Megalithic art

Megalithic art refers to art either painted or carved onto megaliths in prehistoric Europe. Elizabeth Shee Twohig has coined the term Megalithic art in her study of 'The Megalithic Art of Western Europe'''. Her original definition of Megalithic art focused on paintings or carvings found on the structural elements, like the kerbstones, orthostats, or capstones of megalithic tombs, but recent investigations have included decorations on stelae and menhirs. Megalithic art is found in many places in Western Europe although the main concentrations are in England, Malta, Ireland, Brittany and Iberia. Megalithic art started in the Neolithic and continued into the Bronze Age. Although many monument types received this form of art the majority is carved on Neolithic passage graves. Megalithic art tends to be highly abstract and contains relatively few representations of recognizable real objects. Megalithic art is often similar to prehistoric rock art and contains many similar motifs such as the 'cup and ring mark', although the two forms of rock carving also have large stylistic differences. The meaning of megalithic art is the subject of much debate. Weathering and vandalism have affected many examples of the art, and little of it remains today. Ireland has the largest concentration of megalithic art in Europe, particularly in the Boyne Valley. This art form appears to be entirely abstract and is perhaps the most famous with its well-known multiple-spirals. It has been suggested that much of this artwork is entoptically derived from induced states of altered consciousness (Dronfield 1993). Stylistically the art of Ireland is similar to occasional finds in nearby Wales and the Scottish Isles. Approximately 70% of Ireland's ancient decorated rocks and stones are to be found in the Boyne Valley (o'Sullivan 1997;19) The French region of Brittany has the second highest concentration of megalithic art. The earliest examples in this area are with anthropomorphic representations on menhirs which later continued in passage graves.

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Related concepts (11)

Gavrinis

Gavrinis (Gavriniz) is a small island in the Gulf of Morbihan in Brittany, France. It contains the Gavrinis tomb, a megalithic monument notable for its abundance of megalithic art in the European Neolithic. Administratively, it is part of the commune of Larmor-Baden. Reachable by boat from the town of Larmor-Baden near the opening of Morbihan Gulf to the Atlantic Ocean, Gavrinis is an uninhabited granite rock outcrop of 750 × 400m. Its highest point dominates much of the surrounding area.

Megalithic architectural elements

This article describes several characteristic architectural elements typical of European megalithic (Stone Age) structures. In archaeology, a forecourt is the name given to the area in front of certain types of chamber tomb. Forecourts were probably the venue for ritual practices connected with the burial and commemoration of the dead in the past societies that built these types of tombs. In European megalithic architecture, forecourts are curved in plan with the entrance to the tomb at the apex of the open semicircle enclosure that the forecourt creates.

Megalithic art