An architectural structure of several megaliths. The most mysterious megaliths of the world

The origins of architecture date back to the late Neolithic. It was then that stone was already used for the construction of monumental buildings. But the purpose of most of the monuments that have come down to us from that period is not known.

Megaliths(from Greek - big Stone) - structures made of huge stone blocks, characteristic of the late Neolithic. All megaliths can be divided into two categories. The first includes the most ancient architectural structures prehistoric (preliterate) societies: menhirs, cromlechs, dolmens, temples of the island of Malta,). For them, stones were either not processed at all or with minimal processing. The cultures that left these monuments are called megalithic. Megalithic culture also includes labyrinths (structures made of small stones), and individual stones with petroglyphs (footprints). Also considered megalithic architecture are the structures of more advanced societies (tombs of Japanese emperors and dolmens of the Korean nobility).

The second category consists of structures of more developed architecture. These are mainly structures made of very large stones, which are given a geometrically correct shape. Such megalithic architecture is typical of early states, but was also built in later times. These are monuments of the Mediterranean - Egyptian pyramids, buildings of the Mycenaean civilization, Temple Mount in Jerusalem. IN South America- some buildings in Tiwanaku, Ollantaytambo, Sacsayhuaman. Tiwanaku, Sacsayhuamane, Ollantaytambo.

Menhir– it is usually a free-standing stone with traces of working, sometimes oriented in some way or marking a particular direction.

Cromlech – it's a circle standing stones, varying degrees of preservation and with different orientations. The term henge has the same meaning. This term is usually used in relation to structures of this type in the UK. However, similar structures existed in prehistoric times also in Germany (Goloring, Goseck Circle) and in other countries.

Dolmen is something like a stone house.

All of them are united by the name “ megaliths”, which simply translates to “big stones”. For the most part they, according to some scientists, served for burials or were associated with the funeral cult. There are other opinions. Apparently, megaliths are communal buildings with a socializing function. Their construction represented a most difficult task for primitive technology and required the unification of large masses of people.

Gobekli Tepe, Türkiye Complex on the Armenian Highlands It is considered the oldest of the largest megalithic structures (approximately X-IX millennium BC). At that time, people were still hunting and gathering, but someone was able to erect circles of huge steles with images of animals. The shape of the temple resembles concentric circles, of which there are about twenty. According to experts, the complex was deliberately covered with sand in the seventh millennium BC, so for more than nine thousand years the temple was hidden by the Gobekli Tepe hill, whose height was almost fifteen meters and its diameter was about three hundred meters.

Some megalithic structures were important ceremonial centers associated with the cult of the dead. For example, a complex of more than 3,000 stones in Carnac (Brittany), France. Megaliths up to four meters high are arranged in slender alleys, the rows run parallel to each other or fan out, and in some places form circles. The complex dates back to the 5th–4th millennium BC. There were legends in Brittany that the great Merlin turned the ranks of Roman legionnaires to stone.

Megaliths at Carnac (Brittany) France

Other megalith complexes have been used to determine the timing of astronomical events such as solstices and equinoxes. In the Nabta Playa area in the Nubian desert b A megalithic structure was found that served for astronomical purposes. This archaeoastronomical monument is 1000 years older than Stonehenge. The location of the megaliths makes it possible to determine the day of the summer solstice. Archaeologists believe that people lived here seasonally, when there was water in the lake, and therefore needed a calendar.

Nabta Observatory, Nubia, Sahara

Stonehenge is a structure of 82 five-ton megaliths, 30 stone blocks weighing 25 tons and 5 huge so-called trilithons, stones weighing up to 50 tons. Folded stone blocks form arches that once served as a perfect indicator of the cardinal directions. Scientists suggest that this monument was built in 3100 BC by tribes living in the British Isles to observe the Sun and Moon. The ancient monolith is not only a solar and lunar calendar, as previously thought, but also represents an accurate cross-sectional model of the solar system.

Stonehenge, UK, Salisbury.

A mathematical comparison of the parameters of various geometric figures of the cromlech made it possible to establish that they are all a reflection of the parameters of various planets of our system, and model the orbits of their rotation around the Sun. But the most amazing thing is that Stonehenge depicts the orbits of 12 planets of the solar system, although today it is believed that there are only 9 of them. Astronomers have long hypothesized that beyond the outer orbit of Pluto there are two more planets unknown to us, and the asteroid belt, which is located between the orbits Mars and Jupiter are the remains of the once existing twelfth planet of the solar system. How could the ancient builders know about this?

There is another interesting version about the purpose of Stonehenge. Excavations of a path along which ritual processions walked in ancient times confirm the hypothesis that Stonehenge was built along the relief ice age, which found itself on the solstice axis. The place was special: an amazing natural landscape was located on the very axis of the solstice, as if connecting earth and sky.

Cromlech Brougar or Temple of the Sun , Orkney Islands. Initially it had 60 elements, but now it consists of 27 rocks. Archaeologists date the Cromlech of Brodgar or the ring of Brodgar to 2500 - 2000 BC. The area where the Brodgar monument is located is ritual, sacred, and communicative. It is literally stuffed with burial mounds, group and individual burials, even a “cathedral,” as well as the dwellings and villages of Neolithic people. All these monuments are united into a single complex, protected by UNESCO. Archaeological research is currently being carried out in Orkney.

Cromlech Broughgar or Sun Temple, Orkney

Dolmens. Scientists believe that the approximate age dolmens are 3–10 thousand years old. The most famous dolmens are located in Scandinavia, on the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts Europe and Africa, on Black Sea coast Caucasus, Kuban region, India. However, most of them are in the Caucasus - about 2.5 thousand! Here along the Black Sea coast (megaliths generally gravitate towards the seas) you can find “classical” tiled dolmens, monolithic dolmens, entirely hollowed out in the rock, dolmen structures made from a combination of stone slabs and blocks laid in two or more rows. They also talk about the spiritual filling of these amazing structures, their energy charges.

Dolmen in the valley of the Zhane River

Maltese temples were built long before Egyptian pyramids- in the Bronze Age. Their age is more than 5000 years. It is curious that all these structures were built without the use of iron tools. The scale of all megaliths is so grandiose that local residents believed that they were built by giant giants. The question still remains open of how ancient people managed to build such tall buildings from huge stones up to 7 meters in size and weighing up to 20 tons, without using a binding solution, if we remember that temples were built even before the invention of the wheel. Scientists have established that the cultures of prehistoric Malta are largely related to Sicily, so it is possible that Malta was the cult center of the Sicilian Neolithic peoples.

There is not a single temple that has survived in its original form to this day. It is believed that only four of them have survived relatively intact - the temples of Ggantija, Hadjar Kvim, Mnajdra and Tarshin. Although they too suffered the sad fate of a not entirely reliable reconstruction.

Temples of Ggantija in Šara(Xaghra - “giant”) are located in the center of the island of Gozo and are one of the most important archaeological sites in the world. Today, the Ggantija temples are believed to have been built around 3600 BC.

The structure consists of two separate temples with different entrances, but a common back wall. Each of the temples has a slightly concave facade, in front of which there is a platform of large stone blocks. Most ancient temple The complex consists of three semicircular rooms arranged in the shape of a trefoil.

Modern scientists believe that such a trinity symbolizes the past, present and future or birth, life and death. According to the popular version temple complex was a sanctuary for the worship of the goddess of fertility. This conclusion is helped by the findings discovered during archaeological work. But there is another version, according to which Ggantija is nothing more than a tomb. People of the megalithic era really devoted too much time and effort to observing traditions. Honoring their ancestors, they erected grandiose tombs, and later, these places were used as sanctuaries where they worshiped the gods.

All over the world you can see incredible blocks of stone that have stood on Earth for thousands of years. They were installed long before people began to make any historical records, and therefore who built them and why remains unknown. It is believed that some dolmens were used as burial sites, others for stargazing. Our review contains the most interesting megalithic structures and the stories associated with them.

1. Beltani stone circle

Found in the north-west of Ireland, near the town of Raphoe, the Beltany stone circle consists of 64 stones arranged in a 45 meter diameter circle around a mound. It is believed that the stones (which are mostly 2 meters high) were installed around 1400 - 800 BC.

There appears to have been some preliminary exploration of the site in the early 20th century when one Oliver Davies stated that "the site of the stone circle had recently been unscientifically excavated and left everything in a terrible confusion." Despite excavations, almost nothing is known about Beltani. The word "Beltany" possibly comes from the word "Beltane", which was the name of a pagan holiday.

"Beltane" in turn comes from "Baal Tinne", which means "fire of Baal". During this festival, bonfires were lit on the top of the mountain to “restore the power of the Sun.” Other theories claim that the Beltany Circle is similar to those at Carrowmore Cemetery, hinting that the site was used during burial procedures.

2. Megaliths of the Bada Valley

In the Bada Valley in Indonesia, you can find well-preserved sculptural monuments carved from solid stone blocks. Thanks to their unusual, remarkable appearance and the skill of their unknown creators, one would think that it would be fairly easy to determine when and why these megaliths were created. However, historians find it difficult to even answer how old they are, let alone why they were made. When trying to ask local residents about their purpose, the invariable answer is always that the stones "were always there." \

Although archaeological evidence regarding the purpose of these megaliths has not yet been found, local residents have their own legends. Some believe that megaliths date back to the time of human sacrifice, others say that they exist to ward off evil spirits.

The most interesting theories are that these are criminals who have turned into stone or that stones are able to move on their own. Adding special intrigue is the fact that the megaliths are made of stone that is not found anywhere else in the area.

3. Wheel of Spirits

Also known as the "Wheel of Giants", the Wheel of Spirits is a large circular megalithic structure near the Sea of ​​Galilee. It looks like a giant stone wheel with inner rings and "spokes" that connect them. Right in the middle of the inner ring is a burial site. Not only are archaeologists unsure if this burial site was made at the same time as the wheel, further study of the Spirit Wheel revealed that there were, in fact, no burials at this site.

It is believed that the site was once home to valuable artifacts, as there is evidence that the excavation site was looted. As for the proposed functions, archaeologists do not believe that the site was built for habitation or defense. Some believe it was a calendar, given how the sunrise at the solstices aligns with the "spokes" of the wheel.

4. Rudston Monolith

The Rudston Monolith is the tallest menhir in the whole of Great Britain, which is located in the village of Rudston in the church cemetery. This impressive 7.6 meter high stone was probably erected around 1600 BC. Considering the age and popularity of the menhir in the village, it is not surprising that there are a lot of legends among local residents about its origin.

One legend claims that the monolith was a spear created by the devil to attack the church. Fortunately for him, he supposedly missed and the spear ended up in the cemetery instead of the church. As for the archaeological evidence of its origin, Sir William Strickland excavated and found that the monolith is half underground, i.e. it is at least 2 times higher than what is visible from the outside. He also discovered a huge number of skulls, potentially hinting at a sacrificial or religious purpose for the monolith.

5. Pipers and the Merry Maidens

Located in Cornwall, Pipers and Merry Maidens are separate megalithic monuments. The Pipers consists of two standing stones, while the Merry Maidens, located a short distance away, form a stone circle. The circle is completely complete, and on its eastern side is the entrance to the entire structure, which may hint at the astronomical purpose of the megaliths.

The area around these rock formations burial sites abound, which may be due to the fact that the stones had some connection with spiritual or funerary procedures. Local legend claims that two bagpipers once played for the dancing maidens on a Sunday, which was forbidden. As a result, they petrified on the spot.

6. Turua Stone

A beautiful sculptured stone in the early Celtic style can be found in County Galway, Ireland. The Turua Stone was once located within an Iron Age ring fort called the Rath of Feerwore. The upper half of the stone is covered with traditional Celtic abstract patterns made using the La Tene technique.

However, given that the stone has a slightly phallic shape, some sources claim that it may have been used in fertility rites. However, the name "Turoe" comes from "Cloch an Tuair Rua" ("Stone of the Red Pasture"), leading some to believe that the red symbolism is indicative of sacrifices performed in front of the Turoe Stone. Others believe that the stone originally came from France and only then was transported to Ireland.

7. Gisando Bulls

Found in the Spanish province of Avila, Spain, the "Bulls of Guisando" are a strange group of four bull statues carved from stone. They are part of a group of 400 similarly carved animals called verracos, which date back to around the fourth century BC.

Even though "verraco" means "boars", the statues are different types like these bulls. The four bulls are made in different poses, so they look like a group of bulls grazing in a field. It is believed that they were once horned, but due to the influence of atmospheric phenomena, the horns disappeared over the centuries.

Archaeologists do not know why verracos were made, but speculate (since such sculptures are usually found in places where they can be easily discovered) that they had a religious element and may have served to protect cities and farms from evil spirits.

8. Gray sheep

The "Grey Rams" on England's Dartmoor are a rare occurrence among megaliths in that they are not one, but two stone rings right next to each other. Both circles are made of 30 stones and their diameter is approximately 33 meters. During the excavation of the circles, a thin layer of charcoal was discovered, which suggests that fires were once often burned in this place. Why they did this in stone circles is a mystery.

Some claim that the circles were used to communicate with the world of spirits - one of them contained the living, the other was intended for spirits. Others place less emphasis on the spiritual element, stating that the two circles served for a ritual in which men were in one circle and women in the other. Still others believe that the circles could have been used as a meeting place for two neighboring tribes.

As with many other mysterious structures, the Gray Rams have their own myths associated with them. One of them says that once a farmer who moved to Dartmoor criticized the choice of sheep on local market. After drinking ale in a tavern, the locals convinced him that they had fine sheep for sale. They led him to a foggy ravine, where the farmer allegedly saw the silhouettes of a herd. He bought sheep, and the next morning when he woke up, he discovered that he had actually bought "Grey Rams."

9. Dromberg

Also known as the "Altar of the Druids" among locals, Dromberg is a stone circle of 17 menhirs. While its exact origins are relatively unknown, there is some evidence as to why it was built. One of the stones is oriented in such a way that it coincides with sunset during the winter solstice.

During excavations in the Dromberg area, something even more interesting was discovered: the remains of a cremated person in a broken pot. The age of this burial was determined to be from 1100 BC. to 800 BC No one knows why the person was buried in such a peculiar way, but it hints at ritual purposes. In addition, there is evidence that people lived near Dromberg.

10. Deer stones

Reindeer stones, which are found throughout Northern Mongolia, are amazing carved megaliths that are often found around burial mounds. The height of these megaliths (which are this moment about 1200 have been found) typically ranges from 1 meter to 5 meters. They are believed to have been made around 1000 BC.

What makes these stones especially interesting is that they have deer depicted on them. The most ancient stones depict deer in “ordinary poses.” But as the years passed, deer began to be depicted on the stones, soaring in the sky. Next, deer began to be depicted interacting with the Sun, for example, holding it on their antlers. Interestingly, the remains of warriors with deer tattoos were also found in Northern Mongolia.

In addition to . All photographs were taken on the territory of the former USSR

Megaliths, huge structures made of massive stone blocks, are also found in our country. There are quite a lot of similar structures in Russia, but they are not known as well as the famous Stonehenge in the UK or
Ollantaytambo in Peru. We will get acquainted with the ancient megalithic structures found on the territory of Russia further.

First
where to start the journey is Mount Vottovaara - the highest point
West Karelian Upland - 417.3 m above sea level. Square
mountains 6 sq. km.
The place is simply full of strange artifacts after which
you begin to think about ancient highly developed technologies for
stone processing, let's take a better look at the photo.

Mount Vottovaara.
Megalith blocks are scattered.

Was the near block cut at an angle of 90 degrees or a play of nature?

How
as if they had used a laser:) geologists believe that cracks and faults,
formed as a result of a strong earthquake about 9 thousand years ago
back. The smooth planes of the stones are the result of the properties of the local rock -
quartzite, the structure of which determines such even planes when
split

So is it nature or man-made? Let's take a closer look.

More
looks like perfectly sawn blocks tightly fitted to each other.
It's hard to imagine an ancient ancestor with a copper chisel somewhere on
grief grinds out such even blocks.

Good angle, perfectly straight wall.

Who lost the ball?)

There is clearly no high technology Was there something wrong with stone processing or is it just a play of nature? :)

Ural. Kvarkush Ridge

Mount Pidan.
At first glance, it looks like an unremarkable pile of cracked rock.

But getting closer it looks more like megalithic masonry.

Looking in
between the blocks, where the stones were less susceptible to erosion from
wind and rain, you can see the handiwork and how the smooth edges have been preserved.

In the place where the joint of the blocks split apart, an even cut can be seen and the technology for laying these blocks opens before us.

Some blocks weigh up to tens of tons.

Despite the colossal destruction, many fragments were preserved well enough to be classified as building materials.

And nature created all this, as scientists say.

This is most likely a product of the natural processes of stone formation and its uneven erosion. Inclusions of different densities may appear as a result of greater resistance to wear.
More like dripping stone wax)

Stone town in the Perm region.
By
According to scientists, Stone Town is the mouth of a river that flows into the Perm
sea ​​millions of years ago, this is what explains the beautiful and smooth, under
right angles, carved stones, their neat laying and
“channels” “mouths” perpendicular to each other.

Stone city.

Look how smooth the sides of the megaliths are, as if they were cut down.

Again the old method of looking between the blocks inside the masonry, look at the far block in the center, an even cut along the entire length of the block.

They say somewhere on the Kola Peninsula there is this pool carved right into the rock.

In the south of Western Siberia in the mountainous Shoria in the Mezhdurechensky region there is a small geological village called Kameshki.
IN
Several educated, talented geologists live in this village. This
Alexander Bespalov, Vyacheslav Pochetkin and others. These people have spent their entire lives
engaged in research into the mountain systems of Western Siberia. One day they
came across strange megalithic structures in the mountains, which for
They couldn’t explain themselves. These were walls made of giant
stone blocks and strange buildings with vertically mounted
stone obelisks. They contacted Georgy Sidorov via the Internet,
This is how the first expedition was assembled.

Mountain Shoria.
Some
the granite blocks below were made of red granite, crowning them
blocks of gray granite, and above lay polygonal masonry of various
blocks, both red and gray granite.

Granite
in some places melted from exposure to enormous temperatures and
flowed under the weight of the upper rows. Kungurov would say about this that it is
traces of melting from a thermonuclear explosion :)

The wall is made of polygonal masonry made of multi-colored blocks.

The size of the blocks is impressive; according to one version, the find is a man-made structure over 100 thousand years old.

On
photo Georgy Sidorov, in his opinion this whole megalithic structure
may be the ruins of an ancient power plant or power plant,
which transferred seismic energy into some other energy.

Again
looking inside the masonry where the blocks were less susceptible to erosion, you can see
smooth straight edges, look how the two blocks lie tightly, it’s better here
handicraft is visible.

Polygonal masonry.

Mountain Shoria. Huge blocks.
on
Department of Radiophysics at Tomsk State University
showed photographs on the screen, talked about various types
masonry, about stone locks that hold together giant granite blocks
and not a single scientific physicist said that all this is natural
origin. What surprised them most was how the ancients could lift
giant stone blocks to a height of more than 1000 meters and there
install them on a special platform.

Then
In the Tomsk branch of the Russian Geographical Society, photographs were studied by geologists and geographers. AND
both of them came to the conclusion that the presented artifacts are
man-made.

Sklyarova
asked to comment on the find. And what did he say? What all
the artifacts found are nothing more than cracked at right angles
rocks. That there is nothing man-made here. Just a game of nature, nothing more.
After these words, I am not surprised why LAI does not study Russian megaliths.

Between blocks.

For comparison, on the left is the megalith in Baalbek, on the right is the megalith in the mountainous Shoria, it looks like the author is the same :)

Mount Shaman near the village. Nizhnetambovskoe, Khabarovsk region.

Ancient megalithic masonry.

Again, the handiwork and straight lines are better visible between the blocks.

Large megalith block.

A large megalith block on small stones, this is done for better earthquake resistance.

The megalithic masonry resembles Mountain Shoria.

Kabardino-Balkaria, cave in the Baksan Gorge.
At first
you need to squeeze into a hole measuring 40 by 120 cm, then go down to
rope along a narrow vertical shaft. It is formed by two parallel
stone slabs. After 9 meters - the first “knee”: the hole goes to the side and
it immediately breaks down again. Already here you will be covered by absolute silence -
There is no sound coming from outside. Another 23 meters deep - and new
"knee". To reach the bottom of the cave, you need to overcome more than 80 meters,
and it will take a whole hour. But, having passed the bottleneck, you
You will find yourself in a huge room, which the researchers called the “flask”.
Inside we will see processed walls made of tuff and granite, made of
polished megaliths of different sizes, tightly fitted to each other.

Descent into the cave.

The edges of the blocks and the seams between them are clearly visible.

The smooth masonry is amazing and the seams are clearly adjusted to each other.

The triangular blocks have moved slightly apart.

Barely noticeable seams of blocks on the left half-lunar wall and on the wall behind it.

How do you like the seams?

Rotate the cave at an angle of 90 degrees. Two large megalithic blocks stand on top of each other.

Technologies
the stone treatments are amazing, and the boss’s comment is even more amazing
section of the Kabardino-Balkarian geological exploration expedition of Vera
Davidenko, but she is a realist and believes that nature can do everything and did everything
conclusion: “Tuff is an accumulation of volcanic ejection products -
ash, lava fragments, volcanic glass and, to a small extent,
fragments of rocks that make up the walls of the crater. Release material at
accumulation was hot and therefore cracks formed during solidification
separately - that is, the entire tuff massif appeared to be divided into
blocks. The depression discovered in the area of ​​the village of Zayukovo represents
is one of those gravitational separation cracks for which
characterized by smooth contact surfaces,” but this is the boss
geological exploration expedition, she probably knows better.

Scheme of the structure.

A little fantasy for the finale) Arakul Shikhan, a strange structure in the middle of the forest. I have everything, kick me :)

Petrified liths with ripples along the banks of Rassokha.

Sayan megaliths. Kuturchinskoe Belogorye:

Does anyone need to explain that these are not remnants, but rather the REMAINS of structures of an ancient civilization unknown to us?

I hope you can see everything for yourself? No need to comment?

This,. Of course it's difficult. It’s hard to imagine what this structure looked like before, but imagine how thousands, tens of thousands of years, day after day, the rocks were sharpened by wind, sand, water, temperature changes, changes in lighting, glaciers, earthquakes (the area is seismically active, there are even dormant volcano). Sharp corners were ground down, straight edges were smoothed, and now we see what we see.

The climate in these places is very harsh, in such a climate what would remain of Machu Picchu is the same as in this photo, I have no doubt about it.

Complete this arch in your mind and imagine a vaulted ceiling above your head. Are the dimensions of the “corridor” impressive?

Built absolutely in accordance with the earthquake resistant technology used in Mesoamerican megalithic structures, and in the “temple” in the Middle East: At the base there are small blocks, larger ones are laid on top, and on top it doesn’t matter. Small ones work like a shock absorber, and polygonal masonry is the best invention of masons of all time. It can only be destroyed by breaking off piece by piece, or by a powerful explosion, after which a kurumnik appears in place of the monolith - stone river from the wreckage.

These structures are also so poorly identified as “man-made” because they were subjected to powerful impacts from changes in the landscape itself. Mountains “breathe”; heights and deviations from the horizontal constantly change.

Pay attention to the sun... yes! The same “megandavid” that is considered to be a symbol of Judaism!

Only the load-bearing supports have survived.

On all continents of our planet, with the exception of Antarctica, you can find mysterious structures made of processed blocks of stone. They are called megaliths. Most buildings consist of huge blocks of stone, weighing from tens to hundreds and even thousands of tons.

The stone blocks were carefully cut and polished thousands of years ago. But even the past centuries could not affect the quality of their connection - they are fitted to each other so precisely that it is impossible to insert a knife blade into the connections.

Most megaliths are located near the shores of seas and rivers, sometimes they are under water, and often occupy highlands. The material for making megaliths is often not found in the immediate area and was probably transported hundreds of kilometers from the mining site to the construction site.

All tens of thousands of currently known dolmens can be divided into several types, according to the features of their design:

1. Actually classical dolmens.
2. Underground dolmens - tulumus.
3. Ensembles of dolmens - cairns.
4. Single processed stones - menhirs.
5. Structures made of three stones - trilithons.
6. Complexes of many trilithes - cromlechs.
7. Cyclopean walls, made of something like bricks - huge stone blocks.

Classic dolmens. They are the most common. More than 65 thousand of them have been scientifically described in the world! In terms of their design, they consist of four vertically placed stone slabs forming walls, and a thicker slab covering them - a kind of lid.

Often the “lid” is located with a bevel in one direction and an overhang in the opposite direction. Thus, a “visor” is formed. In the slab, under this canopy, at a height of about half a meter from the ground, there is a through hole drilled with excellent quality. The diameter of such a hole is about 50-60 centimeters.

It is extremely rare to find dolmens whose holes are either completely absent or are closed with a kind of mushroom-shaped plug, carved from the same material as the wall slabs. Even rarer are the classic dolmens, which have no walls at all; they are replaced by four pillars hewn from stone on which a multi-ton lid rests.

Geographically, classical dolmens are scattered across all latitudes - from northern Scotland to the islands of Oceania.

Tulumus are a rare type of classical dolmens. Even in ancient times, builders placed them either in the depths of caves, or simply covered them with earth for unknown purposes. Otherwise, in their design, tulumuses are no different from ordinary dolmens.

Cairns. They are huge ensembles of many classical dolmens. Placed side by side, these dolmens form giant covered galleries. In size, cairns are in no way inferior to pyramids. But not in terms of height - it rarely exceeds 15-20 meters, but in its area - for example, the Barneys cairn (located in the north of France) covers an area of ​​more than two hectares!

Menhirs. This is another type of dolmen that stands out for its minimalism. Their appearance It consists of stone columns up to 25-30 meters high, whose weight sometimes exceeds 500 tons! Such columns are often installed strictly vertically or at a certain, strictly adjusted angle in desert places.

Sometimes dozens, or even thousands of menhirs are installed not far from each other. Thus, they form huge fields of vertically standing cyclopean columns.

Trilithons. A curious type of dolmen is a development of the menhir - two vertical stone columns were installed nearby, and a third was placed horizontally on top of them. This is how the giant gates turned out.

Cromlechs are complex ring-shaped complexes of trilithes spread over vast areas. Such a structure is the well-known Stonehenge. This monument ancient architecture built from dozens of stone blocks, whose weight is about 50 tons and length is 8-10 meters! The area of ​​Stonehenge exceeds one and a half hectares!

Especially worth it. For a very long time it was believed that megaliths could only be on the surface of the land. However, in the late 1990s and early 2000s, authoritative archaeological expeditions made a series of sensational discoveries - they discovered a mass of underwater megaliths!

The first such discovery was made by west coast islands of Cuba (at a depth of more than 600 meters), a little later megaliths were discovered in the Indian Ocean - off the coast of Indonesia and in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of Japan and a number of islands in Oceania.

Not far from the last of the megaliths, there are essentially almost a hundred small islands with an area of ​​more than 90 hectares. Here, under the waters Pacific Ocean gigantic buildings were found - the Non-Madol temple, fortress walls and sea dams.

Their height in some places exceeds 20-30 meters and nowhere falls below 10 meters. Since the dynamics of the ocean level is well known from the research of paleoclimatologists, and there is no doubt, this makes it possible to accurately date the minimum age of these grandiose structures: from 10 to 15 thousand years ago!

But, despite all the above, official historical science is still recognized as an immutable truth: megaliths were built by primitive tribes at the end of the Stone Age - in the Neolithic. This was, according to the assurances of venerable archaeologists, no earlier than the 7th millennium BC.

But as shown above, this statement is wrong. In addition to the above facts of the latest findings, there are a number of controversial issues.

The material for the construction of megaliths was a natural mineral that was formed hundreds of millions of years ago. There is still no sufficiently reliable method for determining the time when the megalith blocks were cut out of the rock mass in a quarry.

For this reason, radiocarbon analysis is carried out on the remains of human activity found next to the megalith in the cultural layers accompanying it. Often such objects are traces of ancient fires that were lit inside dolmens.

In the case of menhirs, the age of the closest Paleolithic site of primitive people is usually taken as the point of their creation. Despite all the obvious unreliability and proximity of such dating, even it suggests that the megaliths are orders of magnitude older than all the peoples known to us who lived on these lands.

BEHIND THE SECRETS OF THE MEGALITHS.

As a result, a logical question arises: why did people build these gigantic structures in those ancient times? The first step to answering this question is to find out how the megaliths were built.

The most common explanation in the scientific community for the method of building megaliths comes down to an analogy with the construction of pyramids. In the sense that hundreds of people were involved, from blocks, ropes and levers. It was in this way that giant stone blocks were transported and placed one on top of the other.

But if you think about it, you can find a number of contradictions in this explanation. First of all, there are relatively few pyramids and they were built over decades in lands rich in resources to provide for the builders. But tens of thousands of megaliths are known. And many of them stand in hard to reach places, and in the lands surrounding them there were never rich sources for the life of primitive tribes.

We can conclude that the megaliths were built quite quickly. This is confirmed by many legends among various peoples about the creators of megaliths. These legends tell of white, red-bearded gods or goddesses who came to these lands from afar and built megaliths in a matter of days.

Having analyzed all the above facts, we can conclude that the megaliths were built by some ancient sailors. They belonged to an ancient culture unknown to us, quite highly developed, possessing a significant amount of knowledge about mechanics, geometry and crystal chemistry.

In search of an answer to the question of the purpose of megaliths, it was believed for a very long time that they were tombs. But in thousands of structures studied in detail, not even a hint of burial remains has been revealed. And if they were there, then they were from a much later era. If megaliths were structures for ritual purposes, then why are they so different from other structures for performing religious rituals? Why are megaliths so simple and utilitarian?

Another common explanation for the purpose of megaliths is that they were ancient observatories. As evidence, the facts were usually cited that most megaliths are oriented according to the time and place of the equinox. But this is completely irrational even for primitive thinking. The stone blocks used were too huge.

And, what is most interesting, indeed, since ancient times there have been structures made of stones that were used as observatories (this is a proven fact), but the maximum weight of the stones from which they were built does not exceed 250-300 kilograms, and not 50 tons like ordinary megaliths!

From time to time, publications appear in the tabloid press, the authors of which claim that megaliths were landmarks for some kind of transport (most often alien). But then why are the pointers located like this? huge complexes and often in hard-to-reach places where they are not visible at all?

All the identified issues remain unresolved to this day. So far, detailed research of megaliths using natural science methods is ongoing. And it has already produced amazing results.

By studying megaliths in detail, researchers were able to find a number interesting facts. First of all, it turned out that everyone, without exception, megalithic buildings On all continents, the planets are built from the same material - quartz sandstone. Often its deposits are located hundreds of kilometers from the location of the megalith.

Science now knows that quartz (the main element of which quartz sandstone is composed) is an excellent generator of electric current when it is compressed (this is called the piezoelectric effect) and is capable of stabilizing the oscillation frequency. After the emergence of an electromagnetic field and with simultaneous compression, quartz crystals simultaneously generate ultrasound and radio waves.

Nowadays, all these features of quartz are used in electronics. For example, during a study of the well-preserved Royallight cromlech (located in Britain), it was revealed that this cromlech emits powerful ultrasonic pulses shortly before sunrise. They are most intense and complex in structure during the equinox.

All individual stones of the Royallight megalith have their own diagram and radiation intensity. This is multiplied and somehow modulated due to the thoughtful arrangement of all the stone blocks that make up this megalith.

During further research, it was found that some of the megalith stones emit strong ultrasound directed outside the complex.

Almost all megalithic buildings, without exception, are emitters. To increase their power, one stone block was placed on top of another in a special way. And the menhirs were installed on a thinner end, under which a specially processed supporting stone was placed - which had a well-defined piezoelectric effect.

And the last mysterious fact is that many megaliths are located above deep faults in the earth’s crust. These are the so-called pathogenic/geopathogenic areas. This is unlikely to be a mere coincidence, but what does it mean and how did Stone Age people determine the structure of the earth's surface at a depth of kilometers? All this remains a mystery awaiting scientific solution.

Today, people look at giant skyscrapers and consider them the pinnacle of human engineering. At the same time, many are not even aware of technological miracles ancient history- buildings and temples that seemed impossible to build in that distant time. This review contains little-known examples of amazing ancient buildings.

1. Pueblo Bonito

USA

Located in northwestern New Mexico, Pueblo Bonito is the largest and most famous example of a "palace village" built by the Anasazi culture. The settlement began to be built in the first half of the 10th century AD, and was completed only 180 years later. At its peak, Pueblo Bonito had approximately 800 individual structures, some as many as five stories tall. The ancient settlement was first discovered in 1849 by US Army Lieutenant James H. Simpson. Since then, Pueblo Bonito has become one of the most excavated and explored archaeological sites in the southwestern United States. Unfortunately, a number of buildings were damaged when part of the cliff behind the settlement collapsed. What is especially interesting is that many mysterious petroglyphs were found in Pueblo Bonito, made somewhere at the end of the 10th - beginning of the 11th century.

2. Chatal

Türkiye

The ancient settlement of Catal, discovered in southern Turkey, is estimated by modern scientists to have existed since 7500 BC. until about 5700 BC It was built by an unknown Neolithic culture, which scientists believe was highly advanced at that time. Excavations have been ongoing since the discovery of Chatal in the late 1950s by British archaeologist James Mellaart. A number of interesting items were discovered, including (presumably) the earliest known map and some of the highest quality daggers of the period. The houses in Chatal have one intriguing feature: they do not have doors, and one had to enter the house through the roof, climbing up the stairs. Also dead in this ancient settlement They were buried under the floors of houses, in particular under fireplaces.

3. Lokmarak

France

The French region of Brittany is famous for its group of the largest prehistoric European megaliths. Dimensions of the large megalith, created around 4500 BC, is almost 21 meters long and weighs between 200 and 280 tons. Today, no one will know why this megalith, known as the “Fairy Stone,” was broken thousands of years ago. This may have been caused by an earthquake, but most likely it was done by people. What is especially striking is that the “Fairy Stone” was delivered in one solid piece from a quarry located more than 10 kilometers away. How this was done is unknown.

4. Colossi of Memnon

Egypt

Built as a monument to Pharaoh Amenhotep III and placed near his now-destroyed temple, the Colossi of Memnon are a pair of 23-meter-tall statues. Also on these statues (to be more precise, at the foot of the thrones of the statues) you can find reliefs of Amenhotep’s wife, daughter and mother. The statues were named after Memnon, the hero of the Trojan War. There were stories that before the statues were damaged by the earthquake, the northern statue would make a sound like a bell ringing in the morning (possibly due to rising temperatures). The Egyptians believed that this sound expressed the approval of the gods.

5. Pillar of Pompey

Egypt

Pompey's Pillar was erected as a monument to the Roman Emperor Diocletian after he suppressed a rebellion in Alexandria. It is often mistakenly believed that it was built in honor of the Roman consul Gnaeus Pompey the Great, but the inscription on its base clearly indicates that the pillar was made in honor of Diocletian by the people of Alexandria. The story that when Pompey was defeated by Julius Caesar and fled Rome for Egypt, he was killed in Alexandria and his head placed in a funerary jar on top of a pillar (thus giving the pillar its name) is a myth. The 27-meter-tall pillar was built during the fourth century AD and was once part of the temple of the Roman god Serapis, which was later destroyed.

6. Dolmen Menga

Spain

Dating back to around 2000 BC, the Menga Dolmen (also known as Cueva de Menga) is a large megalithic burial mound located in southern Spain. The rows of burial chambers (their walls, roof and pillars) were created from huge stone blocks weighing up to 180 tons. As for the name, legend has it that a leper named Menga took up residence inside the dolmen after her husband died. Archaeologists believe that this dolmen is the largest such structure in Europe, and several hundred different skeletons inside it may have belonged to the rulers of the culture that built Menga. However, who these builders were remains a mystery to this day.

7. Quirigua

Guatemala

Built by the Mayans between 200 and 800 AD. The city of Quirigua contains remarkable examples of Mayan architecture, as well as some of the largest stelae (carved stone monuments) in existence. The “Stela E” alone weighs an incredible 65 tons. Quirigua was abandoned around 900 AD, which was probably due to the decline of the jade trade.

8. Dur Sharrukin

Iraq

Dur Sharrukin, which translates from Akkadian as "Sargon's Fortress", was built by the Assyrians sometime between 717 and 707 BC. in the northern part of modern Iraq. The size of the city was almost 2.6 square kilometers, and especially notable in it were the temple of Nabu (the god of vegetation) and Royal Palace. However, the most interesting artifact recovered from the ruins is the Assyrian bull - stone statue weighing about 40 tons. The city was abandoned soon after its construction was completed because King Sargon II of Assyria was killed in battle.

9. Hajar Kim

Malta

Located in Malta, the megalithic temple complex of Hajar Qim is believed to have been built by a culture unknown to modern scientists between 3200 and 2500 BC. It is believed that this culture was destroyed as a result of famine or natural disaster. One of the earliest examples of religious beliefs can be found in Hajar Qim, with a number of statues of the fertility goddess preserved in the local temple. Interestingly, Hajar Qim was built hundreds of years earlier than Stonehenge.

10. Tiwanaku

Bolivia

The prehistoric capital of the Tiwanaku culture, the city of Tiwanaku is located on the shores of Lake Titicaca in Bolivia. It was originally a small village, but between 400 and 900 AD. the city literally blossomed and many of the largest stone structures in South America were erected there. However, the city suddenly became deserted around 1000 AD, most likely due to floods. Eventually the Tiahuanaco civilization was conquered by the Incas. The city, which was once home to more than a million people, was only rediscovered in 1876.