A prehistoric megalithic monument, especially a circle or arrangement of large standing stones; in some usages, a dolmen-like chambered structure (archaeological). A cromlech implies deliberation at scale, stones set into relation, making space ceremonial.

From Welsh cromlech, often glossed as “bent stone” (crom “bent” + llech “slab/stone”), though antiquarian usage varied and the term has been applied unevenly across monument types. The word itself bears the history of interpretation: archaeology named by languages that still live near the stones.