Pillar tomb

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A pillar tomb is a monumental grave the central feature of which is a single, prominent pillar or column, often made of stone.

A number of world cultures incorporated pillars into tomb structures, notably the ancient Greek colony of Lycia in Anatolia (e.g., the tomb at Xanthos) and the medieval Muslim Swahili culture of the east African coast (e.g., tombs at Malindi and Mnarani in Kenya), which were originally built of coral rag, but later of stone. (It has been suggested by architectural historians that the east African variety is that region's only original contribution to world architecture.)