A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a

mound A mound is a heaped pile of earth, gravel, sand, rocks, or debris. Most commonly, mounds are earthen formations such as hills and mountains, particularly if they appear artificial. A mound may be any rounded area of topographically higher ...

earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surf ...

and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or '' kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones built for various purposes, may also originally have been a tumulus. Tumuli are often categorised according to their external apparent shape. In this respect, a long barrow is a long tumulus, usually constructed on top of several burials, such as passage graves. A round barrow is a round tumulus, also commonly constructed on top of burials. The internal structure and architecture of both long and round barrows has a broad range; the categorization only refers to the external apparent shape. The method of may involve a dolmen, a cist, a mortuary enclosure, a mortuary house, or a chamber tomb. Examples of barrows include Duggleby Howe and Maeshowe.

Etymology

The word ''tumulus'' is

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...

for 'mound' or 'small hill', which is derived from the

Proto-Indo-European Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. Its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-European languages. No direct record of Proto-Indo- ...

root *''teuh₂-'' with extended zero grade *''tum-'', 'to bulge, swell' also found in ''tomb'', ''tumor'', ''tumescent'', ''thumb'', ''thigh'', and ''thousand''.

Burial accounts

The funeral of

Patroclus In Greek mythology, as recorded in Homer's ''Iliad'', Patroclus (pronunciation variable but generally ; grc, Πάτροκλος, Pátroklos, glory of the father) was a childhood friend, close wartime companion, and the presumed (by some later a ...

is described in book 23 of

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the '' Iliad'' and the '' Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of ...

's ''

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the '' Odys ...

''. Patroclus is burned on a pyre, and his bones are collected into a golden urn in two layers of fat. The barrow is built on the location of the pyre.

Achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus ( grc-gre, Ἀχιλλεύς) was a hero of the Trojan War, the greatest of all the Greek warriors, and the central character of Homer's '' Iliad''. He was the son of the Nereid Thetis and Pe ...

then sponsors funeral games, consisting of a chariot race, boxing, wrestling, running, a duel between two champions to the first blood, discus throwing, archery and spear throwing.

Beowulf ''Beowulf'' (; ang, Bēowulf ) is an Old English Epic poetry, epic poem in the tradition of Germanic heroic legend consisting of 3,182 Alliterative verse, alliterative lines. It is one of the most important and List of translations of Beo ...

's body in the Anglo-Saxon poem ''

'' is taken to Hronesness, where it is burned on a funeral pyre. During cremation, the

Geats The Geats ( ; ang, gēatas ; non, gautar ; sv, götar ), sometimes called ''Goths'', were a large North Germanic tribe who inhabited ("land of the Geats") in modern southern Sweden from antiquity until the late Middle Ages. They are one of t ...

lament the death of their lord, a widow's lament being mentioned in particular, singing dirges as they circumambulate the barrow. Afterwards, a mound is built on top of a hill, overlooking the sea, and filled with treasure. A band of twelve of the best warriors ride around the barrow, singing dirges in praise of their lord. Parallels have also been drawn to the account of

Attila Attila (, ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in March 453. He was also the leader of a tribal empire consisting of Huns, Ostrogoths, Alans, and Bulgars, among others, in Central and ...

's burial in Jordanes' ''

Getica ''De origine actibusque Getarum'' (''The Origin and Deeds of the Getae oths'), commonly abbreviated ''Getica'', written in Late Latin by Jordanes in or shortly after 551 AD, claims to be a summary of a voluminous account by Cassiodorus of the ...

''. Jordanes tells that as Attila's body was lying in state, the best horsemen of the

Huns The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th century AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was par ...

circled it, as in circus games. An Old Irish ''Life of Columcille'' reports that every funeral procession "halted at a mound called Eala, whereupon the corpse was laid, and the mourners marched thrice solemnly round the spot."

Types

Archaeologists often classify tumuli according to their location, form, and date of construction (see also

). Some British types are listed below: * Bank barrow * Bell barrow * Bowl barrow * D-shaped barrow – round barrow with a purposely flat edge at one side often defined by stone slabs. * Disc barrow * Fancy barrow – generic term for any

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

barrows more elaborate than a simple hemispherical shape. * Long barrow * Oval barrow – a

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several part ...

long barrow consisting of an elliptical, rather than rectangular or trapezoidal mound. * Platform barrow – The least common of the recognised types of round barrow, consisting of a flat, wide circular mound that may be surrounded by a ditch. They occur widely across southern England with a marked concentration in East and West Sussex. * Pond barrow – a barrow consisting of a shallow circular depression, surrounded by a bank running around the rim of the depression, from the

. * Ring barrow – a bank that encircles a number of burials. * Round barrow – a circular feature created by the

peoples of Britain and also the later Romans,

Vikings Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

, and Saxons. Divided into subclasses such as saucer and bell barrow – the Six Hills are a rare Roman example. * Saucer barrow – a circular Bronze Age barrow that features a low, wide mound surrounded by a ditch that may have an external bank. *

Square barrow In Euclidean geometry, a square is a regular quadrilateral, which means that it has four equal sides and four equal angles (90- degree angles, π/2 radian angles, or right angles). It can also be defined as a rectangle with two equal-length a ...

– burial site, usually of

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

date, consisting of a small, square, ditched enclosure surrounding a central burial, which may also have been covered by a mound.

Modern practices

There is a contemporary revival in barrow building in the UK. In 2015 the first long barrow in thousands of years, the Long Barrow at All Cannings, inspired by those built in the Neolithic era, was built on land just outside the village of All Cannings. The barrow was designed to have a large number of private niches within the stone and earth structure to receive cremation urns. This was followed by new barrows at: * The Willow Row Barrow at St Neots. * The Soulton Long Barrow at Soulton in

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...

. * Higher Ground Meadow in

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of ...

* Warwickshire. Plans have also been announced for a barrow in Milton Keynes and in Powis.

Sites

Africa

Horn of Africa

Salweyn in Somaliland contains a very large field of cairns, which stretches for a distance of around 8 km. An excavation of one of these tumuli by Georges Révoil in 1881 uncovered a tomb, beside which were artefacts pointing to an ancient, advanced civilization. The interred objects included pottery shards from Samos, some well-crafted enamels, and a mask of

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...

design.

West Africa

Preceded by assumed earlier sites in the Eastern

Sahara , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...

, tumuli with megalithic monuments developed as early as 4700 BC in the Saharan region of

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languages These megalithic monuments in the Saharan region of Niger and the Eastern Sahara may have served as antecedents for the mastabas and pyramids of ancient Egypt. In

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesmonument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, hist ...

al tumuli – a cairn burial (5695 BP – 5101 BP) at Adrar Bous, and a tumulus covered with gravel (6229 BP – 4933 BP) at Iwelen, in the Aïr Mountains. Tenerians did not construct the two monumental tumuli at Adrar Bous and Iwelen. Rather, Tenerians constructed cattle tumuli at a time before the two monumental tumuli were constructed. The Tichitt Tradition of eastern Mauritania dates from 2200 BC to 200 BC. Within the settled areas of Tichitt Culture (e.g.,

Dhar Tichitt Dhar Tichitt is a Neolithic archaeological site located in the southwestern region of the Sahara Desert, in Mauritania. It is one of several settlement locations along the sandstone cliffs in the area. Dhar Tichitt, Dhar Walata, Dhar Néma, and ...

Dhar Tagant The Tichitt Culture, or Tichitt Tradition, was created by Mande peoples. In 4000 BCE, the start of sophisticated social structure (e.g., trade of cattle as valued assets) developed among herders amid the Pastoral Period of the Sahara. Saharan pa ...

Dhar Walata The Tichitt Culture, or Tichitt Tradition, was created by Mande peoples. In 4000 BCE, the start of sophisticated social structure (e.g., trade of cattle as valued assets) developed among herders amid the Pastoral Period of the Sahara. Saharan pas ...

), with

stone walls Stone walls are a kind of masonry construction that has been used for thousands of years. The first stone walls were constructed by farmers and primitive people by piling loose field stones into a dry stone wall. Later, Mortar (masonry), mo ...

, which vary in scale from (e.g., 2 hectares, 80 hectares), there were walled

agricultural Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peopl ...

land utilized for

livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to anima ...

gardening Gardening is the practice of growing and cultivating plants as part of horticulture. In gardens, ornamental plants are often grown for their flowers, foliage, or overall appearance; useful plants, such as root vegetables, leaf vegetables, fr ...

as well as land with granaries and tumuli. Based on the hundreds of tumuli present in Dhar Tichitt, compared to a dozen tumuli present in Dhar Walata, it is likely that Dhar Tichitt was the primary center of

religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural ...

for the people of Tichitt culture. At Wanar, Senegal, megalithic monolith-circles and tumuli (1300/1100 BC – 1400/1500 AD) were constructed by West Africans who had a complex hierarchical society. In the mid-region of the Senegal River Valley, the

Serer people The Serer people are a West African ethnoreligious group.

may have created tumuli (before 13th century AD), shell middens (7th century AD – 13th century AD) in the central-west region, and shell middens (200 BC – Present) in the southern region. The

funerary A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect th ...

tumuli-building tradition of

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Mau ...

was widespread and a regular practice amid 1st millennium AD. More than ten thousand large funerary tumuli exist in Senegal. At the Inner Niger Delta, in the

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Ma ...

Lakes Region, there are two monumental tumuli constructed in the time period of the Trans-Saharan trade for the

Sahelian kingdoms The Sahelian kingdoms were a series of centralized kingdoms or empires that were centered on the Sahel, the area of grasslands south of the Sahara, from the 8th century to the 19th. The wealth of the states came from controlling the trade routes a ...

. The El Oualadji monumental tumulus, which dates between 1030 AD and 1220 AD and has two human remains buried with

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million ...

remains and various items (e.g., horse harnesses, horse trappings with plaques and bells, bracelets, rings, beads, iron items), may have been, as highlighted by al-Bakri, the royal burial site of a king from the Ghana Empire. The Koï Gourrey monumental tumulus, which may date prior to 1326 AD and has over twenty human remains that were buried with various items (e.g., iron accessories, an abundant amount of copper bracelets, anklets and beads, an abundant amount of broken, but whole pottery, another set of distinct, intact, glazed pottery, a wooden-beaded bone necklace, a bird figurine, a lizard figurine, a crocodile figurine), and is situated within the Mali Empire.

Asia

Central Asia

The word kurgan is of

Turkic Turkic may refer to: * anything related to the country of Turkey * Turkic languages, a language family of at least thirty-five documented languages ** Turkic alphabets (disambiguation) ** Turkish language, the most widely spoken Turkic language * ...

origin, derives from Proto-Turkic *Kur- ("to erect (a building), to establish"). In Ukraine and Russia, there are royal kurgans of Varangian chieftains, such as the

Black Grave The Black Grave ( uk, Чорна Могила , translit=Chorna mohyla) is the largest burial mound (kurgan) in Chernihiv, Ukraine. It is part of the National Sanctuary of Ancient Chernihiv and is an Archaeological Monument of national importance ...

in Ukrainian

Chernihiv Chernihiv ( uk, Черні́гів, , russian: Черни́гов, ; pl, Czernihów, ; la, Czernihovia), is a city and municipality in northern Ukraine, which serves as the administrative center of Chernihiv Oblast and Chernihiv Raion within ...

(excavated in the 19th century), Oleg's Grave in Russian Staraya Ladoga, and vast, intricate Rurik's Hill near Russian

Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( rus, links=no, Великий Новгород, t=Great Newtown, p=vʲɪˈlʲikʲɪj ˈnovɡərət), also known as just Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the o ...

. Other important kurgans are found in Ukraine and South Russia and are associated with much more ancient

steppe In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the temperate grasslan ...

peoples, notably the Scythians (e.g., Chortomlyk,

Pazyryk Pazyryk may refer to: *Pazyryk Valley, a valley of Ukok Plateau, Siberia *The Iron Age Pazyryk burials found there *The wider Pazyryk culture The Pazyryk culture (russian: Пазырыкская культура ''Pazyrykskaya'' kul'tura) is ...

) and early Indo-Europeans (e.g., Ipatovo kurgan) The steppe cultures found in Ukraine and South Russia naturally continue into

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes the former ...

, in particular

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental coun ...

. It is constructed over a grave, often characterized by containing a single human body along with grave vessels, weapons and horses. Originally in use on the Pontic–Caspian steppe, kurgans spread into much of

and Eastern, Southeast, Western and Northern Europe during the 3rd millennium BC. The earliest kurgans date to the 4th millennium BC in the Caucasus, and researchers associate these with the Indo-Europeans. Kurgans were built in the Eneolithic, Bronze,

Iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in ...

Antiquity Antiquity or Antiquities may refer to: Historical objects or periods Artifacts *Antiquities, objects or artifacts surviving from ancient cultures Eras Any period before the European Middle Ages (5th to 15th centuries) but still within the histo ...

and Middle Ages, with ancient traditions still active in Southern

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part o ...

and Central Asia.

Near East

=Turkey

On the

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The r ...

n peninsula, there are several sites where one can find the biggest specimens of these artificial mounds throughout the world. Three of these sites are especially important. Bin Tepeler (and other Lydian mounds of the Aegean inland), Phrygian mounds in Gordium (Central Anatolia), and the famous

Commagene Commagene ( grc-gre, Κομμαγηνή) was an ancient Greco-Iranian kingdom ruled by a Hellenized branch of the Iranian Orontid dynasty that had ruled over Armenia. The kingdom was located in and around the ancient city of Samosata, which ...

tumulus on the Mount Nemrut (Southeastern Anatolia). This is the most important of the enumerated sites with the number of specimens it has and with the dimensions of certain among them. It is in the Aegean inland of Turkey. The site is called "Bin Tepeler" (a thousand mounds in Turkish) and it is in the northwest of Salihli district of Manisa province. The site is very close to the southern shoreline of Lake Marmara (Lake Gyges or Gygaea). Bin Tepeler is a Lydian necropolis that dates back to 7th and 6th centuries BC. These mounds are called "the pyramids of Anatolia", as a giant specimen among them is 355 metres in diameter, 1115 metres in perimeter and 69 metres high. According to

Herodotus Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria ( Italy). He is known for ...

, this giant tumulus belongs to the famous Lydian King Alyattes who ruled between 619 and 560 BC. There is also another mound belonging to King

Gyges Gyges can refer to: * One of the Hecatoncheires from Greek mythology * King Gyges of Lydia * Ogyges * Ring of Gyges The Ring of Gyges ( grc, Γύγου Δακτύλιος, ''Gúgou Daktúlios'', ) is a hypothetical magic ring mentioned by the p ...

. The Gyges mound was excavated but the burial chamber hasn't been found yet. In this site, there are 75 tumuli dating back to Lydian period that belong to the nobility. A large number of smaller artificial mounds can also be observed in the site. There are other Lydian tumuli sites around Eşme district of Uşak province. Certain mounds in these sites had been plundered by raiders in the late 1960s, and the Lydian treasures found in their burial chambers were smuggled to the United States, which later returned them to Turkish authorities after negotiations. These artifacts are now exhibited in the Archaeological Museum of Uşak. TumMMWPintro

Gordium (Gordion) was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Phrygia. Its ruins are in the immediate vicinity of Polatlı, near the Turkish capital

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, mak ...

. At this site, approximately 80–90 tumuli date back to the Phrygian, Persian and

Hellenistic In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium i ...

periods. Around 35 tumuli have been excavated so far, ranging in date from the 8th century BC to the 3rd or 2nd century BC. The biggest tumulus at the site is believed to have covered the burial of the famous Phrygian King Midas or that of his father. This mound, called Tumulus MM (for "Midas Mound"), was excavated in 1957 by a team from the University of Pennsylvania Museum, led by Rodney Young and his graduate students. Among the many fine bronze artifacts recovered from the wooden burial chamber were 170 bronze vessels, including numerous "omphalos bowls", and more than 180 bronze "Phrygian

fibula The fibula or calf bone is a human leg, leg bone on the Lateral (anatomy), lateral side of the tibia, to which it is connected above and below. It is the smaller of the two bones and, in proportion to its length, the most slender of all the long ...

e" (ancient safety pins). The wooden furniture found in the tomb is especially noteworthy, as wood seldom survives from archaeological contexts: the collection included nine tables, one of them elaborately carved and inlaid, and two ceremonial serving stands inlaid with religious symbols and geometric patterns. Important bronze and wooden artifacts were also found in other tumulus burials at the site. The Mount Nemrut is 86 km in the east of Adıyaman province of

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

. It is very close to Kahta district of the same province. The mountain has, at its peak, 3050 metres of height above the sea level. A tumulus that dates to the 1st century BC is at the peak of the mountain. This artificial mound has 150 metres of diameter and a height of 50 metres, which was originally 55 metres. It belongs to the

King

Antiochus I Theos of Commagene Antiochus I Theos Dikaios Epiphanes Philorhomaios Philhellen ( grc, Ἀντίοχος ὁ Θεὸς Δίκαιος Ἐπιφανὴς Φιλορωμαῖος Φιλέλλην, meaning "Antiochos, the just, eminent god, friend of Romans and friend ...

who ruled between 69 and 40 BC. This tumulus is made of broken stone pieces, which renders excavation attempts almost impossible. The tumulus is surrounded by ceremonial terraces in the east, west, and north. The east and west terraces have tremendous statues (reaching 8 to 10 meters of height) and bas reliefs of gods and goddesses from the Commagene pantheon where divine figures used to embody the Persian and Roman perceptions together.

=Israel

A tumulus forms the center of the ancient megalithic structure of

Rujm el-Hiri Rujm el-Hiri ( ar, رجم الهري, ''Rujm al-Hīrī''; he, גִּלְגַּל רְפָאִים ''Gilgal Refā'īm'' or ''Rogem Hiri'') is an ancient megalithic monument consisting of concentric circles of stone with a tumulus at center. It is ...

in the Golan Heights. Rujm in Arabic can mean tumulus, cairn or stone heap. Near the western city limits of modern

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

, 19 tumuli have been documented (Amiran, 1958). Though first noticed in the 1870s by early surveyors, the first one to be formally documented was Tumulus #2 in 1923 by William Foxwell Albright, and the most recent one (Tumulus #4) was excavated by Gabriel Barkay in 1983. The association of these tumuli with the Judean kings who ruled

does not substantiate Biblical history since it is mere speculation. No inscriptions naming any specific Judean king have been excavated from a tumulus. * More than half of these ancient Israeli structures have now been threatened or obliterated by modern construction projects, including Tumulus #4, which was excavated hastily in a salvage operation. The most noteworthy finds from this dig were two LMLK seal impressions and two other handles with associated Concentric Circle incisions, all of which suggests this tumulus belonged to either King

Hezekiah Hezekiah (; hbo, , Ḥīzqīyyahū), or Ezekias); grc, Ἐζεκίας 'Ezekías; la, Ezechias; also transliterated as or ; meaning "Yah shall strengthen" (born , sole ruler ), was the son of Ahaz and the 13th king of Judah according to th ...

or his son Manasseh. * When comparing the number of these tumuli to the total number of Israelite kings (northern and southern), note that Saul never ruled in

, and Athaliah was never crowned. She took the throne by force ( 2Kings 11:1–3), and would certainly not have been honored with a tumulus ceremony following her brutal assassination. * The northern kings did not reign over the southern kingdom, and they would certainly not have been honored with a tumulus ceremony in

; if any ceremonies were held for them, they would have transpired in the north (near Bethel, Tirzah, or

Samaria Samaria (; he, שֹׁמְרוֹן, translit=Šōmrōn, ar, السامرة, translit=as-Sāmirah) is the historic and biblical name used for the central region of Palestine, bordered by Judea to the south and Galilee to the north. The first ...

South Asia

=India

= The Ahom kingdom in medieval

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

built octagonal tumuli called Maidams for their kings and high officials. The kings were buried in a hillock at Charaideo in Sibsagar district of Assam, whereas other Maidams are found scattered more widely.

=Pakistan

= The ''

damb Damb Sadat (also ''Damb Sadaat'', ''Damb Saadat'') is an archaeological tumuli, mound and ancient settlement in the Baluchistan (region), Baluchistan region of Pakistan. It is related to the early phases of the Indus Valley civilisation, and date ...

'' was a type of mound, or small stone structure, found in Balochistan, including the coastal areas of Makran.

East Asia

=China

= The Chinese pyramids house the remains of some of China's former

emperors An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother (em ...

. Before the expansion of

Shang The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty founded by Tang of Shang (Cheng Tang) that ruled in the Yellow River valley in the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty and f ...

and Zhou

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these grou ...

through the region, many hundreds of tumuli were also constructed by the " Baiyue" peoples of the Yangtze valley and southeastern China.

=Japan

In Japan, powerful leaders built tumuli known as '' kofun''. The Kofun period of Japanese history takes its name from these burial mounds. The largest is Daisen-ryo Kofun, or more commonly Nintoku-ryo Kofun, with a length of 840 metres. In addition to other shapes, kofun include a keyhole shape, typically seen in Daisen Kofun. Foreign museums possess some grave goods.

=Korea

see also '' Cheonmachong'', the Heavenly Horse Tomb The first burial mounds in Korea were dolmens, which contained material from cultures of the 1st millennium AD, such as bronze-ware, pottery, and other symbols of society elite. The most famous tumuli in Korea, dating around 300 AD, are those left behind by the Korean

Baekje Baekje or Paekche (, ) was a Korean kingdom located in southwestern Korea from 18 BC to 660 AD. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla. Baekje was founded by Onjo of Baekje, Onjo, the third son of Gogurye ...

Goguryeo Goguryeo (37 BC–668 AD) ( ) also called Goryeo (), was a Korean kingdom located in the northern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula and the southern and central parts of Northeast China. At its peak of power, Goguryeo controlled mos ...

( Kogyuro/ Koguryo),

Silla Silla or Shilla (57 BCE – 935 CE) ( , Old Korean: Syera, Old Japanese: Siraki2) was a Korean kingdom located on the southern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula. Silla, along with Baekje and Goguryeo, formed the Three Kingdoms of ...

, and

Gaya Gaya may refer to: Geography Czech Republic *Gaya (German and Latin), Kyjov (Hodonín District), a town Guinea * Gaya or Gayah, a town India *Gaya, India, a city in Bihar **Gaya Airport *Bodh Gaya, a town in Bihar near Gaya *Gaya district, Bi ...

states and are clustered around ancient capital cities in modern-day

Pyongyang Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populat ...

, Ji'an, Jilin,

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the Capital city, capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the North Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea ...

, and Gyeongju. The Goguryeo tombs, shaped like pyramids, are famous for the well-preserved wall murals like the ones at Anak Tomb No.3, which depict the culture and artistry of the people. The base of the tomb of King

Gwanggaeto Gwanggaeto the Great (374–413, r. 391–413) was the nineteenth monarch of Goguryeo. His full posthumous name means "Entombed in ''Gukgangsang'', Broad Expander of Domain, Peacemaker, Supreme King", sometimes abbreviated to ''Hotaewang'' ...

is 85 meters on each side, half of the size of the Great Pyramids. Goguryeo Silla tombs are most noted for the fabulous offerings that have been excavated such as delicate golden crowns and glassware and beads that probably made their way to Korea via the Silk Road. Many indigenous Korean artifacts and culture were transmitted to the tomb builders of early Japan, such as horsetrappings, bronze mirrors, paintings and iron-ware.

Europe

Southeast Europe

=Albania

= Tumuli are one of the most prominent types of prehistoric monuments spread throughout northern and southern

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the ...

. Some well-known local tumuli are: * Kamenica Tumulus * Lofkënd Tumulus * Pazhok Tumulus

=Bosnia and Herzegovina

= More than 50 burial mounds were found in Kupres. Man from Kupres – the skeleton found in one of the tumuli is believed to be more than 3000 years old and it is kept in Gorica museum in Livno. Glasinac has many tumuli. During the Bronze and Iron Age it was a place of strong Glasinac culture, who buried their dead in tumulus.

=Bulgaria

The Thracian tomb Goliama Kosmatka, Bulgaria 01

On the territory of

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Mac ...

there are over 60,000 ancient Thracian mounds, of which only about 1,000 have been studied. There are also Roman and Thraco-Roman burial tombs. Those tumulus over ancient tombs, temples and sanctuaries are found throughout the whole territory of Bulgaria. Some of the world's most significant and famous being the Kazanlak and Sveshtari tombs,

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. I ...

World Heritage sites. Located near the ancient Thracian capital cities of Seuthopolis (of the Odrysian kingdom) and Daosdava or Helis (of the Getae), perhaps they represented royal burials. Other notable tumulus are Thracian tomb of Aleksandrovo, Thracian tomb Golyama Arsenalka, Thracian tomb Shushmanets, Thracian tomb Griffins, Thracian tomb Helvetia, Thracian tomb Ostrusha, Tomb of Seuthes III and the other tombs around

Starosel Starosel ( bg, Старосел) is a village in central Bulgaria, Hisarya Municipality, Plovdiv Province. It lies at the foot of the Sredna Gora mountain range along the shores of Pyasachnik River. Starosel is known for the abundance of ...

, others contained offerings such as the Panagyurishte and Rogozen treasures. Some of the sites are located in the Valley of the Thracian Rulers. The mound of the Tomb of Seuthes III “Golyama Kosmatka” is among the largest mounds in Thrace, with a maximum height of 23 m. and a diameter of 130 m.

=Croatia

= There are thousands of tumuli throughout all Croatia, built of stone (

Croatian Croatian may refer to: * Croatia *Croatian language *Croatian people *Croatians (demonym) See also * * * Croatan (disambiguation) * Croatia (disambiguation) * Croatoan (disambiguation) * Hrvatski (disambiguation) * Hrvatsko (disambiguation) * S ...

: ''gomila'', ''gromila'') in the karst areas (by the

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) ...

) or made of earth (Croatian: ''humak'') in the inland plains and hills. Most of these prehistoric structures were built in the 2nd and 1st millennium BC, from the middle

to the end of the

, by the

Illyrians The Illyrians ( grc, Ἰλλυριοί, ''Illyrioi''; la, Illyrii) were a group of Indo-European-speaking peoples who inhabited the western Balkan Peninsula in ancient times. They constituted one of the three main Paleo-Balkan populations, a ...

or their direct ancestors in the same place; the Liburnian inhumation of dead under tumuli was certainly inherited from the earlier times, as early as the

Copper Age The Copper Age, also called the Chalcolithic (; from grc-gre, χαλκός ''khalkós'', "copper" and ''líthos'', "Rock (geology), stone") or (A)eneolithic (from Latin ''wikt:aeneus, aeneus'' "of copper"), is an list of archaeologi ...

. Smaller tumuli were used as the burial mounds, while bigger (some up to 7 metres high with 60 metres long base) were the

cenotaph A cenotaph is an empty tomb or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been reinterred elsewhere. Although the vast majority of cenot ...

s (empty tombs) and ritual places.

=Greece

= Some of the world's most prominent Tumuli, the Macedonian tombs and a cist-grave at

Vergina Vergina ( el, Βεργίνα, ''Vergína'' ) is a small town in northern Greece, part of Veria municipality in Imathia, Central Macedonia. Vergina was established in 1922 in the aftermath of the population exchanges after the Treaty of ...

include the tomb of Philip II (359–336 BC), father of

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to ...

(336–323 BC), as well as the tomb of Alexander IV (323–309 BC), son of Alexander the Great. A very large tumulus has been discovered in Amphipolis. Known as the Kasta Tomb, the tomb's occupant is presently unknown. Also numerous Mycenaean Greek Tombs are in all essence Tumuli, notably Agamemnon's site in Mycenae, and other sites in Tiryns, near Olympia and Pylos, and mostly in the Peloponnese peninsula near Mycenaean sites and Bronze Age settlements. Moreover, in Central Greece there are numerous Tumuli, some excavated, others not. A notable one is in Marathon, serving as a burial for the ones who fell during battle. As of October 2014 there are ongoing excavations at the Kasta Tomb in Amphipolis,

Macedonia Macedonia most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a traditional geographic reg ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wit ...

with the tumulus having a perimeter of 497 meters. The tomb within is assessed to be an ancient Macedonian burial monument of the last quarter of the 4th century BC. * Macedonian Tombs, Korinos *

Macedonian Tombs, Katerini At works to recover clay, two Macedonian tombs were discovered north of Katerini. Location The graves are located approximately 3.7 km northeast of the center of Katerini between the National Road 1, the main connection Athens - Thessaloniki, and ...

=Hungary

= There are over 40,000 tumuli in the

Great Hungarian Plain The Great Hungarian Plain (also known as Alföld or Great Alföld, hu, Alföld or ) is a plain occupying the majority of the modern territory of Hungary. It is the largest part of the wider Pannonian Plain. (However, the Great Hungarian plai ...

, the highest is Gödény-halom near the settlement of Békésszentandrás, in Békés county. Sírhalom origins and forms are diverse: tells, graves, border barrows, watcher barrows.

=Serbia

= *

Mrčajevci Mrčajevci ( sr-cyrl, Мрчајевци, ) is a village in the city of Čačak, Serbia. It is located in Central Serbian region of Šumadija. According to the 2011 census, the village has a population of 2,767 inhabitants. Excavations of pre-his ...

, several prehistoric tumuli * Bukovac, Illyrian tumuli and necropolis * Five prehistoric tumuli in the Morava valley. * Gromile, Serbian tumuli in Ravna Gora. * Kinđa

Western and Central Europe

=Austria

* Burgstallkogel (Sulm valley) * Großmugl (

Lower Austria Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Since 1986, the capital of Lower Austria has been Sankt ...

) * Pillichsdorf (Lower Austria) * Niederhollabrunn (Lower Austria) * Gaisruck (in Niederösterreich) * Langenlebarn (in Niederösterreich) * Deutsch-Altenburg (in Niederösterreich) * Bernhardsthal (Lower Austria) * Siegendorf (

Burgenland Burgenland (; hu, Őrvidék; hr, Gradišće; Austro-Bavarian: ''Burgnland;'' Slovene: ''Gradiščanska'') is the easternmost and least populous state of Austria. It consists of two statutory cities and seven rural districts, with a total of ...

) * Schandorf (Burgenland) * Kleinklein ( Styria) * Niederfellabrunn (Lower Austria)) *

Oberhofen am Irrsee Oberhofen am Irrsee is a municipality in the district of Vöcklabruck (district), Vöcklabruck in the Austrian state of Upper Austria. Population References

Cities and towns in Vöcklabruck District {{UpperAustria-geo-stub ...

(

Upper Austria Upper Austria (german: Oberösterreich ; bar, Obaöstareich) is one of the nine states or of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, an ...

) * Obermallebarn (Lower Austria) * Unterzögersdorf (Lower Austria)

=Belgium

= * Two Tumuli of Ambresin ( Liège Province) * Tumulus of Avernas in Hannut (Liège): height: 8 m; circumference: 100 m * Tumulus of the "champ de la Tombe" in Braives (Liège), 1st century AD Roman tomb. * Tumulus of Court-Saint-Étienne ( Walloon Brabant), around 3,000 BC. * Tumulus of Glimes in Incourt (Walloon Brabant), Gallo-Roman period: height: 11 m; diameter: 50 m * Tumulus of Hottomont in Ramillies ( Walloon Brabant), tomb of : height: 11.5 m ; diameter: 50 m * Tumulus of Oleye ( Liek) (Liège) * Tumulus of Pepin of Landen in Landen ( Flemish Brabant) * Tumuli of the Sonian Forest (Flemish Brabant), 1st millennium BC. * Three Tumuli of Grimde in Tienen (Flemish Brabant), 1st century BC Gallo-Roman tombs. * Tumulus of Trou de Billemont in Antoing ( Hainaut Province), 6th and 7th-century Merovingian tombs. * Tumulus of

Walhain Walhain (; wa, Walin) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. It consists of the former municipalities of Nil-Saint-Vincent-Saint-Martin, Tourinnes-Saint-Lambert and Walhain-Saint-Paul. The Belgi ...

( Walloon Brabant) * Two Tumuli of Waremme (Liège) * Tumuli of Wéris (

Belgian Luxembourg Luxembourg (french: Luxembourg ; nl, Luxemburg ; german: Luxemburg ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; wa, Lussimbork), also called Belgian Luxembourg, is the southernmost province of Wallonia and of Belgium. It borders on the country of Luxembourg to the ea ...

), 4th and 3rd millennium BC.

=United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, barrows of a wide range of types were in widespread use for burying the dead from the late

until the end of the

, 2900–800 BC. Square barrows were occasionally used in the Iron Age (800 BC-43 AD) in the east of

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. The traditional round barrow experienced a brief resurgence following the

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

conquests, with the introduction of northern Germanic burial practices from continental Europe. These later barrows were often built near older Bronze Age barrows. They included a few instances of

ship burial A ship burial or boat grave is a burial in which a ship or boat is used either as the tomb for the dead and the grave goods, or as a part of the grave goods itself. If the ship is very small, it is called a boat grave. This style of burial was ...

. Barrow burial fell out of use during the 7th century as a result of the spread of

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesu ...

. Early scholarly investigation of tumuli and theorising as to their origins was undertaken from the 17th century by antiquaries, notably John Aubrey, and William Stukeley. During the 19th century in

the excavation of tumuli was a popular pastime amongst the educated and wealthy upper classes, who became known as "barrow-diggers". This leisure activity played a key role in laying the foundations for the scientific study of the past in Britain but also resulted in untold damage to the sites. Notable British barrows include: * West Kennet Long Barrow – Neolithic long barrow in Wiltshire * Wayland's Smithy – Neolithic long barrow and chamber tomb in Oxfordshire (historically

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Be ...

) * Belas Knap – Neolithic long barrow in

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

* Maeshowe – Neolithic chambered cairn and passage grave on Mainland,

Orkney Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) nort ...

* Duggleby Howe – Neolithic round barrow in the East Riding of Yorkshire * Sutton Hoo – 7th-century East Anglian ship burial with exceptionally rich grave goods in

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include L ...

* Devil's Humps – Bronze Age barrow group on Bow Hill in West Sussex * Devil's Jumps – Bronze Age barrow group on the South Downs of West Sussex * Seamer Beacon – Bronze Age barrow near

Scarborough, North Yorkshire Scarborough () is a seaside town in the Borough of Scarborough in North Yorkshire, England. Scarborough is located on the North Sea coastline. Historic counties of England, Historically in the North Riding of Yorkshire, the town lies between 10 ...

=Czech Republic

= During the early

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, Slavic tribesmen inhabiting what is now the Czech Republic used to bury their dead under barrows. This practice has been widespread in southern and eastern Bohemia and some neighbouring regions, like

and Lusatia, which at that time have been also populated with Slavic people. There are no known Slavic barrows in the central part of the country (around

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

), nor are they found in

Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. Th ...

. This has led some of the archaeologists to speculations about at least three distinct waves of Slavic settlers, who colonized Czech lands separately from each other, each wave bringing its customs with it (including burial rituals). At places where barrows have been constructed, they are usually found in groups (10 to 100 together), often forming several clearly distinct lines going from the west to the east. Only a few of them have been studied scientifically so far; in them, both burials by fire (with burnt ashes) and unburned skeletons have been found, even on the same site. It seems that builders of the barrows have at some time switched from burials by fire to burying of unburned corpses; the reason for such change is unknown. The barrows date too far back in history (700 AD to 800 AD) to contain any Christian influences. Trizna 1899

As Czech barrows usually served for burials of poor villagers, only a few objects are found in them except for cheap pottery. Only one Slavic barrow is known to have contained gold. Most of the Czech burial barrows have been damaged or destroyed by intense

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peop ...

in the densely populated region. Those that remain are usually in forests, especially at hilltops in remote places. Therefore, there is no general knowledge about burial barrows among Czech population. The best Slavic barrow sites can be found near to

Vitín Vitín () is a municipality and village in České Budějovice District in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 500 inhabitants. The historic centre of the village is well preserved and is protected by law as a village mon ...

, a small village close to

České Budějovice České Budějovice (; german: Budweis ) is a city in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 93,000 inhabitants. It is located in the valley of the Vltava River, at its confluence with the Malše. České Budějovice is ...

. There are two groups of barrows close to Vitín, each containing about 80 barrows ordered in lines. Some of the barrows are as much as 2 metres high. There are also some prehistoric burial barrows in Czech Republic, built by unknown people. Unlike Slavic barrows, they can be found all across the country, though they are scarce. Distinguishing them from Slavic ones is not an easy task for the unskilled eye. Perhaps the most famous of them forms the top of the Žuráň hill near Slavkov u Brna; it is from here that Napoleon commanded his forces during the Battle of Austerlitz.

=France

Bougon Bougon () is a commune in the Deux-Sèvres department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in western France. See also *Communes of the Deux-Sèvres department The following is a list of the 256 communes of the Deux-Sèvres department of France. ...

(

Deux-Sèvres Deux-Sèvres () is a French department. ''Deux-Sèvres'' literally means "two Sèvres": the Sèvre Nantaise and the Sèvre Niortaise are two rivers which have their sources in the department. It had a population of 374,878 in 2019.

) tumuli are a set of five tumuli all at one site: the building and using took place over a long period from to BC. This set is considered to be one of the oldest western European megalithic necropolis. * The Bussy-le-Château commune ( Marne) has five Roman, Visigoth and Burgundian tumuli: three of them remain relatively intact along the . * The neolithic Saint-Michel de Carnac tumulus in Carnac was built between and BC. * A few kilometers from Carnac are the neolithic near the famous broken Menhir. * The five in the

Benon Benon () is a commune in the Charente-Maritime department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in southwestern France. Population Its population, unlike other parts of the department, slowly grew, but saw a small decline between the late 1960s an ...

forest form a neolithic necropolis in the Courçon commune (

Charente-Maritime Charente-Maritime () is a department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region on the southwestern coast of France. Named after the river Charente, its prefecture is La Rochelle. As of 2019, it had a population of 651,358 with an area of 6,864 square ...

). * is a neolithic monument located about 5 kilometres west of Saint-Nazaire ( Loire-Atlantique). * The tumulus of Lamalou dolmen is situated at the headwaters of the Lamalou river. * Tumulus and burial chamber (dolmen) of ''Bergerie de Panissière'' is located near Alès ( Gard). * Tanouëdou tumulus is located near Bourbriac ( Côtes d'Armor,

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period o ...

). * on Prissé-la-Charrière commune (Deux-Sèvres): a neolithic long barrow with tumulus , dating from to BC. * , on the

Melrand Melrand (; ) is a commune in the Morbihan department of Brittany in north-western France. Inhabitants of Melrand are called in French ''Melrandais''. Population Melrand's population peaked at 3,712 in 1921 and déclined at 1,521 in2019. This r ...

commune ( Morbihan), is listed as monument historique since 1972. * Appenwihr tumuli on the Appenwihr commune ( Haut Rhin) are a set of nine small tumuli (about tall and one higher at ), not far to the north-west. The results of the excavations are exposed in the Unterlinden Museum in

Colmar Colmar (, ; Alsatian: ' ; German during 1871–1918 and 1940–1945: ') is a city and commune in the Haut-Rhin department and Grand Est region of north-eastern France. The third-largest commune in Alsace (after Strasbourg and Mulhouse), ...

=Germany

= ''Hügelgrab'' ("barrow", "burial mound" or "tumulus") sites in Germany dating to the Early and Middle Bronze Age. Barrows or tumuli sites in Germany dating to the Late Bronze and Iron Age. Barrows or tumuli sites in Germany dating to the Stone Age. Other Barrows/tumuli in Germany of unstated date.

=Ireland

= A tumulus can be found close to the

Grianán of Aileach The Grianan of Aileach ( ; ga, Grianán Ailigh ), sometimes anglicised as Green