megalithic

American  

[meg-uh-lith-ik] / ˌmɛg əˈlɪθ ɪk /

adjective

1. relating to ancient construction works using stones of great size, such as dolmens or menhirs, or to the era in which these were constructed.

   Hundreds of megalithic structures throughout Europe are oriented to the solstices and the equinoxes.

---

Other Word Forms

• premegalithic
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of megalithic

First recorded in 1830–40; mega- ( def. ) + -lithic

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

megalithic

On Thursday, British authorities charged a pair of climate change activists for vandalizing Stonehenge, a prehistoric megalithic structure on a chalk plateau known as the Salisbury Plain.

From Salon ● Nov. 16, 2024

Located at the Callacpuma archaeological site in the Cajamarca Basin of northern Peru, the plaza is built with large, vertically placed megalithic stones -- a construction method previously unseen in the Andes.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 14, 2024

People watch the midsummer sun rise over the megalithic monument of Stonehenge on June 21, 2005, in Salisbury Plain, England.

From National Geographic ● Dec. 19, 2023

But they also discovered 24 previously unreported humanmade constructions all over the basin, including suspected ceremonial sites, fortified villages, and megalithic structures, some of rising only 1 meter or so above the forest floor.

From Science Magazine ● Oct. 4, 2023

The “earth art” of the prehistoric Indians of North America, the so-called Mound Builders, is comparable to the megalithic monuments of Europe in terms of the effort involved.

From "History of Art, Volume 1" by H.W. Janson