Session: #638

Regular session

During the Late Prehistory of Western Europe, two distinct types of graves seem to have emerged nearly simultaneously: megalithic burials, which were notably more common, and rock-cut tombs. These sepulchers are widespread across most Central and Western European countries, with particular prevalence in the Iberian Peninsula, France, the Italian Peninsula, and Mediterranean islands like the Balearic Islands, Sardinia, and Sicily.
Despite considerable debate, the relationship between these two phenomena, namely the hypogean (rock-cut) and the megalithic (epigeous) burials, remains poorly understood. Both forms of funerary expression carry rich symbolic elements. These encompass aspects such as the placement of the deceased and their grave-goods; their structural attributes and the presence of diverse artistic representations inside them; their geographical positioning and their associations with both the surrounding landscape and other sites and monuments; and most importantly, the interplay between megaliths and hypogea.
An integrated examination of these phenomena offers the potential to enhance our comprehension of the prehistoric societies that constructed and utilized megalithic burials and rock-cut tombs. Therefore, we aim to investigate the features of these monuments that may relate to the realms of symbolism and culture, serving as a means to approach the attributes and level of social complexity within the human groups responsible for their construction. We welcome both archaeological case studies and ethnographic approaches as they offer valuable opportunities for further analysis of these phenomena.

Late Prehistory, Megalithic burials, Rock-cut tombs, Symbolism, Social complexity

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Riccardo Cicilloni (Italy) ¹

Liliana Spanedda (Spain) ²
Carlos Rodríguez Rellán (Spain) ²