"Mega" (big) "lithos" (stone). The megalithic sites discussed and illustrated here are, with a few exceptions (such as Standing Stones and Stone Circles), prehistoric tombs which incorporate megaliths into their design and structure. Many megalithic structures survive; it is estimated that there are over 40,000 in Northern Europe alone. The focus here will be on megalithic tombs in the British Isles, initially those in the so-called Cotswold-Severn Group (i.e. in the area of the western part of the Cotswolds and the Severn Valley). The form of the tomb is usually that of a Long Barrow with megaliths forming the tomb chamber(s) and/or placed upright about the entrance.
