Backstone A large upright rectangular
stone found at the back of the chamber.
Cairn A large mound of stones.
The most common
examples of cairns are clearance cairns created when
stones are cleared from a field in preparation for
cultivation. In the Neolithic, cairns may have also been built
for ritual purposes and they often cover internal
features such as a chamber.
Capstone A large slab placed on
top of the chamber to seal it.
Chamber Many Neolithic monuments have a chamber in
the body of the monument. These are typically made of
stone and are rectangular or square in shape. The size of
the chamber varies from region to region. Deposits (such
as human bone) are often located in the chamber. Some
chambers can be accessed from the forecourt, others
cannot.
Chambered cairn A cairn which has chamber/s
underneath the cairn material. Some cairns have no
internal features and thus this term specifically refers
to the type of cairn which has a chamber underneath.
Corbelling Successive courses of masonry, each
overlapping until the slabs meet in the
middle to form a roof. This forms a chamber which can then be sealed by
a capstone. This technique is frequently used in
Neolithic chambered tombs.
Cursus A Neolithic monument, typically formed by
two parallel banks with external ditches. They can vary
enormously in size from a few metres upwards - for example, the Dorset cursus in southern England is 10km long.
Facade The front of a cairn or tomb defined by a wooden or stone palisade.
Forecourt The area in front of a
tomb or cairn where (ritual) activity may have taken place. Forecourts are often
defined by cairn material or standing stones.
Kerb-stones The edge of a monument is often defined by a kerb, which consists of a number of stones constructed to create a continuous retaining wall which helps to support the mass of the cairn.
Machair The flat expanse of sandy dunes found
alongside the coast in South Uist.
Orthostats Large upright stones supporting the the
capstone or roof of a chamber or passage in a tomb/cairn.
Peristalith Sizeable upright stones which provide a defining
edge to a cairn. In South Uist these are typically set at regular intervals around the cairn, yet their primary function does not seem to have been to support the cairn.
Reineval has a very well-preserved peristalith.