'THOLOS' TOMB IN ANCIENT
GREECE
"A beehive tomb, also known as a tholos tomb (plural tholoi)
(Greek:θόλος τάφοι, θόλοι τάφοι, "domed tombs"), is a burial structure
characterized by its false dome created by the superposition of successively
smaller rings of mudbricks or, more often, stones. The resulting structure
resembles a beehive, hence the traditional English name.Tholoi were used for
burial in several cultures in the Mediterranean and West Asia, but in some cases
they were used for different purposes such as homes (Cyprus), ritual (Syria),
and even fortification (Spain, Sardinia). Although Max Mallowan used the same
name for the circular houses belonging to the Neolithic culture of Tell Halaf
(Iraq, Syria and Turkey), there is no relationship between them."
Compare with Classical
Arabic 'thalla-h' (tomb/grave):
"'THALLA-H' - TOMB IN THE ARABIAN PENINSULA
The
earliest stone-built tombs which can be called "beehive" are in Oman, built of
stacked flat stones which occur in nearby geological formations. They date to
between 3,500 and 2,500 years BCE, to a period when the Arabian peninsula was
subject to much more rainfall than now, and supported a flourishing civilisation
in what is now desert, to the west of the mountain range along the Gulf of Oman.
No burial remains have ever been retrieved from these "tombs", though there
seems no other purpose for their building. They have only superficial
similarities with the Aegean tombs (circular shape) as they are built entirely
above ground level and do not share the same tripartite structure - the
entrances are usually an undifferentiated part of the circular walling of the
tomb.
Currently there are three areas where these tombs can be found: Al
Hajar Region, Hat Region, and Hadbin area close to Barka. The Hajar tombs are
very numerous and one or two have been restored, allowing you to crawl into the
centre of a 5-6m tall stone structure."
Ishinan
May 6th, 2012