gallery grave

Exterior of La Roche aux Fées, megalithic gallery grave of the Neolithic Period, constructed c. 3000 bce, Essé, Ille-et-Vilaine, France.

gallery grave, long chamber grave, a variant of the collective tomb burials that spread into western and northwestern Europe from the Aegean area during the final stage of the northern Stone Age (c. 2000 bce). In the Severn-Cotswold area of Britain, the gallery graves have pairs of side chambers. Segmented graves with concave forecourts are found in Ulster and southwestern Scotland. In the Paris Basin the gallery graves have small round entrances and are lined with large stone slabs. The tombs are often associated with deities, whose representations are depicted on the rock walls.