CROMLECH, in British antiquities, huge, broad, flat stones, raised upon other stones set upright for the purpose. These monuments are spoken of by Mr Rowland, by Dr Borlase, and by Wormius, under the appellation of Aræ, or altars. Mr Rowland, however, partly inclines to the notion of their having been altars, partly to that of their having been sepulchres; he supposes them to have been originally tombs, but thinks that in after times sacrifices were performed upon them to the heroes deposited within. An account of King Harold having been interred beneath a tomb of this kind in Denmark, is still preserved, and a skeleton deposited under one of them was discovered in Ireland. The very great similarity of the monuments throughout the north evinces that the same religion or superstition had with some slight variations been spread in every part. Many of these monuments are both British and Danish, for they are found in spots to which the Danes never penetrated.
The cromlech, or cromlech, differs from the kist-væn, in not being closed up at the end and sides, that is, in not partaking so much of the chest-like figure; it is also generally of larger dimensions, and sometimes consists of a greater number of stones. The terms cromlech and kist-væn are, however, indiscriminately used for the same monument. The word cromlech is by some derived from the Armoric crum, crooked or bowing, and lech, stone; alluding to the reverence which persons paid to them by bowing. Rowland derives it from the Hebrew words carem-luach, signifying a devoted or consecrated stone. They are called by the vulgar coetne Arthur, or Arthur's quoits, it being a custom in Wales as well as in Cornwall to ascribe all great or wonderful objects to Prince Arthur, the hero of those countries.