study of those ancient cultures that built megalithic sites on the British Isles

British megalith architecture is the study of those ancient cultures that built megalithic sites on the British Isles, including the research and documentation of these sites. The classification sometimes used of these cultures based on geological criteria is problematic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barreira Megalithic Complex</span> Megalithic site near Sintra, Portugal

The Barreira Megalithic Complex is located in the Sintra municipality in the Lisbon District of Portugal. Situated on a small wooded hill overlooking the village of Odrinhas, site of Roman ruins and an archaeological museum, it consists of about twenty menhirs and other monoliths or megaliths.

Passage tombs are a category of Megalithic monument from the Neolithic period. They are found in most regions of Ireland but are more prevalent in the Northern half of the island. The usage period of Irish passage tombs date from c. 3750 B.C. to about 2500 B.C. About twenty clusters are recorded in Ireland, but the best known examples are found along a curved trajectory from the west coast to the east, including the centres of Carrowmore and Carrowkeel in County Sligo, and Loughcrew and the Boyne Valley in County Meath.

References

Dronfield, J. 1995. “Subjective Visions and the Source of Irish Megalithic Art.” in Antiquity 69, pp. 539–549 ^{[ ISBN missing ]}
Shee Twohig, E. 1981. Megalithic Art of Western Europe. Oxford: Clarendon Press ^{[ ISBN missing ]}

Notes

↑ Shee Twohig, E. 1981. Megalithic Art of Western Europe, Oxford: Clarendon Press.
↑ Joussaume, Roger Dolmens for the Dead Batsford Ltd (Jan 1988) ISBN 978-0-7134-5369-0 p. 141–142
↑ Peet, T. Eric (2006) [originally published 1912]. Rough Stone Monuments And Their Builders (PDF). The Echo Library. p. 81. ISBN 978-1-4068-2203-8.

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[1] Shee Twohig, E. 1981. Megalithic Art of Western Europe, Oxford: Clarendon Press.

[2] Joussaume, Roger Dolmens for the Dead Batsford Ltd (Jan 1988) ISBN 978-0-7134-5369-0 p. 141–142

[3] Peet, T. Eric (2006) [originally published 1912]. Rough Stone Monuments And Their Builders (PDF). The Echo Library. p. 81. ISBN 978-1-4068-2203-8.

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