Barrow
Barrow, or Tumulus, an ancient burial mound of earth or stone. Stone barrows are called cairns. Barrows may be long and narrow, conical, bell-shaped, or disk-shaped. A wood- or stone-lined chamber is inside, containing the remains of the dead and usually some relics or implements. A passageway leads from this chamber to the outside.
Barrows are found in Europe, as far east as India, and in the midwestern United States. They are particularly numerous in Great Britain, where they date from the Stone Age to as late as the eighth century A.D. The oldest and largest burial mound in Great Britain, covering five acres (2 hectares), is Silbury Hill, in southwest England.
