The Phenomenon of the Stone Age – The Most Famous World Megaliths
Avebury, Great Britain
Decorations
In addition to stylized human figures, a variety of signs and symbols have been found on megaliths, including pictograms in the form of snakes, birds, spirals, crescents or horns, and human footprints.
It is believed that snakes symbolically represent earthly currents, while birds represent celestial currents that, according to legends, occasionally merge over the stone monuments on which they are engraved.
Spirals resembling logarithmic spirals are often found on megalithic monuments in Malta, but practically identical depictions are engraved throughout the complex at Newgrange in Ireland.
Female stylized figures have one or several necklaces, most likely referring to the Divine Mother or the Goddess of the Dead. They are often depicted with agricultural tools. Male figures are recognized by a puzzling object, perhaps a symbol of a certain power, or by the weapons they carry on struktura, postavljeni su manji blokovi koji su stiliziranih oblika. Ovo je rezultat modernih istraživanja koja su pobudila interes i otvorila nova pitanja u vezi s megalitima i njihovim nastankom. Instead of using stone axes, they used concrete replicas. When attempting to move the monolith, the wooden wedges placed underneath only crumbled. They then constructed tracks made of square-cut wooden beams, with the help of which two hundred people managed to pull the monolith by short jerks, but only for a distance of a little less than one kilometer, far from the presumed thirty-two kilometer distance between Stonehenge and the quarry. After transporting the monolith, holes for installation into the rocky soil were also not dug with deer antlers, but with an excavator. A detailed theory was developed on how to facilitate the later lifting of the monolith by inserting it into the hole. With a multitude of knowledge about supports and pulleys, the replica of the monolith was finally raised. Through scientific interpolation of the time consumed, it was concluded that at this pace, with the mentioned limitations, it would take at least 400 years to transport and lift around a hundred monoliths, which are incorporated into Stonehenge! It is impossible to imagine. If such a thing could have been accomplished by some primitive people without a civilization continuity.
If we add to that the nearby Avebury with about six hundred monoliths, also averaging 40 tons in weight, and the nearby largest artificial mound in Europe, the famous Silbury Hill, which took 250,000 cubic meters of stone, gravel, and soil to build, we must once again wonder about our ancient ancestors. Menhirs, cromlechs, and dolmens, the most characteristic of megalithic structures (which were discussed more in the previous issue), made of giant stone monoliths in prehistoric times, have now become monuments to their ancient builders. Although each site individually preserves a part of the mystery of its origin and purpose, the widespread occurrence of megalithic structures of remarkably similar shapes on almost every continent poses new, unresolved questions for historians and archaeologists.
EUROPEAN MEGALITHS
The whole of Europe, from Portugal to the Nordic countries, is the cradle of various mega-structures. lithic structures. We can find them in almost all European countries, either as isolated menhirs, hidden dolmens, grand megalithic tombs, or observatories. Smaller specimens have also been found here in Istria.
Unfortunately, these sites have not been thoroughly investigated anywhere. The most accurate inventory was made in France, where their number exceeds tens of thousands. Let’s mention that about 6000 dolmens and 5000 menhirs have been found. If we add to that a large number of destroyed megaliths in the Middle Ages, we will realize that megalithic sacred architecture has been unjustifiably neglected and overlooked.
Reconstruction of Stonehenge
The outer circle, with a diameter of 88 m, is formed by 30 large vertical blocks, interconnected by horizontal slabs: vertical ones are 4.1 m high, 1.5 x 2.5 m wide. On the inside, there is a second circle of approximately 49 menhirs, which are shorter ranging from 1.5 m to 1.8 m in height. Within that circle, towards the center, there are 5 giant trilithons consisting of two vertical stones and a horizontal lintel. In the center – focus, there is one horizontally placed stone – a sacrificial altar or altar.
Outside the outer circle, at a distance of 30 m, there is one solitary vertical block about 5 m high. This is an astronomical stone (Heel Stone) raised in the northeast direction, at a place where for the past 4000 years, the sunrise can be observed from the altar on the summer solstice.
Surrounding the entire monument is a ditch that forms a circle with a radius of 114 m.
Inside the ditch, there are 56 holes called Aubrey holes, which serve as a stone clock. With them, lunar eclipses during the winter solstice, occurring every 19 years, can be predicted with almost absolute accuracy.
Nearby are two average stones, placed diametrically opposite the center of the entire monument, and two small hills also in diametrical positions, which together with these two stones form the shape of a horseshoe. and ritual purposes. Numerous megaliths can also be found in China, Japan, and other countries in Asia and Oceania. These ancient stone structures serve as a testament to the rich history and cultural heritage of these regions. Ancient times.
Rapa Nui, Easter Island, is located halfway between Tahiti and Chile. Many remnants of this culture, such as the megalithic statues called moai which are scattered around the island, are the subject of great interest and speculation.
NORTH AMERICA
Throughout New England, we find megalithic structures called stone chambers, the age and purpose of which can only be speculated.
SOUTH AMERICA
In South America, there are numerous megalithic structures made of huge, unusually-shaped stone blocks that fit perfectly on top of each other. It is evident that their builders had knowledge of a special technique for perfect stone processing and transportation.