passage graven.
/ˈpasɪdʒ ɡreɪv/, U.S. /ˈpæsɪdʒ ˌɡreɪv/ Archaeology.
A megalithic burial chamber situated inside an artificial mound or cairn and entered by a passage. Frequently attributive.Found mainly in Atlantic Europe, and dating from the Neolithic period.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > death > disposal of corpse > burial > grave or burial-place > types of tomb > [noun] > types of ancient or prehistoric
table tomb1738
well tomb1843
chamber tomb1850
passage grave1865
allée couverte1870
passage tomb1870
mastaba1882
tholos1885
beehive tomb1887
circle-tomb1889
shaft tomb1895
shaft-grave1910
pit-cave1921
gallery grave1937
dyss1938
1865 J. Lubbock Prehist. Times iv. 88 The dwellings used by Arctic nations..correspond closely with these ‘Ganggraben’ or ‘Passage graves’.
1888 F. H. Woods tr. O. Montelius Civilisation of Sweden i. 30 The graves of this period are commonly described as ‘dolmens’ (stendösar), ‘passage-graves’ (gånggrifter), and ‘stone cists’ (hällkistor).
1919 Jrnl. Royal Anthropol. Inst. 49 197 Scandinavian culture of a type which..is found in the passage-graves of Sweden.
1922 Geografiska Annaler 4 317 Falbygden was a centre of the rich farming culture of the passage-grave period.
1943 J. Hawkes & C. Hawkes Prehist. Brit. ii. 45 The men who introduced passage-grave architecture and art seem to have reached Ireland from Portugal and south-west Spain.
1970 Canad. Antiques Collector Nov. 19/1 The shape of Knowth differs from other known passage graves in Ireland.
1993 C. Tilley Interpretative Archaeol. v. 190 All passage graves comprise a minimum of three spatial zones: cairn exterior, passage and chamber.
1999 M. Greenwood et al. Ireland: Rough Guide ii. iv. 178 A wealth of goods from the passage grave culture (carbon dated 2000 BC) were also discovered.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2005; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1865