Lallans (pronounced /?læl?nz/^[1]), a variant of the Modern Scots word lawlands [?lo??l?n(d)z, ?lɑ?l?nz]^[2] meaning the lowlands of Scotland, was also traditionally used to refer to the Scots language as a whole.^[3] More recent interpretations assume it refers to the dialects of south and central Scotland^{[citation needed]} and Doric, a term once used to refer to Scots dialects in general, is now generally seen to refer to the Scots dialects of north east Scotland.^[4]

Millennium Dome

: 51°30′10.14″N 0°0′11.22″E? / ?51.5028167°N 0.0031167°E? / 51.5028167; 0.0031167

The Millennium Dome, often referred to simply as The Dome, is the original name of a large dome-shaped building, originally used to house the Millennium Experience, a major exhibition celebrating the beginning of the third millennium. Located on the Greenwich Peninsula in South East London, England, the exhibition opened to the public on 1 January 2000 and ran until 31 December 2000. The project and exhibition was the subject of considerable political controversy as it failed to attract the number of visitors anticipated, leading to recurring financial problems.

While all of the original exhibition and associated complex has since been demolished, the canopy or shell of the dome still exists, and it is now a key exterior feature of the The O₂ entertainment district.

The Prime Meridian passes the western edge of the Dome.

The nearest London Underground station is North Greenwich on the Jubilee Line.

A dome is a structural element of architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a sphere. Dome structures made of various materials have a long architectural lineage extending into prehistory.

Corbel domes have been found in the ancient Middle East in modest buildings and tombs. The construction of technically advanced large-scale true domes began in the Roman Architectural Revolution,^[1] when they were frequently used by the Romans to shape large interior spaces of temples and public buildings, such as the Pantheon. This tradition continued unabated after the adoption of Christianity in the Byzantine (East Roman) religious and secular architecture, culminating in the revolutionary pendentive dome of the 6th century church Hagia Sophia. With the Muslim conquest of the Sassanid Empire and the Byzantine Near East, the dome also became a feature of Muslim architecture (see gonbad, gongbei).

Domes in Western Europe became popular again during the Renaissance period, reaching a zenith in popularity during the early 18th century Baroque period. Reminiscent of the Roman senate, during the 19th century they became a feature of grand civic architecture. As a domestic feature the dome is less common, tending only to be a feature of the grandest houses and palaces during the Baroque period.

Many domes, particularly those from the Renaissance and Baroque periods of architecture, are crowned by a lantern or cupola, a Medieval innovation which not only serves to admit light and vent air, but gives an extra dimension to the decorated interior of the dome.