A tumulus (: tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, mounds, howes, or in Siberia and Central Asia as kurgans, and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones built for various purposes, may also originally have been a tumulus.
Tumuli are often categorised according to their external apparent shape. In this respect, a long barrow is a long tumulus, usually constructed on top of several burials, such as passage graves. A round barrow is a round tumulus, also commonly constructed on top of burials. The internal structure and architecture of both long and round barrows have a broad range; the categorization only refers to the external apparent shape.
The method of may involve a dolmen, a cist, a mortuary enclosure, a mortuary house, or a chamber tomb. Examples of barrows include Duggleby Howe and Maeshowe.
Etymology The word tumulus is Latin for 'mound' or 'small hill', which is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root with extended zero-grade also found in tomb, tumor, tumescent, thumb, thigh, and thousand. Its synonym "howe" is derived from .
Burial accounts The funeral of Patroclus is described in book 23 of Homer's Iliad. Patroclus is burned on a pyre, and his bones are collected into a golden urn in two layers of fat. The barrow is built on the location of the pyre. Achilles then sponsors funeral games, consisting of a chariot race, boxing, wrestling, running, a duel between two champions to the first blood, discus throwing, archery and spear throwing.
Beowulf's body in the Anglo-Saxon poem Beowulf is taken to Hronesness, where it is burned on a funeral pyre. During cremation, the Geats lament the death of their lord, a widow's lament being mentioned in particular, singing dirges as they circumambulate the barrow. Afterwards, a mound is built on top of a hill, overlooking the sea, and filled with treasure. A band of twelve of the best warriors ride around the barrow, singing dirges in praise of their lord.
Parallels have also been drawn to the account of Attila's burial in Jordanes' Getica.Frederick Klaeber, Attila's and Beowulf's funeral, PMLA (1927); Martin Puhvel, The Ride around Beowulf's Barrow, Folklore (1983). Jordanes tells that as Attila's body was lying in state, the best horsemen of the Huns circled it, as in circus games.
An Old Irish Life of Columcille reports that every funeral procession "halted at a mound called Eala, whereupon the corpse was laid, and the mourners marched thrice solemnly round the spot."
Types
Archaeologists often classify tumuli according to their location, form, and date of construction (see also mound). Some British types are listed below:
Bank barrow Bell barrow Bowl barrow D-shaped barrow – round barrow with a purposely flat edge at one side often defined by stone slabs. Disc barrow Fancy barrow – generic term for any Bronze Age barrows more elaborate than a simple hemispherical shape. Long barrow Oval barrow – a Neolithic long barrow consisting of an elliptical, rather than rectangular or trapezoidal mound. Platform barrow – The least common of the recognised types of round barrow, consisting of a flat, wide circular mound that may be surrounded by a ditch. They occur widely across southern England with a marked concentration in East and West Sussex. Pond barrow – a barrow consisting of a shallow circular depression, surrounded by a bank running around the rim of the depression, from the Bronze Age. Ring barrow – a bank that encircles a number of burials. Round barrow – a circular feature created by the Bronze Age peoples of Britain and also the later Romans, Vikings, and Saxons. Divided into subclasses such as saucer and bell barrow – the Six Hills are a rare Roman example. Saucer barrow – a circular Bronze Age barrow that features a low, wide mound surrounded by a ditch that may have an external bank. Square barrow – burial site, usually of Iron Age date, consisting of a small, square, ditched enclosure surrounding a central burial, which may also have been covered by a mound.
Modern practices
There is a contemporary revival in barrow building in the UK. In 2015 the first long barrow in thousands of years, the Long Barrow at All Cannings, inspired by those built in the Neolithic era, was built on land just outside the village of All Cannings. The barrow was designed to have a large number of private niches within the stone and earth structure to receive cremation urns.
This was followed by new barrows at: The Willow Row Barrow at St Neots. The Soulton Long Barrow at Soulton in Shropshire. Higher Ground Meadow in Dorset Mid-England Barrow, Oxfordshire.
Plans have also been announced for a barrow in Milton Keynes and in Powys.
Sites Australia
Burial mounds are one of several funerary forms practiced by Indigenous Australians. Burial mounds were once practiced by some Aboriginal peoples across Australia, with the most elaborate burial mounds recorded in New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia. Most notable burials in New South Wales and Western Australia were studied and excavated by John Oxley (1820), Atkinson (1853), Pearce (1897), and Davidson (1949) and were termed Aboriginal tumulus.
Early records indicate the burial mounds as neat and rounded in form. However, dimensions and precise form could vary widely based on rank of the individuals, smallest mounds being 2 to 3 m in diameter and 2 m in height to largest mounds described as an earthen oblong mound resembling ‘a large hillock some 100 feet long, and 50 in height’. Some special or high-standing individuals mound were semi-circular, while most were round. Traditionally, the preparation of the burial site, the carving of trees facing the mound and internment was done by initiated men. Occasionally, long raised mourning seats were constructed along one side of the burial mound. Many of these mounds today have undergone much change in appearance due to erosion, weathering, wildfires, agriculture, land development and deliberate destruction.
Bodies were buried either in a seated-position or in a crouched fetal-position, they were wrapped in layers of pelt-cloaks. Grave goods often included weapons, stone axes, ochre, white clay, stone flakes, bonepoints, necklaces, gridles, headbands and items of ceremonial clothing.
An early published account of John Oxley's excavation describes a high-standing Aboriginal man's burial mound and associated carved trees; these carvings on the trees were made around the mound, facing the burial.
Traditionally, a sheet of bark was removed from trees and the bare surface was carved to face the burial mound. In some cases, up to five trees were carved around the mound for high standing individuals. It has been suggested that the carvings were associated with the culture heroes admired by man in life and were thought to provide a pathway for his spirit to return to the sky world. According to Alfred William Howitt these carved trees served both as transit points to allow cultural heroes to ascend to, and descend from, the firmament as well as a means for the deceased to return to the sky world.
Some mounds do not contain burials, these mounds are associated with settlement debris. In Northern Territory and in several regions both forms are known. Recently, several mounds in Queensland were investigated with ground-penetrating radar. These mounds were previously associated with settlement debris. Radar study revealed some mounds contained mortuary remains, while other mounds were built over places where ceremonial fires had taken place. Further research is proposed to understand nature of burial mounds in this part of Australia. Archaeologist Mary-Jean Sutton said, "They could be 6,000 years old. They could be tens of thousands of years old. We believe potentially 5,000 to 6,000 years old, but they could be much, much older and potentially also younger, and we need to carry out more research to date them."
Africa Horn of Africa Salweyn in Northern Somalia contains a very large field of cairns, which stretches for a distance of around 8 km. An excavation of one of these tumuli by Georges Révoil in 1881 uncovered a tomb, beside which were artefacts pointing to an ancient, advanced civilization. The interred objects included pottery shards from Samos, some well-crafted enamels, and a mask of Ancient Greek design.
The Sahel
The prehistoric tradition of monarchic tumuli-building is shared by both the West African Sahel and the Middle Nile regions. Ancient Egyptian pyramids of the early dynastic period and Meroitic Kush pyramids are recognized by Faraji (2022) as part of and derived from an earlier architectural "Sudanic-Sahelian" tradition of monarchic tumuli, which are characterized as "earthen pyramids" or "proto-pyramids." Faraji (2022) characterized Nobadia as the "last pharaonic culture of the Nile Valley" and described mound tumuli as being "the first architectural symbol of the sovereign's return and reunification with the primordial mound upon his death." Faraji (2022) indicates that there may have been a cultural expectation of "postmortem resurrection" associated with tumuli in the funerary traditions of the West African Sahel (e.g., northern Ghana, northern Nigeria, Mali) and Nile Valley (e.g., Ballana, Qustul, Kerma, Kush). Based on artifacts found in the tumuli from West Africa and Nubia, there may have been "a highly developed corporate ritual in which the family members of the deceased brought various items as offerings and tribute to the ancestors" buried in the tumuli and the tumuli may have "served as immense shrines of spiritual power for the populace to ritualize and remember their connection to the ancestral lineage as consecrated in the royal tomb."