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The Epic Interactive Encyclopedia 1998
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Epic Interactive Encyclopedia, The - 1998 Edition (1998)(Epic Marketing).iso
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Barrow
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INFOTEXT
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1992-09-03
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1. Burial mound, usually composed of earth
but sometimes of stones, examples of which
are found in many parts of the world.
The two main types are long, dating from the
New Stone Age, or Neolithic, and round, from
the later Mesolithic peoples of the early
Bronze Age. Long barrows may be a mere mound,
but usually they contained a chamber of wood
or stone slabs in which were placed the
bodies of the deceased. They are common in
the southern counties of England from Sussex
to Dorset, and seem to have been communal
burial places of the long-headed
Mediterranean race. Round barrows were the
work of the round-headed or Beaker people of
the early Bronze Age. The commonest type is
the bell barrow, consisting of a circular
mound enclosed by a ditch and an outside bank
of earth. Many dot the Wiltshire downs in
England. In historic times certain of the
Saxon and most of the Danish invaders were
barrow-builders.
2. Most northerly town in the USA, at Point
Barrow, Alaska; the world's largest Inuit
settlement. There is oil at nearby Prudhoe
Bay.