Editing Beehive tomb (section)

==Southern Europe and Sardinia==
[[Image:Sardinien Orroli Nuraghe Arrubio Scheinkuppel.jpg|right|thumb|''Tholos'' of the [[Nuraghe Arrubiu]]]]

In the [[Chalcolithic]] period of the [[Iberian Peninsula]], beehive tombs appear among other innovative "[[megalith]]ic" variants, from c. 3000 BCE. They are especially common in southern [[Spain]] and [[Portugal]], while in Central Portugal and southeastern France other styles (artificial [[cave]]s especially) are preferred instead. The civilization of [[Los Millares]] and its [[Bronze Age]] successor, [[El Argar]], are particularly related to this burial style.<ref>Cerdá, F.J., et al., ''Historia de España I. Prehistoria'', 1986. {{ISBN|842491015X}}</ref> 

The Bronze Age fortifications known as ''[[motillas]]'' in [[La Mancha]] (Spain) also use the ''tholos'' building technique.

The imposing stone structures known as ''[[nuraghi]]'', as well as the similar structures of southern [[Corsica]], dominated the Bronze Age landscape of [[Sardinia]] (Italy). Nuraghi are truncated conical towers of dry-laid stone, about 40 feet in diameter, sloping up to a circular roof some 50 feet above the ground. The vaulted ceiling is 20 to 35 feet above the floor.
Although the remains of some 7,000 nuraghi have been found, up to 30,000 may have been built.

There are also recorded [[Etruscan civilization|Etruscan]] tombs at a necropolis at [[Banditaccia]] dating from the 6th and 7th centuries BCE, having an external appearance similar to a beehive. The interiors of these Etruscan tombs were furnished and decorated to resemble domestic dwellings, providing insight into the Etruscan practice of honoring the dead in a manner that reflected daily life.