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Large, beehive-shaped ceremonial tomb, sometimes built into the side of a hill. The Treasury of Atreus, a surviving tholos (c. 13001250 BC) of the Mycenaean civilization, is a pointed dome built up of stepped blocks of conglomerate masonry cut and polished to give the impression of a true vault. A small side chamber contained the burials, while the main chamber was probably reserved for ritual use.
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