shaft grave

American  

noun

Archaeology.

1. a grave consisting of a deep, rectangular pit with vertical sides, roofed over with a stone slab.

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Etymology

Origin of shaft grave

First recorded in 1905–10

Example Sentences

In 2015 they discovered a spectacular shaft grave just outside the ancient palace of Pylos.

From New York Times • Dec. 17, 2019

The seal stone comes from an untouched shaft grave near the ancient palace of Pylos.

From New York Times • Nov. 6, 2017

The warrior was interred about two centuries earlier, in a shaft grave surrounded by around 1,400 objects, including a bronze sword with an ivory hilt.

From National Geographic • Dec. 28, 2015

What he and Dr. Stocker had stumbled on was a very rare shaft grave, 5 feet deep, 4 feet wide and 8 long.

From New York Times • Oct. 26, 2015

Below this stratum was an older shaft grave, as is usual in tholos interments; it had been plundered?

From Homer and His Age by Lang, Andrew