Who built the stones? The most amazing ancient buildings made of stone
STONE WOMEN - SCYTHIAN STATUES?
Stone sculptures on the hills have long been a characteristic feature of the southern steppe. These silent idols were called “boobs”, “balbals”, “mamai”, “lighthouses”, but most often - “stone women”. Where and how did they come from? Which people do they belong to? In honor of whom were they installed, and what do they symbolize?
According to legends, not long ago in the steppes beyond the Dnieper rapids lived velikdons - gigantic creatures, under whose heavy steps even the rocky slopes of the mountains groaned. Their life passed in darkness as thick as tar, because the light in the sky had not yet shone. When the sun suddenly appeared, the Velikdons became alarmed and, rising to the tops of the steppe mounds, began to spit on the fireball above their heads. But the gods cursed the Velikdons for this and turned them into stone idols, which remained standing on the mounds.
Scythian sculptures, as a rule, date back to the 6th-3rd centuries BC. e. Their distribution area is quite significant - from Romania to the Caucasus. Mostly all images of Scythians show bearded men. In compositional and artistic terms, they are made primitively.
Scythian statues are surprisingly varied in style. Among them there are archaic steles and more advanced statues, almost examples of round sculpture. Despite the stylistic diversity, they have one thing in common: they all depict warriors with weapons: swords, daggers, bows. Moreover, not just warriors as such, but, given the stylish nature of the statues, the progenitor of all Scythian warriors, the “Scythian Adam” - Targitai.
On the stele-like bodies of Scythian statues, as usual, three or four objects are depicted: a horn, a burn, a dagger or a sword. The horn is placed in the right hand at chest level, the fire is on the left side, and the dagger or sword is in the left hand at waist level. Similar attributes are also found in Turkic stone statues found in Siberia. They hold a cup in their right hand and a dagger in their left. The absence of a beard and, on the contrary, the image of a mustache also emphasizes the similarity of the Scythian statues with the Turkic ones.
For example, Cuman statues depict both female and male warriors in sitting and standing poses. A mandatory attribute of each statue is a bowl with a sacred drink in hands, pressed to the stomach. The statues carefully depict hairstyle, clothing, jewelry and weapons in all details. The sacred character of the Polovtsian women is beyond doubt. They stood in groups of two, three or more on mounds and hills that served as temples.
Stone women from the collection of the Dnepropetrovsk Historical Museum |
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The collection of ancient stone sculptures, or “stone women,” as they are popularly called, is undoubtedly one of the most striking and original collections of the Dnepropetrovsk Historical Museum. This is one of the largest collections of ancient stone sculpture in Ukraine - 80 statues! It is not only the number of sculptures that is striking, but also their chronological and cultural diversity.
The collection contains anthropomorphic steles from the Chalcolithic era (3rd millennium BC), both simple and unique, which have no analogues in any European museum - the Natalevskoe and Kernosovskoe sculptures. Original Scythian statues of the 6th - 4th centuries. BC.
But the collection is dominated, of course, by medieval Polovtsian statues - 67! It is their appearance and peculiar features that, first of all, remain in the memory of museum visitors; it is to them that all the stone statues of the southern Ukrainian steppes owe their name - “women” (from the Turkic “vava” - ancestor, grandfather).
The most unique monument in the museum’s collection of stone sculptures is the Kernosov sculpture, or Kernosov idol, an anthropomorphic stele from the Chalcolithic era (mid-3rd millennium BC). It is unique in all respects: the antiquity of its origin, the perfection of the manufacturing technique, the amazing elegance of the outlines, the proportionality of the proportions, and, finally, the extraordinary richness of images on the surface. The Kernosov idol deserves not even a separate article, but a whole book, which has yet to be written by future researchers.
If you try to talk about it briefly, then, apparently, this is an image of a proto-Aryan deity imprinted in stone - the creator of the world, the giver of life and prosperity. The face of the deity is indicated, strict and ascetic, hands raised up with the attributes of supreme power are shown. On the edges of the stele, in individual drawings and entire compositions, scenes from myths, dedicated to the times of creation and exploration of the world, are depicted, in all likelihood. In the appearance of the Kernosov idol, zoomorphic features can be traced: a tail on the back, a frequently encountered image of a bull on the surface of the statue itself.
In the pantheon of ancient Aryan gods, the features of the image of a bull, fierce, strong, were most often endowed with Indra - a formidable warrior, guardian and multiplier of herds, god of thunderstorms.
Scythian statues are surprisingly varied in style. There are both archaic steles and more advanced statues, almost examples of round sculpture.
Despite the stylistic diversity, they have one thing in common: they all depict warriors with weapons: swords, daggers, bows. Moreover, not just warriors as such, but, given the stylish nature of the statues, the progenitor of all Scythian warriors, the “Scythian Adam” - Targitai.
But still, “the tone” is set, as mentioned above, by medieval Turkic Polovtsian statues. All of them, except one sculpture, date back to the 12th - first half of the 13th centuries, the time of the highest flowering of Polovtsian monumental art.
The large number of Polovtsian statues can be explained very simply - in the Middle Ages, in the 11th-14th centuries, the steppes of the Dnieper Nadporozhye became a refuge for Polovtsian (or Kipchak) nomadic tribes who came to Eastern Europe from across the Volga from Asia. In the area of the rapids along the banks of the Dnieper, there was the largest association of Polovtsians - the Dnieper Horde. It was here, in the tall grasses of Desht-i-Kipchak - Polovtsian Land (as the Polovtsian-Kipchaks called their new homeland), the smoke of nomads smoked, the rounded stone hills of ancestral burial mounds, like the backs of turtles, rose, on the tops of which stone statues of ancestors were installed .
Among the Turkic tribes, the names of stone sculptures that still exist today arose - women, blockheads (from the Iranian “palvan” - hero, athlete), balbals (“bal-bal” - stone with an inscription).
D.I. Yavornitsky, in the article “Stone Women”, published in the “Historical Bulletin” in 1890, reported that in Ukraine for a long time, right up to the 18th century, there were such names for stone statues as “Mamai”, “Maryina stones” .
He retells the legend about the origin of the stone women: “Once upon a time there lived giant heroes. They got angry at the sun and started spitting on it. The sun became angry and turned the giants into stones.”
Indeed, many Polovtsian statues represent male warriors in helmets, armor, and weapons: sabers, bows, quivers. The same expressive female statues are in hats, richly decorated suits, with mirrors and handbags at their waists. All Polovtsian statues hold a vessel in their hands, apparently intended for ritual libations.
The faces of the statues are very expressive - all men with mustaches, some have stern, gloomy faces, while some have a dazzling smile imprinted on them. The women's faces also do not leave you indifferent: the expression of timidity, humility and then the faces of proud greatness.
Polovtsian statues, like all the stone sculptures of the “Kurgan peoples” that preceded them, are dedicated to ancestors, progenitors, givers of life, prosperity, and fertility. Despite the clearly portrait features, the statues do not depict specific people, but legendary individuals with the features of gods and heroes, and, perhaps, in some cases, directly, gods and heroes.
The statues were installed on mounds or near them, that is, in sacred places, such as family burial grounds, where the ashes of ancestors rested and the cycle of life and death took place.
Stone women did not stand out of nowhere; they were an organic part of memorial and burial sanctuaries, the architecture of which from the Chalcolithic era (the time of their appearance on the mounds) to the Middle Ages was distinguished by simplicity and expressiveness.
It was a system of stone fences with rectangular outlines (squares, trapezoids, etc.), often surrounded by a ditch, with sacrificial pits and pavements inside. Here they made sacrifices, ritual libations and incense - the aroma of sacred herbs mixed with the aroma of sacrificial food and rose up into the sky, to the gods and ancestors along the trunks of sacred trees through stone statues (the latter were the equivalent of cosmic trees). The idea of a connecting link between the worlds of people and gods can be clearly seen in the semantics of stone statues of all times and peoples.
Not only the history of the origin and purpose of the stone statues in the museum’s collection deserves attention, but also the biography and history of the origin of the entire collection as a whole. Its age, like the age of the Dnepropetrovsk Historical Museum, is 150 years!
Stone women began to arrive at the museum in the middle of the 19th century. Even then, in the first years of the museum’s existence, the collection was quite large. At least the Ekaterinoslav Museum allowed itself to make a generous gift to the Odessa Archaeological Museum - 13 Polovtsian statues.
The collection of stone women experienced a special flourishing under D.I. Yavornitsky, the former director of the Ekaterinoslav Museum in the first half of the 20th century (1902 - 1933). A photograph has been preserved in which D.I. Yavornitsky is captured in his office, surrounded by stone women.
The growth of the collection and the addition of new statues continues to this day. In recent years, the museum has received more than 10 new sculptures from different times and peoples, but serious difficulties with storing the collection have stopped its growth. The difficult environmental situation in the city turned out to be equally disastrous for both people and the creations of their hands: the statues began to collapse catastrophically quickly. There was an urgent need for their restoration (this began in the 80s, but was suspended due to lack of funds), and for the construction of a special pavilion - a lapidarium - to store the stone women. Unfortunately, at present the museum is not yet able to solve any of these problems for well-known reasons. Now we can only state: the largest collection of stone women in Ukraine is under threat of death, it needs emergency help - said L. N. Churilova, senior researcher at the Dnepropetrovsk Historical Museum, back in 1999.
There are other legends that explain the appearance of stone idols in the southern steppes. The most common version is that they are a kind of steppe lighthouses.
« We passed seven lighthouses - more than twenty images carved from stone that stood on mounds or graves...“These are lines from the travel diary of the ambassador of the Austrian Emperor Erich Lasota, who in 1594 passed along the Dnieper.
Other travelers of the past also mentioned stone sculptures on steppe mounds as a kind of road storytellers and milestones. Perhaps, in ancient times, people specifically installed stone sculptures in the most conspicuous and remarkable steppe places to make it easier to navigate the deserted boundless space? The statues seemed to map the monotony of the steppe plane and mark the places of camps and settlements...
It is possible that the giant stone statues were kind of steppe lighthouses, past which roads later ran. In this regard, the obelisk steles of the Cimmerians are noteworthy. They have almost no sculptural or ornamental details. Actually, these are just pillars that can be called memorial, mileposts. One of these Cimmerian obelisks (only about a dozen of them were discovered in Ukraine) was found near the village of Verkhnyaya Khortitsa (Zaporozhye city). At the top of the stele there are beads with large diamond-shaped and oval beads. Perhaps the beads symbolize the expanses of the steppe, and the beads indicate noticeable and memorable tracts or, say, the number of days required to move from one area to another...
These are, so to speak, “earthly” versions of the origin of stone women. But along with them, there are also legends that the giant stone idols, which were worshiped by the steppe peoples, before which even powerful leaders and shamans trembled, are deified statues of space aliens.
From generation to generation, legends were passed down among the steppe people about strange creatures that descended from the sky in a large closed boat. And supposedly ancient sculptors left us images of space aliens in stone. Indeed, some sculptures surprisingly resemble an astronaut packed in a spacesuit - a massive straight body, a large head - a helmet without a neck.
Archaeologists identify a whole group of such specific large-headed, neckless sculptures. One of them (perhaps the most characteristic) was found on a small mound in the Dnieper region, near the village of Georgievki, Zaporozhye district, Zaporozhye region.
It is curious that on the flat front part of the head there are no indications of ears, nose, mouth, eyes - facial features that are usually difficult to see behind the glass of a helmet. The arms, lowered down and fused with the body, are highlighted by two slightly rounded lines. It seems that it is not the hands themselves that are shown, but a detail (sleeves) of some unusual costume. The sculpture belongs to the Sarmatian period. There are “space” statues from an earlier period. For example, researchers identify a separate group of stele-statues from the Copper Age of the so-called non-standard type. The large head is not clearly defined in them, and the shoulders are not shown. It seems that there is some kind of protective shell on top of the body. It is not surprising that the steppe people saw in these sculptures the heavenly gods who once visited the Earth.
The most mysterious are the oldest stone statues dating back to 4 - 3 thousand BC. Their legs were almost never carved. Instead, foot prints are clearly visible in the lower part (sometimes they are tucked into the belt). But we can only guess what meaning the ancient sculptors of the Eneolithic (Copper Age) put into their image.
As well as why on the steppe mounds there are so many stone statues that look like a phallus carved from stone.
On the first map of the Russian Empire - the “Book of the Larger Drawing” - when marking roads in the southern steppes, ancient stone idols are marked as “stone girls”. There really was something feminine in the appearance of the stone sculptures, so first travelers, itinerant traders, Cossacks, and then scientists began to call them “women.”
Most of all, the stone women of the Polovtsians have survived (some medieval authors called them Komans or Kipchaks). “The Komans build a large mound over the deceased and erect a statue of him, facing the east and holding a cup in his hand in front of the navel,” noted the Dutch monk William of Rubruck, who visited the Ukrainian steppes in 1250 on his way to Mongolia.
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The largest number of Polovtsian sculptures was found there - more than two hundred. These are fully formed, standing or seated sculptures made of sandstone, limestone, granite or chalk. Almost everyone is wearing expensive clothes, jewelry, weapons, and household items. The arms of most statues are folded under a large, drooping belly.
There seems to be no doubt that these are women, with prominent convex breasts and braids, and some other details. But since the same female “elements” are also indicated on male statues, researchers are inclined to think that the majority of Polovtsian “women” still belong to the “peasant” clan-tribe. They were installed in honor of the leaders of the nobility and great warriors. By the way, in Turkic dialects the word “baba” means father.
However, the special, far from secondary role of women in the life of wild nomads cannot be denied. It’s not for nothing that the proud, warlike Amazon tribe also comes from the southern steppes.
People began to build from stone in time immemorial, which is completely understandable: this building material was given to humanity by nature itself! Today we admire the monumental creations of bygone generations: we admire stone castles and residences, mysterious temples and tombs, and we don’t mind going to distant lands to take a selfie against the backdrop of some ancient miracle. The Geomaster company has compiled its own rating of buildings that cannot fail to impress.
1. Great Pyramids of Giza.
The three main pyramids (Cheops, Mikerin and Khafre), guarded by the Great Sphinx, are only part of a huge necropolis located on a desert plateau near Cairo. The monuments are surrounded not only by the attention of tourists, but also by numerous mysteries. For example, how did people manage to build such gigantic objects without modern technical devices? The construction of the Cheops pyramid alone took 2.5 million stone blocks, most of which weigh about 2.5 tons every .
2. Machu Picchu
L legendary city, hidden in the heart of the Andes, at an altitude of 2450 meters above sea level. The settlement of the Inca civilization, founded in the mid-15th century, like the Egyptian pyramids, keeps many secrets. One of them is the sudden disappearance of all residents in 1532. Centuries later, we admire the clear layout of the city, which contained palace buildings, temples, storage facilities and other generally useful premises. The buildings are made of carefully processed stone and slabs closely fitted to each other. And the Inca builders knew a lot about terracing.
3. Stonehenge
Located 130 kilometers from London, Stonehenge is an ideal composition from a geometric point of view. Therefore, researchers believe that the place was not only a platform for performing rituals, but could also serve as an ancient observatory and calendar. The monument is a complex of circular and horseshoe-shaped stone and earthen structures. The largest blocks of Stonehenge weigh up to 50 tons each.
4. Stone circles of Gobekli Tepe
“Bellied Hill” (as the name Göbekli Tepe is translated from Turkish) is the oldest of the large megalithic buildings in the world. Its age is 12 thousand years. The circle temples, located on top of a mountain range in southeastern Turkey, are constructed from sanded and tightly packed stones. The diameter of the circles is 30 m, inside each there is a T-shaped stone sculpture with drawings of animals and birds carved on it.
5. Newgrange Mound
The majestic mound, 11 meters high and reaching 85 meters in diameter, is located in Ireland. The age of the monument is 5000 years. The walls of the facility are made of large quartz, the roof is earthen. Although it required some reconstruction work on the outside, the mound was perfectly preserved on the inside. The only entrance leads to a room with large monoliths, an altar and walls decorated with patterns of rings and spirals. Newgrange is famous for the fact that during the winter solstice the dawn rays of the sun pass into the inner room through a narrow gap. The builders calculated everything down to the millimeter: the beam falls directly on the altar, and then illuminates wall niches.
6. Megalithic temples of Malta
One of the favorite holiday destinations for tourists has long been known as an area of concentration of world heritage monuments. 23 sanctuaries built from local limestone have been discovered in Malta. Best save Hagar Kvim, Ggantija, Tarshjen and Mnajdra were there. Above this splendor withbuilders started working in the Maltese archipelago 7000 years ago, and worked They conscientiously. Ancient temples would have reached us in better condition if peasants had not subsequently dismantled them “stone by stone” for agricultural needs.
7. Treasury of Atreus
The Treasury of Atreus (also known as the Tomb of Agamemenon) is a beehive-type domed tomb located in Mycenae, Greece. The structure was built from large stones without the use of masonry mortar. Presumably, the tomb was used for the burial of King Atreus or his successors. The Greeks believed that the tomb contained countless treasures of the rulers, which is why it became known as the treasury. What wealth there actually was is unknown, since the place was plundered in ancient times.
Build with stone - build to last!
Our review of ancient buildings (which, by the way, can be continued and continued) is evidence of colossal reliability stone construction technologies. Natural stone withstands the onslaught of rain, wind, sun and, by the way, gives purely aesthetic pleasure to the beholder. Geomaster employees continue the glorious traditions of their “colleagues” from the past and build objects from gabions and stone of any complexity. Your personal “wonder of the world” will be built in record time! To do this, just entrust the construction to us!
The history and mystery of Stonehenge
Stonehenge is located in the vast Salisbury Valley, surrounded by hundreds of hills. It symbolizes the mystery, strength and resilience of the country. The history and purpose of its creation still remain a mystery. According to one theory, it was a temple built to worship the ancient gods. Others claim that it was an astronomical observatory. It is noteworthy that one of the stones on the day of the summer solstice casts a shadow in the center of the circle. A third theory states that it was a sacred burial site for high-ranking residents of ancient civilizations. But no one can confirm any of the theories. One thing is clear: Stonehenge was not built for everyday events. The effort that went into building Stonehenge was extraordinary. The stones we can see today are ruins left over from the original structure. In those days, the construction of such a monument required enormous effort and physical labor. At the first stage of construction it was an earthen 
strengthening It was an embankment and a ditch. The ditch was called the Henge. The first building was erected 5000 years ago. The second stage of construction - the construction of the inner circle - took place approximately 2000 years ago. At this stage, the first small stones were erected, which formed the inner circle. Basalt was used. It is believed that the stone that was used to build the inner circle came from the mountains of South West Wales. To do this, the stone had to be transported over a distance of about 400 km. Each stone weighed about 4 tons, and 80 of them were used. Contemporaries suggest that the stones were dragged on shafts and sleighs from the mountains to the water sources, and then they were loaded onto rafts or boats and transported by water through Wales, unloaded and again dragged along the ground for about ten kilometers, then loaded into the water. After the water stage, it was only necessary to unload and drag them for three kilometers.
The sandstone, the stone of the outer circle, weighed about 50 tons each! The distance that had to be overcome to deliver him to the place exceeded 30 kilometers. Scientists suggest that to overcome them, 600 people were needed just to move one stone.
Who built it?
There is no exact answer to this question. Construction was attributed to various ancient peoples. The most fascinating theory involves the Druids. This connection was first established by second-hand book dealer John Awdry three hundred years ago. Roman writers, including Julius Caesar, mentioned the Celtic priesthood, which flourished during the first Roman conquest, in 55 BC. Although by that time the structure was already about two thousand years old, and, moreover, the Druids worshiped the Gods in the forests and did not need stone buildings. Perhaps the most plausible guess is the theory that construction of Stonehenge was started by the peoples who lived at the end of the New Stone Age, and was continued by the people of the “new economy”. They were called the "Bowl People" as they used pottery, began to create metalwork, and lived in a more communal style. Rather, they were representatives of the indigenous population.
The legend of King Arthur also mentioned the construction of Stonehenge. According to legend, the monument was brought by giants from Africa to Ireland and had healing powers. But King Aurelius Ambrosius wanted to erect a monument to remember and pray for the dead. The idea was to move the stones from Ireland to England and restore the structure. But when the British arrived in Ireland, it became clear that they would never be able to transport such cargo. Consequently, we had to use magical powers and move the structure.
About the construction of Stonehenge
Stonehenge was built in three stages.
I. 3050 BC (5050 years ago) Ring ditch and mound (henge).
II. Around 2600 BC (4600 years ago) A wooden structure was erected in the center.
III. 2400-1500 BC (4500-3500 years ago) A stone monument was erected, which was then redone and rebuilt over the course of 1000 years.
The largest blocks of the circle - the Sarsen stones - were brought from the Marlborough Hills, located 30 km from Stonehenge. Smaller stones (the so-called Blue Stones) were delivered from the mystical Presseley Mountains, located 385 km away in Wales.
Stonehenge is visited by 1 million tourists every year, but it remains a mystery. Scientists attribute its construction to Neolithic times, but for some reason the first mention of this “wonder of the world” is found only in the 11th century AD.
Who built it?
Version No. 1. Celts
For a long time, scientists believed that Stonehenge was built by the Celts. However, today this version has been refuted. The dates don't match. The first Celtic archaeological culture (Hallstatt) appeared in the 9th century BC. Whereas the officially accepted dating of the construction of Stonehenge today comes down to the fact that the last stage of its construction falls on the 11th century BC.
Version No. 2. Ancient Britons
If not the Celts, then who? Professor Michael Pearson (University of Sheffield), director of the ten-year research Stonehenge Riverside Project and author of Stonehenge: Exploring the Greatest Mystery of the Stone Age, argues that the megalithic complex was built by the ancient Britons, representatives of tribes living in the British Isles at the end of the Bronze Age, during the Neolithic . Today this is the most “working” version.
Version No. 3. Merlin
In the Middle Ages, a popular legend was set out in the History of the Britons by Geoffrey of Monmouth. It lies in the fact that the megalithic complex was transported from Ireland by the wizard Merlin. The legendary magician thus fulfilled the will of Aurelius Ambrosi (King Arthur's uncle) to immortalize 460 British leaders treacherously killed by the Saxons during negotiations. Since then, the Britons called this complex “Dance of the Giants.”
Version No. 4. Hoaxers
There is also a version that Stonehenge is a hoax, “performed” in the 20th century. In 2013, an article went viral on the Internet proving that the famous Bronze Age monolith was built between 1954 and 1958.
As evidence, the author of the material cites a lot of “sensational” photographic materials where some people are installing megaliths into the ground using cranes. A theoretical “base” is also provided: supposedly the British Ministry of Defense bought land in the Stonehenge area and conducted military exercises there until the Second World War.
During the war, the territories of nearby villages were evicted and are supposedly still under the control of military structures. The author writes: “On the territory protected by the British military department, this “center of ancient civilization”, “legacy of great ancestors”, “monument of humanity” was consciously and purposefully erected, which became the most important religious center of no less purposefully instilled “spirituality”.
The version is “hot”, but baseless. What it presents as the construction of Stonehenge is just its restoration. We'll tell you more about it later.
Why were they built?
Version No. 1. Observatory
Today, the generally accepted version is that Stonehenge is an ancient observatory. The authorship of this version belongs to Boston University astronomy professor Gerald Hawkins. In the late 1950s, he entered the plate coordinates and other parameters of Stonehenge into the computer, as well as a model of the movement of the Sun and Moon.
In 1965, the scientist wrote the book “Stonehenge Deciphered”, where he provided evidence that Stonehenge made it possible to predict astronomical phenomena, while being an observatory, a computing center and a calendar.
Another famous astronomer, Fred Hoyle, also studied the Stonehenge problem and found that the builders of the megalithic complex knew the exact orbital period of the Moon and the length of the solar year.
Version No. 2. Galaxy model
In 1998, astronomers recreated a computer model of the original appearance of Stonehenge and came to the conclusion that the stone observatory is also a cross-sectional model of the Solar System. According to the ideas of the ancients, the solar system consists of twelve planets, two of which are located beyond the orbit of Pluto, and another between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.
Version No. 3. Ritual complex
A four-year study conducted by the Austrian Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Archaeological Survey and Virtual Archeology has established that Stonehenge is not a solitary megalith, but part of a huge ritual complex of 18 parts located in an area of 12 square kilometers from Stonehenge.
The surveys were carried out using remote sensing and other advanced geophysical methods.
Version No. 3. "Disco"
Perhaps the most original version of the purpose of Stonehenge (if you do not take into account the alien base for humanoids) is the version that Stonehenge is an ancient “disco”.
Professor Rupert Till, an expert in acoustics and music technology from the University of Hudersfield, conducted research and came to the conclusion that the gigantic stones of the complex are ideal sound reflectors. If installed in a certain order, they can produce interesting acoustic effects.
Of course, Rupert Till did his experiments (after computer modeling) not in England, but in the state of Washington, where there is an exact copy of the megalithic complex. This version, although it seems strange, does not exclude the previous one - ritual dances could have been held at the temple to the accompaniment of musical instruments.
How were they built?
Scientists have been able to shed light on how Stonehenge was built by studying the materials from which it is composed. The complex is made up of three types of stones:
1) Dolerite (“blue” stone, more precisely, gray sandstone with a bluish tint)
2) Rhyolite
3) Volcanic tuff.
Stones of these rocks are found only in the mountains of Wales (210 km from Stonehenge, and taking into account the terrain - 380 km).
According to Stonehenge researcher Richard Atkinson, the stones were carried on wooden sleds along logs. Experiments have shown that 24 people can move a one-ton load in this way at a speed of one and a half kilometers per day.
Most of the journey was by water. The speed of movement was also facilitated by the fact that the stones were processed even before they were moved into place, using both stone tools and heat treatment.
According to Gerald Hawkins, to install the blocks, a hole was first dug to size, with three sides being vertical and one at a 45-degree angle, used as a receiving ramp.
Before placing the stone, the walls of the pit were lined with wooden stakes. Thanks to them, the stone slid down without falling off the ground. The lower parts of the blocks, hammered in the shape of a blunt cone, could be rotated along their axis even after the earth was compacted.
What's left of Stonehenge?
If you look at John Consable's painting from life on the grounds of Stonehenge in 1835, we see piles of heaped stones. This is exactly what the legendary megalithic complex looked like until the beginning of the 20th century. Since then, as we know, he has changed. Not everyone knows about it, but Stonehenge underwent a serious and long restoration.
Its first stage took place back in 1901. Reconstruction continued until 1964, and information about the work was carefully hidden. When it became known to the general public, it gave rise to numerous attacks from the public and the press. There was reason to be indignant. In fact, the complex was rebuilt from scratch. Restorers used cranes to install megaliths and lintels, strengthen the stones, and concrete their bases.
In general, Stonehenge is “not the same anymore,” but it is not customary to mention this in booklets. Otherwise, this most famous (but far from unique) megalithic complex would not have provided an influx of 1 million thousand tourists a year.
Photo source: id.wikipedia.org
In the stone circle of an ancient cemetery, in a place of worship of old, forgotten and eternal gods, pulsating with ancient magic and power, the Wall Crawler raised his hands and a bloody knife. And he screamed. Jubilantly. Wild. Inhuman.
Everything around froze in horror.
Andrzej Sapkowski "God's Warriors"
Among the windy heaths, above the heather, under the low, restless sky - hieroglyphs on gray stone. Worn out by time, lost, alien to our world, thrown into it from another, unknown reality, separated by the abyss of centuries. Carrying the stamp of eternity, the wreckage of forgotten eras has survived more than one generation of legends, in which there is no longer a drop of truth. But still filled with strange strength and invincible greatness. Awe-inspiring even now. Megaliths.
Megaliths (“big stones”) are usually called prehistoric structures made of huge stone blocks connected without the use of mortar. But this definition is very imprecise. A significant part of archaeological sites classified as megaliths are not, in the strict sense, structures at all, since they consist of a single monolith or several slabs not connected to each other.
In addition, the stones of megalithic buildings are not always large. Finally, some buildings that were built already in historical times are often classified as megaliths, but either using cyclopean blocks (the Temple of Jupiter in Baalbek) or without the use of mortar (Machu Picchu in Peru, 16th century).
What then unites the megaliths? Perhaps monumental and an aura of mystery. Megalith is the creation of a departed, often nameless people. This is a message from the unimaginably distant “pre-legendary” past. Monument to an unknown builder.
ETERNAL STONES
Alien, surreal, and contrary to all known principles of architecture, the appearance of megaliths feeds the vast “modern mythology” full of Atlanteans, Hyperboreans and other representatives of highly developed civilizations that have sunk into oblivion. But there are at least two reasons not to take such speculation seriously. Firstly, they still do not provide a clear explanation for the appearance of megaliths. Secondly, the real secrets of history are more interesting than the imaginary ones.
The simplest megaliths, those that cannot yet be considered structures, include the sacred stones of seida and menhirs - oblong, roughly processed blocks vertically stuck into the ground, broken off from the rock. A little later they are replaced by orthostats, distinguished by their flat shape and the presence of at least one carefully smoothed edge on which magical signs were drawn or carved.
Single menhirs and seids, as a rule, served as objects of worship. Sacrifices were made near the largest Rudston monolith in England, 7.6 meters high, decorated with fossilized dinosaur tracks. On the plains, glacial blocks always attracted attention and, quite possibly, could be considered the house of the spirit or the weapon of the ancestor. Smaller menhirs usually served as tombstones for leaders. In any case, it was for this purpose that the last of them under the camera was installed at the beginning of the last century in Indonesia. The largest cluster of 3,000 orthostats is the Carnac Stones in Brittany, a prehistoric cemetery.
In some cases, menigirs were placed in a group, forming a circle of cromlechs marking the boundaries of the cult place. Often, in the center of the decorative fence, a platform lined with stone was found, on which the bodies of the dead were burned or animals and captives were sacrificed. Ceremonies, meetings, celebrations and other public events could also be held here. Cults changed. Cromlechs are more durable than religions.
The use of megalithic structures as observatories is also possible. To accurately determine the position of the Moon and the Sun (from the shadow), unshakable landmarks were required. Menhirs placed in a circle fulfilled this role. It should be noted that in the Middle Ages, observatories had a similar structure.
Already in ancient times, people sought diversity and were not afraid of experiments. An epochal step forward, a real breakthrough in stone architecture, were thauls - structures made of a large stone mounted on a small one. Then trilithons appeared - arches of three stones - the beauty and pride of Stonehenge. The stability and durability of these structures led primitive builders to the idea of building dolmens - the first stone buildings in human history.
There are a lot of mysteries associated with dolmens, as well as with other simple megaliths. For example, they can never be associated with any specific archaeological culture - that is, with an ancient people whose migrations are tracked by scientists using characteristic ceramics, arrowheads and other finds. The stone does not reveal the age of the building and does not say anything about the creators. Determining the date of the appearance of a dolmen, as a rule, is possible only with an accuracy of several centuries. And during such a period of time, the population of the country changed more than once. The artifacts discovered in and around the structure do not say anything, since it is known that megaliths, passing from hand to hand, remained “in use” for thousands of years.
What can also be quite puzzling is the fact that similar, almost identical megaliths are scattered over a huge area - from the Caucasus to Portugal and from the Orkney Islands to Senegal. In this regard, even a version was put forward about a certain “dolmen culture”, whose representatives once inhabited all these territories. But the hypothesis was not confirmed. No traces of such people were found. Moreover, it was discovered that the age of two identical dolmens located next to each other can differ by a couple of thousand years.
In fact, the similarity of dolmens from different countries is explained by the fact that the idea lying on the surface naturally occurred to many people. Any child could make a “house” by placing four flat stones on an edge and placing a fifth one on top of them. Or cover the hole in the stone with a flat block (trough-shaped dolmen). Admiring his creation, the young architect grew up, became a leader and encouraged his fellow tribesmen to build a life-size structure.
One thing can be said with certainty: the appearance of the first megaliths is associated with the transition of the population to a sedentary lifestyle. Wandering hunters had no desire to move the boulders they encountered during migrations. And the groups of people were too small to carry out large-scale work. The first farmers had the opportunity to engage in capital construction. The only thing missing was experience. And for a long time they couldn’t think of anything better than digging two stones into the ground and placing a third on them.
Apparently, the dolmens were crypts. In some of them the remains of hundreds of people were found. The decayed bones formed layer after layer, and new graves were dug right in the resulting mass. Other dolmens are completely empty. Probably, over the past millennia, someone took the trouble to clean them out.
| Path in the labyrinth | |
| A special category of megaliths are flat cairns - lines or drawings laid out from small stones. This includes numerous “stone boats” - Viking burials made in the shape of a ship outlined by boulders, and a unique “stone eagle” - an image of a bird with outstretched wings, created by an unknown tribe of North American Indians. But the most famous flat cairns are the “labyrinths” found in Scandinavia, Finland, England, northern Russia and even on Novaya Zemlya. Rows of stones form an intricate, spiraling path. These are the least noticeable and, at the same time, extremely impressive megaliths. For the labyrinth is a powerful symbol that weaves together reality. The path to the land of spirits is winding. Who left these stone seals, unsolved signs on the northern, meager land? Like most megaliths, labyrinths are anonymous. Sometimes they are associated with the proto-Sami tribes, but the Sami themselves know nothing about spirals. In addition, labyrinths are widespread far beyond the boundaries of the settlement of the ancestors of this people. The Nenets have a separate opinion on this issue, who consider the flat cairns to be the work of the Sirtya - a short, stocky people of blacksmiths who have long gone underground. |
But sooner or later, building simple stone boxes ceased to be satisfying. The dolmen is impressive enough to glorify an individual clan, but not enough to become the pride and cult center of an entire tribal union. People already wanted more. At least just in size.
Individual dolmens began to line up in a long corridor, often with side branches. Sometimes two corridors connected by passages were built. Natural slabs were difficult to match in shape, and for the construction of “walls” masonry began to be used, as in composite dolmens, or solid polished blocks, as in tiled ones.
But even in this case, the structure did not seem majestic enough. Therefore, a colossal cairn was poured on top of the “multi-series” dolmens - an artificial structure in the form of a pile of stones. In order to prevent the pyramid from settling, it was “propped up” with a ring of orthostats along its perimeter. If there was more than one belt, the result was something similar to a ziggurat. The scale of Neolithic gigantomania can be judged by the fact that such structures, which had long ago taken the form of sloping hills, were in modern times operated as quarries for decades before workers discovered the internal chambers.
The most impressive of the Neolithic monuments are now called “corridor tombs” or “megalithic temples.” But the same structure could combine functions or change them over time. In any case, the mounds were poorly suited for rituals. It was too cramped inside. Therefore, cairns continued to coexist with cromlechs until people learned to build real temples, under the arches of which not only priests, but also believers could fit.
The era of megaliths, which began in prehistoric times, has no clear boundaries. It did not end, but only gradually faded away as construction technologies improved. Even in relatively later eras, when the methods of constructing an arch became known, and buildings were built from cut stone and brick, the demand for giant blocks did not disappear. They continued to be used, but rather as a decorative element. And even knowing how to fasten stones with mortar, architects did not always find it necessary to do this. After all, polished stones, fitted to each other, equipped with protrusions and grooves, looked better. Finally, even an unprocessed block sometimes turned out to be in place. The boulder that serves as the base for the equestrian statue of Peter I in St. Petersburg is a typical megalith.
| Titan Towers | |
| Scottish Borchs and Mediterranean Nuraghes are relatively late megaliths, dating back to the Bronze Age. They are towers made of small unprocessed stones without the use of mortar. And the fact that many of these structures, held together only by the weight of the material, still stand today evokes great respect for the builders. The creation of the Borkhs is attributed to the Picts, and the Nuraghes to the Chardins. But both versions are not indisputable. In addition, all that remains of these peoples themselves are the names given to them by foreign chroniclers. The origins and customs of the Picts and Chardins are unknown. And this makes it even more difficult to unravel the purpose of numerous (more than 30,000 nuraghes were built in Sardinia alone) but non-functional structures. Brochs resemble fortifications, but were hardly used for defense because they did not have loopholes and could not accommodate a sufficient number of defenders. They did not light a fire, did not live in them, did not bury the dead and did not store supplies. The objects found in the towers belong almost exclusively to the Celts, who settled Scotland centuries later and tried to come up with some use for the towers. However, they were no more successful than archaeologists. |
SECRETS OF THE BIG STONE
The question remains “how”. How did people deliver huge stones without heavy equipment, how did they lift them, how did they cut them? It is these mysteries that inspire the authors of alternative hypotheses. Which, however, is based on a banal lack of imagination. It is difficult for an unprepared person to imagine how barbarians use stone tools to hew a giant block and manually set it in place. Anyone can imagine how the Atlanteans who have disappeared to who knows where are doing all this for unknown reasons and in an unknown way is within the power of anyone.
But the alternative reasoning contains a fundamental flaw. With cranes and diamond saws, we do not use huge stone monoliths. This is irrational. More convenient materials are now available. Megaliths were built by people who were simply not yet capable of building otherwise.
The stone is really difficult to work with other stone or copper. Therefore, only in the Iron Age did they begin to build from relatively compact hewn “bricks”. After all, the smaller the block, the larger its relative surface. So the Egyptians did not at all seek to complicate their work by using one-and-a-half and two-ton blocks to build the pyramids, which, of course, were not easy to transport and lift. On the contrary, they made it as easy as possible. After all, with the reduction of blocks, the costs of their production would increase sharply, but transportation costs would decrease slightly.
The same weight would have to be transferred. The creators of megaliths thought the same way.
Assessing the complexity of a task “by eye” often leads to mistakes. It seems that the work of the builders of Stonehenge was enormous, but, obviously, the costs of constructing the smallest of the Egyptian and Mesoamerican pyramids were incomparably higher. In turn, all the pyramids of Egypt taken together took four times less labor than the canal alone - a 700-kilometer “understudy” of the Nile bed. This was truly a large-scale project! The Egyptians built pyramids in their free time. For the soul.
Was it difficult to trim and sand a 20-ton slab? Yes. But every peasant or hunter in the Stone Age, during his life, in between cases, in the evenings making the necessary tools, brought about 40 square meters of stone to an almost mirror shine, choosing, if possible, the hardest rocks: only diamond cannot be processed by chipping and grinding on wet sand .
It seems difficult to deliver huge stones not only without equipment, but also without horses, even without a wheel. Meanwhile, under Peter I, frigates were transported along the route of the future White Sea Canal in this way. Peasants and soldiers pulled the ships along wooden rails, placing wooden rollers on them. Moreover, the cargo had to be dragged onto multi-meter cliffs more than once. In such cases, it was necessary to build a mantel, and sometimes use counterweights in the form of cages with stones. But when giving the order, the king probably did not think long, since we were talking about a completely ordinary operation. The Spaniards also thought it was faster and safer to drag galleons from the Caribbean Sea to the Pacific Ocean through the Isthmus of Panama than to drive them around Cape Horn.
Valuable information was provided by a study of Maltese megalithic temples, one of which was suddenly abandoned during construction. Everything that workers usually took with them - stone rollers and sleds - remained in place. Even drawings have been preserved that looked like a miniature model of the structure (this is how they built it - from a model, not from paper - until the 18th century). In addition, in Malta, and later in other megalith-rich regions, “stone rails” were discovered - parallel grooves left by repeated rolling of round stones under heavy sleds.
| Hobby holes |
| The megalithic structures of Skara Brae are unique primarily in that they are residential. Typically, Neolithic people built houses from eternal stone only for the dead. But Scotland at that time was the northern outpost of agriculture. So the surprisingly short people, smaller than the pygmies, who decided to settle on this harsh land, had to dig in conscientiously. The lack of wood also had its effect. The “hobbits” could only rely on logs carried by the sea waves. Another interesting feature of these megaliths is that there is little in their masonry that would deserve the epithet “mega”. The stones are mostly small. The houses were clearly built by one family, who were unable to deliver a monolithic dolmen slab to the site and install it on the structure. The “hobbit” roofs were made of wood and turf. But in each room there were several miniature megaliths - stone stools and whatnots. |
But still, wasn’t the work too much? Was it really necessary for unknown barbarians to complicate their already difficult life by delivering and lifting 50-ton blocks of Stonehenge? And not for the sake of profit, but for beauty, for glory. Realizing that the arches of the cult center can be made of wood.
The inhabitants of Neolithic England thought not too much. The Romans believed exactly the same thing, using record, unimaginable 800-ton blocks in Baalbek, although they could have easily gotten by with ordinary ones. The Incas agreed with them, cutting intricate puzzles out of stone to assemble the walls of Machu Picchu. Megalithic buildings amaze the imagination even now. They struck him then too. They hit much harder. With their work, the builders glorified the deity, and a little - themselves. And considering that they achieved their goals - although their names are forgotten, their glory, having survived the birth and end of many civilizations, thunders through the millennia - can we say that the work was too great?
On the contrary, it was a very economical solution.
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