What is the meaning of Megalith? Concept and Definition of Megalith

What is the Meaning of Megalith?

The etymological origin of the Word megalith, we can find it in the union of two Greek words: μεγας, which we can read "mega" with the meaning of 'big one' and λιθος or "lithos" which can be translated as "stone".
These large stones or megaliths, such as technical construction, for some minority authors, originated in the Middle East, especially in Egypt, used for tombs, where was evolving from the mounds to the mastabas, which at the beginning were constructions, but which became in stone from the third dynasty, and finally to the step-pyramidsmanufactured by superposition of mastabas.
Most of the authors authors do not call these Egyptian monuments, megaliths, but that placed them in the late prehistoric period , which begins to decline the Neolithic and until ends the age of bronze, in the geographical area located in the South of England, Ireland and the Iberian Peninsula.
The burials were made in caves that were naturally or dug in the rocks; but sometimes, they placed stones on the floor, which served as a support to a large earthenware, willing to a table, which was intended to become a burial Chamber , that in certain cases, is reached by a gallery. These were the dolmens, when they were simpler them called, cists. Some came to be covered with false domes. Apparently, the dolmens would have moved from Portugal to Galicia and then to Asturias, and towards the province of Santander. There are also dolmens in France, and some in the South of Sweden and Germany.
With respect to solar cults, the menhirs were other megalithic monuments, which were species of columns arranged in vertical way, and that could reach six meters high, for example, the menhirs of Carnal, in France. Groups of standing stones arranged as a circle, made up the cromlech. The objective of the cromlech, might be, the carry out collective rituals.