ednost megalita širom svijeta i njihova prisutnost na različitim kontinentima nas podsjeća na njihovu važnost u drevnim civilizacijama. Njihova nepoznata namjena i tajanstvena starost ostaju enigma, a stručnjaci i javnost neprestano istražuju i raspravljaju o njima. Bez obzira na mjesto njihovog pojavljivanja, megaliti ostaju značajni tragovi koji nam otkrivaju prošlost čovječanstva. The phenomenon of megalithic monuments, surprisingly similar in shape, in different parts of the world, continues to raise open questions: Who, when, and where did their construction begin? How did they spread across the world? Did they emerge independently from each other or were they a result of communication between different cultures? How were these massive stone blocks processed and transported, even considering today’s technology? What knowledge did those who erected them possess? And ultimately, what is the meaning of megalithic monuments and what motivated their builders?
In the last two centuries, researchers of megaliths, lacking answers to these questions, have created various and often contradictory and simplistic hypotheses. One of the oldest and most well-known theories is that of human development from their “descent from the tree” to the arduous “mastery of nature”. Despite numerous archaeological discoveries that cannot fit into this theory and, on the contrary, cast doubt on such a possibility for humans. In terms of its origin, this theory still fills textbooks. Its consequence is the widely accepted notion that people of the Stone Age lived in great and constant fear of natural forces, and lacking the technical means to overcome them, they tried to at least “appease” them by erecting “clumsy” stone monoliths. To this imposed image, it is enough to just ask the question: why didn’t they rather strive to protect themselves by building fortifications instead of raising monuments that required superhuman efforts to move hundreds of thousands of tons of stone?
Clearly, they were trying to achieve something that was functional to their reality, but appears mysterious and almost incomprehensible to us today. Just like the Egyptian pyramid, Greek temple, or Gothic cathedral were not built solely as a sacred place for believers and a symbol of God’s residence, but also materialized the symbol of the builders’ overall knowledge and cultural achievements, similarly, the grand megalithic monuments were not solely It’s not just about memories of their ancestors, but evidence of a complex and unique system of human knowledge of the “Stone Age”.
Therefore, even though we don’t know the answers, we must allow ancient man the right to dignity, because it has been taken away from him due to the childish images that today’s man has about the past. His monuments and temples, which have survived to this day, preserve the memory of exceptional works and the conscious intertwining with the secret and invisible world of nature, which, with the fall of antiquity, the Western civilization loses almost all contact with.
Division of megaliths
The term megalith (from Gr. megas – large and lithos – stone) was introduced into use only in the mid-19th century, when their more thorough research began, and is a general term for all structures made of large stone blocks. Although there is still no universally accepted typological division of megalithic monuments due to the great differences in their appearance and structure, today there are three basic groups. The first includes menhirs, the second includes cromlechs, and Dolmens, which make up the third group, are further divided into apsidal temples and so-called tombs covered with tumuli.
Menhirs
Menhirs get their name from the Breton words “men” – stone and “hir” – high. This is a collective term for buried upright monoliths that stand alone or in groups forming rows and avenues. Their length ranges from two to even twenty meters, and their weight ranges from several tons to almost unimaginable three hundred and fifty tons. Just to compare, that’s the weight of three hundred cars!
Menhirs represent one of the most unusual phenomena in human prehistory, whose meaning is still not clear enough nor is it unambiguously determined. We can only judge based on the surviving remains and the preserved legends about them. The choice of stone as an extremely durable material and the monumentality of the sculptures indicate the striving of their creators to achieve immortality.
Isolated menhirs were mostly placed in prominent natural locations and dominated the surrounding landscape. Most of them are unfinished and show no traces of stylization. Only a small number of menhirs are stylized in the form of a woman or a man, but there is also a certain number of human figures of undefined gender. Interestingly, they all still differ from each other, at least in some detail. According to legends, menhirs mark fertile zones, places where the earthly and heavenly energies flow. It is believed that they served as earthly acupuncture, allowing the emergence of earthly energies and their fusion with the heavenly ones.
Grouped menhirs are generally properly oriented, and the latest research has revealed that they mark the path of the Sun, its points of appearance at the transitions of seasons. One of the astonishing examples is the complex in Callanish, Scotland. The menhirs are arranged in the form of a large cross, with its lines perfectly aligned to the cardinal directions.
The largest number of menhirs on the European continent is found in France, where there are about six thousand of them, of which Even two thousand individual. The majority of the remaining four thousand differently grouped menhirs are located near Carnac. Other menhirs are found in England, Scotland, and Ireland, in an area that is generally considered Celtic, which has led to the theory of Celtic builders of menhirs led by Druids.
As researchers discover menhir sites around the world, new puzzles about their origins and ways of spreading emerge. These discoveries seriously undermine the theory of Celtic builders because it is difficult to imagine that they organized “trips” from Africa to Korea to erect hundreds of menhirs there!
Cromlechs
Cromlechs or stone circles are also named after the Breton words crom – circle and lech – place. This is the most interesting group of megaliths, consisting of menhirs grouped in the form of a circle, semicircle, oval, or rectangle. Their number ranges from about ten to even six hundred, as was erected in Avebury in England. ations su došli do spoznaje da su kružne formacije imale duboko duhovno značenje za te civilizacije. Povezivali su ih s astronomskim fenomenima i ritmovima prirode, kao i s obredima i ritualima.
Kromlese su stoga počeli tumačiti kao mjesta povezana s promjenama godišnjih doba, solsticijima i ekvinocijima. Vjeruje se da su se na tim mjestima vršili obredi za privlačenje plodnosti, obnavljanje života i komunikaciju s božanstvima. Ples na kružnim formacijama bio je način da se ljudi povežu s prirodnim ritmovima i energijom univerzuma.
Ova nova interpretacija kromlesa osvjetljava njihovu važnost u drevnim kulturama i ukazuje na to da su naši preci imali duboko razumijevanje prirode i njenog utjecaja na ljudski život. Ovaj otklon od prvobitnog mišljenja o kružnim formacijama potiče nas da ponovno istražimo i proučavamo ova drevna mjesta kako bismo bolje razumjeli našu povijest i nasljeđe. Through the use of engineering and computer reconstructions of the site, the seemingly haphazardly placed stones, some of which are situated outside of the central complex, along with the surrounding excavated holes of unknown purpose, have become points that map out the intricate paths of the Sun and Moon as observed by an observer on Earth. Extensive archeo-astronomical research has revealed that these monuments served not only as places for ceremonies and celebrations, but also as solar and lunar calendars, as well as Stone Age observatories.
Dolmens
The third group consists of megalithic structures, which are the most numerous, widespread, and diverse. They are also referred to as dolmens, deriving from the Breton words tol – table and men – stone, because this name best illustrates their fundamental formation similar to a stone table. The construction principle is essentially very simple; it involves a combination of vertical blocks as support and large slabs that act as a roof, weighing several tons. She weighs several dozen tons.
As we have already mentioned, they are usually divided into apsidal temples that are formed from just a few stone blocks in the shape of a table or their consecutive repetition, thus forming long galleries. One of the most beautiful and largest galleries is located near Essé in France. However, no less impressive gallery, very similar in appearance, was also found in San Agustin, Colombia. The connections that practically analogical idea was achieved by builders thousands of kilometers across the ocean remain unclear for now. Not to mention the dolmens in the form of tables, which with minimal stylistic differences, have been found in large numbers in Russia, India, and even in Korea and southern Japan.
The second subgroup of dolmens consists of so-called tombs, which are real monumental structures, requiring hundreds of thousands of cubic meters of stone blocks, gravel, and soil for their construction. As the basic building construction, two vertically raised monoliths were used, covered by a third By aligning one next to the other, closed corridors were created, sometimes more than one, leading to a central circular room. Its walls are also made of stone slabs and mostly covered with a single stone slab of giant dimensions. For example, the roof slab of one dolmen in Los Millares has dimensions of 9 x 5 m and a thickness of almost one meter. In the end, the entire dolmen would be covered with smaller stones and soil, thus forming an artificial mound from the tomb. The fact that this construction activity was of astonishing scale is evidenced by the existence of eighty complexes in the small locality of Los Millares, thirty temples on Malta, numerous sites in England, Ireland, Scotland, and France. Such megalithic structures have so far been discovered only in Europe, mostly in coastal areas. Similar mounds to those in England have been observed in North America, but their exploration has not yet been undertaken.
The majority of all these dolmens served for burial, but as evidence has shown, some of them served as religious or ceremonial spaces. Even the remains of usable objects from completely different periods, the identity of the builder cannot be unambiguously determined.
However, in Maltese temples, there was certainly no burial, nor were any residential structures of ancient inhabitants and builders found. It has also been determined that in some dolmens, such as Newgrange, bones were brought and deposited much later. After it was established that a good portion of dolmens were used rather than just closed after burial, a scientific debate emerged as to whether they were built for religious or burial purposes.
Generally speaking, open and covered dolmen structures are at ground level and in a way correspond to the characteristics of a cave, but not the cave of a primitive man who, not finding a natural shelter, built an artificial one, but rather a cave-womb. Therefore, dolmens are considered a model of primal temples or a womb for the soul. Since ancient times, temples have been believed to be like resonant boxes, a material support for receiving transmitting and sending waves and vibrations from the spiritual world. Like all later historical temples or cathedrals, dolmens were designed and built to help prehistoric man receive what is beautiful, just, and good. The success of this can be confirmed by every tourist who now visits Newgrange, Los Millares, Maes howe, Maltese temples, etc.
The approach to dolmens is usually built along the equinox line, and the entrance is mostly facing west. However, there are dolmens that are aligned with the solstice, as is the case with the famous Newgrange dolmen. There is often a deviation from these directions towards the northeast, which refers to the heliacal rising of Sirius. The use of such an orientation was discovered at Newgrange after the discovery of a channel above the main entrance, which was unknown for a long time. Sun rays penetrate through the channel and during the winter solstice, they fall on the most recessed wall of the central chamber.
Just like with the placement of megaliths, ancient builders employed meticulous precision in constructing dolmens. They chose a prominent and conspicuous spot in nature, so that they can be seen from a great distance.
To be continued in the next issue: