Meaning & use

tumulus

noun·Advanced

An ancient burial mound of earth and stones raised over one or more graves.

See it in a sentence

Archaeologists excavated a Bronze Age tumulus containing pottery and bronze weapons.

The hillside was dotted with grassy tumuli built thousands of years before recorded history.

A note on using this word

The plural is tumuli. The word is mainly used in archaeology to describe prehistoric burial sites.

Words with a similar meaning

barrowburial mound

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