Beehive tomb

Tholoi were used for burial in several cultures in the Mediterranean and West Asia, but in some cases they were used for different purposes such as homes (Cyprus), rituals (Bulgaria, Syria), and even fortification (Spain, Sardinia).

Although Max Mallowan used the same name for the circular houses belonging to the Neolithic culture of Tell Halaf (Iraq, Syria and Turkey), there is no relationship between them.

Their origin is a matter of considerable debate: were they inspired by the tholoi of Crete which were first used in the Early Minoan period[1] or were they a natural development of tumulus burials dating to the Middle Bronze Age.

A pair of tumuli at Marathon, Greece indicate how a built rectangular (but without a vault) central chamber was extended with an entrance passage.

That of the Treasury of Atreus, for example, was decorated with columns of red and green “Lapis Lacedaimonius” brought from quarries over 100 km away.

[11] Circular structures were commonly built in the Near East, including the examples known as tholoi found in the Neolithic Halaf culture of Iraq, Syria and Turkey.

There are also recorded Etruscan tombs at a necropolis at Banditaccia dating from the 6th and 7th centuries BCE, having an external appearance similar to a beehive.

There have been several significant gold and silver treasures associated with Thracian tombs currently kept at Bulgaria's Archaeological and National Historical Museum and other institutions.

The earliest stone-built tombs which can be called "beehive" are in Oman and the U.A.E., built of stacked flat stones which occur in nearby geological formations.

The Hajar tombs are very numerous and one or two have been restored, allowing one to crawl into the centre of a tall stone structure measuring 5–6 m (16–20 ft).