tholos

American  

[thoh-los, -lohs] / ˈθoʊ lɒs, -loʊs /

noun

tholoi plural

1. (in classical architecture)

   1. a circular building.

   2. a small, round structure, as a lantern.

   3. a circular subterranean tomb, lined with masonry.

2. a subterranean domed tomb chamber of the Mycenaean age.

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tholos British  

/ ˈθəʊlɒs /

noun

1. a dry-stone beehive-shaped tomb associated with the Mycenaean culture of Greece in the 16th to the 12th century _bc

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• tholoi
  plural

Etymology

Origin of tholos

First recorded in 1895–1900, tholos is from the Greek word thólos literally, rotunda

Example Sentences

When they did find the first tholos tomb, they realized to their horror that another excavator had been at work before them, using a backhoe.

From New York Times • Dec. 17, 2019

Both were originally built in a beehive shape known as a tholos but had collapsed.

From New York Times • Dec. 17, 2019

Fortunately the huge stones of the tholos tomb prevented even the backhoe operator from making much progress or destroying the site’s archaeological value.

From New York Times • Dec. 17, 2019

Also, monumental architecture, including many tholos tombs, was excavated at Mycene in the 19th century.

From New York Times • Dec. 17, 2019

This tomb consists of three parts, the dromos or open entrance passage, the tholos or circular portion domed over, and a smaller chamber excavated in the rock and entered from the larger one.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 4 "Aram, Eugene" to "Arcueil" by Various