Editing Passage grave (section)

==Origins and distribution==
The passage tomb tradition is believed to have originated in the French region of [[Brittany]]. It was introduced to other regions such as Ireland by colonists from Brittany.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Sheridan|first=Alison|title=Megaliths and Megalomania: An account and interpretation of the development of passage tombs in Ireland.|journal=The Journal of Irish Archaeology|volume=3|pages=17–30}}</ref>

[[image:Tustrup jaettestue.jpg|thumb|250px|left|Tustrup-dysserne, the largest passage grave in Eastern [[Jutland]], is an example of [[Funnelbeaker culture]] circa 3200 BC.]]

In a 1961 survey of [[Irish Megalithic Tombs|megalithic tombs in Ireland]], Irish scholars Seán Ó Nualláin and [[Rúaidhrí de Valera]] describe four categories of megalithic tombs: [[court cairn]]s, portal [[dolmen]]s, [[wedge-shaped gallery grave]]s, and passage tombs.<ref>{{cite book | last= Ó Nualláin, Seán & [[Rúaidhrí de Valera|De Valera, Rúaidhrí]] | year=1961 |title= Survey of the Megalithic Tombs of Ireland | publisher=Ordnance Survey (Ireland) | location=Dublin}}</ref> This appears to be one of the first uses of the term. It is likely that the writers borrowed from the Spanish term ''tumbas de corredor'', "corridor tombs", which is used for tombs in [[Cantabria]], [[Galicia (Spain)|Galicia]] and the [[Basque Country (greater region)|Basque Country]]. Of the megalithic tombs in Ireland, only passage tombs appear to have widespread distribution throughout Europe.

Passage graves are distributed extensively in lands along the Atlantic seaboard of Europe. They are found in [[Ireland]], [[Great Britain|Britain]], [[Scandinavia]], northern [[Germany]] and the [[Drenthe]] area of the [[Netherlands]]. They are also found in [[Iberian Peninsula|Iberia]], some parts of the [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]], and along the northern coast of [[Africa]]. In [[Ireland]] and Britain, passage tombs are often found in large clusters, giving rise to the term passage tomb cemeteries.