Maeshowe is a Neolithic chambered cairn and passage grave situated on Mainland Orkney, Scotland. It was probably built around 2800 BC. In the archaeology of Scotland, it gives its name to the Maeshowe type of chambered cairn, which is limited to Orkney. Maeshowe is a significant example of Neolithic craftsmanship and is, in the words of the archaeologist Stuart Piggott, "a superlative monument that by its originality of execution is lifted out of its class into a unique position." Maeshowe is a scheduled monument and is part of the "Heart of Neolithic Orkney", a group of sites including Skara Brae, which were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999.
The Stone Age was a broad prehistoric period during which stone was widely used to make tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years, and ended between 8700 BCE and 2000 BCE, with the advent of metalworking. Though some simple metalworking of malleable metals, particularly the use of gold and copper for purposes of ornamentation, was known in the Stone Age, it is the melting and smelting of copper that marks the end of the Stone Age. In western Asia this occurred by about 3000 BCE, when bronze became widespread. The term Bronze Age is used to describe the period that followed the Stone Age, as well as to describe cultures that had developed techniques and technologies for working copper into tools, supplanting stone in many uses.
A megalith is a large pre-historic stone that has been used to construct a 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.
Göbekli Tepe, is an archaeological site in the Southeastern Anatolia Region of Turkey approximately 12 km (7 mi) northeast of the city of Şanlıurfa. The tell has a height of 15 m (50 ft) and is about 300 m (1,000 ft) in diameter. It is approximately 760 m (2,500 ft) above sea level.
A gallery grave is a form of megalithic tomb built primarily during the Neolithic Age in Europe in which the main gallery of the tomb is entered without first passing through an antechamber or hallway. There are at least four major types of gallery grave, and they may be covered with an earthen mound or rock mound.
Souterrain is a name given by archaeologists to a type of underground structure associated mainly with the European Atlantic Iron Age.
Archaeology and geology continue to reveal the secrets of prehistoric Scotland, uncovering a complex past before the Romans brought Scotland into the scope of recorded history. Successive human cultures tended to be spread across Europe or further afield, but focusing on this particular geographical area sheds light on the origin of the widespread remains and monuments in Scotland, and on the background to the history of Scotland.
Cyclopean masonry is a type of stonework found in Mycenaean architecture, built with massive limestone boulders, roughly fitted together with minimal clearance between adjacent stones and with clay mortar or no use of mortar. The boulders typically seem unworked, but some may have been worked roughly with a hammer and the gaps between boulders filled in with smaller chunks of limestone.
Pseira is an islet in the Gulf of Mirabello in northeastern Crete with the archaeological remains of Minoan and Mycenean civilisation.
The Chaukhanditombs form an early Islamic cemetery situated 29 km (18 mi) east of Karachi, in the Sindh province of Pakistan. The tombs are notable for their elaborate sandstone carvings. The tombs are similar in style to the elaborate tombs at the Makli Necropolis near Thatta, and are built in the funerary architectural style typical of lower Sindh.
The Archaeology of Ayodhya concerns the excavations and findings in the Indian city of Ayodhya in the state of Uttar Pradesh, much of which surrounds the Babri Mosque location.
This article describes several characteristic architectural elements typical of European megalithic structures.
Concentrations of megaliths, dolmens and stone labyrinths dating between the end of the 4th millennium and the beginning of the 2nd millennium B.C. have been found throughout the Caucasus Mountains, including Abkhazia. Most of them are represented by rectangular structures made of stone slabs or cut in rocks with holes in their facade. These dolmens cover the Western Caucasus on both sides of the mountain ridge, in an area of approximately 12,000 square kilometres of Russia and Abkhazia.
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.
Brahmagiri is an archaeological site located in the Chitradurga district of the state of Karnataka, India. Legend has it that this is the site where sage Gautama Maharishi and his wife Ahalya lived. He was one among seven noted Hindu saints. This site was first explored by Benjamin L. Rice in 1891, who discovered rock edicts of Emperor Ashoka here. These rock edicts indicated that the locality was termed as Isila and denoted the southernmost extent of the Mauryan empire. The Brahmagiri site is a granite outcrop elevated about 180 m. above the surrounding plains and measures around 500 m east-west and 100 m north-south. It is well known for the large number of megalithic monuments that have been found here. The earliest settlement found here has been dated to at least the 2nd millennium BC.
Hooli is a town in Belgaum District in Karnataka, India. It is about 9 km from Saundatti. One of the oldest villages in the Belgaum District, Hooli is the site of the Panchaligeswara temple and the Trikuteshwara Temple. The village is historically rich, boasting of a ruined fort atop a hill and numerous temples. Hooli has been under the rule of the Rattas of Saundatti, Patwardhans of Ramdurg and most of the temples feature Chalukya architecture and were initially Jain Bastis indicating a Chalukya rule. The name of the village is a corrupted form of PooValli meaning a flowery ear ornament. The village was also called MahishpatiNagar in ancient times.
Hire Benakal is a megalithic site in the state of Karnataka, India. It is among a few Indian megalithic sites dated 800 BCE to 200 BCE which are located 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) west of Gangavati town in Koppal district and 35 kilometres (22 mi) from Hospet city. It contains roughly 400 megalithic funerary monuments, dated to the transition period between Neolithic and the Iron Age periods. Known locally in the Kannada language as elu guddagalu, their specific name is Moryar Gudda. Hire Benakal is reported to be the largest necropolis among the 2000 odd megalithic sites found in South India, mostly in Karnataka. Since 1955, it has been under the management of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) within the Dharwad circle. Hire Benakal has been proposed for recognition as an UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Sidlaphadi near Badami in Karnataka, is a natural rock bridge and pre historic rock shelter. It is located at about four km. in the middle of a shrub jungle near the historic town of Badami. A bridle and kutcha path through sandstone hills from Badami leads to Sidlaphadi and there is no metal road to the spot. Sidlaphadi literally means in Kannada the Rock of lightning, derived from gaping holes in the natural rock arch, which was formed when a lightning struck. The natural rock bridge structure looks like a wide arch between two sandstone boulders. The rock structure has large, gaping holes in the arch and allows sunlight to enter inside which provides the required light for interiors. It was also a shelter for hunter-gatherer prehistoric people.
The Burzahom archaeological site is located in the Kashmir Valley of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Archaeological excavations have revealed four phases of cultural significance between 3000 BC and 1000 BC. Periods I and II represent the Neolithic era; Period III the Megalithic era ; and Period IV relates to the early Historical Period. The findings, recorded in stratified cultural deposits representing prehistoric human activity in Kashmir, are based on detailed investigations that cover all aspects of the physical evidence of the site, including the ancient flora and fauna.
The Amarāvatī Stupa, popularly known as the great stūpa at Amarāvathī, is a ruined Buddhist monument, probably built in phases between the third century BCE and about 250 CE, at Amaravathi village, Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh, India. The site is under the protection of the Archaeological Survey of India. The campus includes the stūpa itself and the Archaeological Museum.
