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Court tomb of Tamnyrankin (Ireland), dated about 4,000-3,500 B.C. The term of “court tomb” derives from the semi-circular entrance, built with great stones, characteristic of these structures. In many cases, like in the example proposed, the court represents the space between the legs of an anthropomorphic being, while the entrance and the chambers leading into the center of the mound recall the vagina or the uterus of a female being. This corroborates Marija Gimbutas’ interpretation, according to which the megalithic tombs were built in the likeness of a Mother of the Dead or Mother Earth’s body (Gimbutas 2005b).

[Image: http://www.philarm.com/prehistoric.aspx?pageSelect=prehistoric]




World of the Dead

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Court tomb of Tamnyrankin (Ireland), dated about 4,000-3,500 B.C. The term of “court tomb” derives from the semi-circular entrance, built with great stones, characteristic of these structures. In many cases, like in the example proposed, the court represents the space between the legs of an anthropomorphic being, while the entrance and the chambers leading into the center of the mound recall the vagina or the uterus of a female being. This corroborates Marija Gimbutas’ interpretation, according to which the megalithic tombs were built in the likeness of a Mother of the Dead or Mother Earth’s body (Gimbutas 2005b). [Image: http://www.philarm.com/prehistoric.aspx?pageSelect=prehistoric]