Famous megalithic structures. The most famous megaliths of Russia (50 photos) What distinguishes megalithic structures from others

Megalith this is a religious structure made of huge unprocessed or semi-processed stone blocks. The term "megalith" translated from Greek means "large stone." Megaliths include dolmens, menhirs, cromlechs, covered alleys, thaulas, trilithons, stone mounds, etc. Dolmens are structures made of several stones covered with a stone slab on top. A menhir is a single stone standing in an upright position. A cromlech is several menhirs that form a circle. Taula is a structure made of stones in the shape of the letter “T”. Trilithons are two upright stones covered with a block of stone.

Megaliths are best known in Western Europe, North Africa, in the Caucasus. These structures date back to different eras. The oldest ones were built about ten thousand years ago.

Megaliths - are divided into menhirs, dolmens, cromlechs and so-called covered alleys - depending on their architecture. Menhirs (Breton high stones) are lonely stones up to 20 m high that resemble pillars or steles. A dolmen (Breton stone-table) looks like a gate made of huge stone slabs. A cromlech (Breton boulder circle) is a circle of individual vertical stones. Sometimes cromlechs have a more complex structure - the stones that make them up can be covered in pairs or three at a time with horizontal slabs, like a roof. A dolmen or menhir can be installed in the middle of the circle.

Many megaliths are also found in Australia. Their construction is attributed either to the mysterious Wonjins, who came from the sea and are depicted as creatures without mouths, with halos around their heads, or as dwarfs. Adyghe people call Caucasian dolmens syrp-un, which means houses of dwarfs. Ossetians have a legend about a people of dwarfs - Bitsenta, who are endowed with supernatural traits. For example, the bicenta dwarf is capable of knocking down a huge tree with one glance. According to legend, dwarfs live in the sea. In addition, Ossetians claim that the ancestors of the Caucasian peoples - the mythical Narts - also came out of the sea and gave people culture. The megaliths of Britain are surrounded by amazing romantic legends. At night, legends say, at certain times of the year, the hills open up and the strange unearthly light pouring from them attracts random companions to the land of the dwarf seedlings, who went underground in ancient times. The Seeds also live somewhere far away in the ocean on the islands of the Promised Land. They possess wisdom and countless treasures.

Today it is difficult to say for what purpose these structures were built. According to scientists, they are mainly associated with the cult of burial. Some megaliths may have been used as astronomical observatories. For example, most likely, such a structure is a megalith in the Nubian desert in the Nabla Playa area.

In Russia, the most famous megaliths are located in the North-West Caucasus, Karachay-Cherkessia, Karelia and the Kola Peninsula. Recently, scientists discovered megalithic structures not only on land, but in water several tens of kilometers from Bahamas at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.

There are many legends associated with megaliths. In Britain they say that the construction of stone structures is the work of mysterious dwarf species who own countless treasures. In Polynesia, they say that the megaliths were built by gods with red beards who came out of the ocean.

There is also a version that many of the megaliths are traces of the existence of the first settlers on Earth - the Atlanteans. It was not possible for ancient people to move some of the stones to a distance of about 380 km from where they were taken. In our opinion, the last phrase should be considered key: “In Polynesia they say that the megaliths were built by gods with red beards who came out of the ocean.” In our opinion, this proves that it was the Atlanteans who were involved in their construction, who, according to our information, were fair-haired people of very tall stature - from 2 to 3 meters or more, and possessed enormous physical strength.

Megaliths stone buildings made from giant blocks, created without the use of binding mortars. These structures represent one of the greatest mysteries of antiquity, which has not yet been solved.

There are several types of megaliths: dolmens (a box of blocks covered with a slab), menhirs (free-standing blocks) and cromlechs (circular fences). The antiquity of these structures, as well as their scale, involuntarily make one wonder who created these structures and why, what kind of civilization was it? The problem is that age ancient megaliths is more than 7000 years old, and this is a layer of history that is shrouded in fog for science. Ignoring the ancient legends about the Flood led the scientific world to bewilderment, turned a blind eye to obvious facts and led to numerous contradictions in historical science. However, many scientists are aware of this and publicly speak about the need to revise the history of mankind.

Megalithic temples

It is believed that most megaliths are megalithic temples and religious buildings. The most famous megaliths, of course, are associated with Stonehenge (England) and Karnak (France). Some structures look primitive, while others are quite sophisticated. It must, however, be borne in mind that these structures can be called temples conditionally, since it has not been proven that they were actually intended for religious purposes. But there is evidence of unusual properties of at least some of the mysterious structures. Thus, the well-known Stonehenge contains stones that at certain times emit a powerful electrical impulse. No one yet knows where the energy for the impulses comes from, but one thing is clear that this is not a simple pile of stones; they are located in a given, precise order. In the mentioned megaliths, researchers have established striking patterns described by rows of stones: starting from the radii of the orbits of solar system bodies, and ending with mathematical functions.

Temples of Malta

There is a place not as famous as Stonehenge, but which has significantly more ancient megaliths in Malta. Malta is known for its resorts, but few people have heard about the ancient temples of Malta. Megalithic temples Even according to official scientific estimates, Malta was built 5.5-7 thousand years ago.

Giant people

The biggest challenge for science is to explain how megalithic structures were built. After all, construction from stone blocks, whose weight is tens of tons, and whose length is 8 m, is problematic to carry out even with modern technology (especially in hard-to-reach areas). In the case of Malta, we are dealing with complexes of structures. Obviously, the builders did not experience any serious difficulties on the technological side. They had the means of delivering these blocks, the necessary processing tools, and the necessary skills. Their knowledge, apparently, was qualitatively different from modern ones, since they used energies that modern science can only guess about. And it is no coincidence that serious scientists, even before the discoveries in Borjomi Gorge came to the conclusion that people are giants. about which numerous legends speak are not fiction. It is the giants who are the builders of these mysterious buildings, the purpose of which may never be fully understood by us.

Most megaliths date back to 5-2 thousand BC. but in a number of regions they were built almost to the present day [Caroline Islands, 19th century; Easter Island. XVIII century].

Mostly, megaliths presented in two types.

The first is ground-based structures, mostly for religious purposes; these include cairns ( cores), menhirs and alleys of menhirs,
cromlechs. certain types henge. bowl stones. The second type is underground and above-ground stone tombs.

Megalithic structures can also include the Cyclopean buildings of the Ancient Aegean (including among the peoples of the sea), and the ancient Egyptian ones. Sumerian. Mesoamerican and similar Canarian pyramids (on Tenerife).

Some believe that the oldest megaliths are more than ten thousand years old. V.I. Markovin dates the oldest dolmens to 2700 BC. In other words, many of the tombs are about 5,000 years old. The first dolmens appeared on the slopes Caucasus Mountains before they started building pyramids in Egypt. Moreover, the ancient powerful center of megalithic construction that existed in the Caucasus is comparable to the world of European megaliths of the “Atlantic belt” from Spain to Sweden. Dolmens are found both in Crimea and Far East, and in Central Asia. However, most of them are in the Caucasus - about 2.5 thousand!

The purpose of megaliths cannot always be determined. For the most part, according to some scientists, they served for burials or were associated with the funeral cult. There are other opinions. Apparently, megaliths are communal buildings (the function is socializing). Their construction was a very difficult task for primitive technology and required the unification of large masses of people. Some megalithic structures, such as the complex of more than 3,000 stones at Carnac (Brittany) France, were important ceremonial centers associated with the cult of the dead. 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, a megalithic structure was found that served for astronomical purposes. This structure is 1000 years older than Stonehenge, which is also considered a kind of prehistoric observatory.

Types of megalithic structures:

menhir single vertical standing stone
cromlech a group of menhirs forming a circle or semicircle
dolmen - a structure made of a huge stone placed on several other stones
taula stone structure in the shape of the letter T
trilith structure made of a block of stone mounted on two vertical stones
seid including stone structure
cairn stone mound with one or more rooms
indoor gallery
boat grave

Big Soviet encyclopedia

Megaliths(from mega... and Greek líthos - stone), structures made of large blocks of wild or roughly processed stone. These include dolmens, menhirs, cromlechs, stone boxes, and covered galleries. M. are distributed throughout the world, except Australia, mainly in coastal areas. In Europe, stones generally date back to the Chalcolithic and Bronze Ages (3rd to 2nd millennium BC), with the exception of England, where stones date back to the Neolithic era. M.'s purpose cannot always be established. For the most part they served for burials or were associated with the funeral cult. Apparently, M. are communal buildings. Their construction represented a most difficult task for primitive technology and required the unification of large masses of people.

Lit.: Artsikhovsky A.V., Introduction to Archeology, 3rd ed., M., 1947; Niederle L., Humanity in Prehistoric Times, translation from Czech, St. Petersburg, 1898; Obermayer G., Prehistoric man, translation from German, St. Petersburg, 1913.

MEGALITHES
Megaliths Megaliths or megalithic monuments are prehistoric structures made of large stone blocks or slabs, stone (Neolithic), bronze, and partly later eras, which served either as tombs, monuments, or sanctuaries, and these Various types partly pass one another. M. monuments are especially numerous and varied in Brittany, where they attracted the attention of scientists earlier than in other areas (in former times they were called “Druidic,” that is, they served for the religious purposes of Druids or Gallic priests); therefore, to designate such monuments, names borrowed from the Breton language are used, namely menhir (men - stone, Mr - long, high) - a high standing stone, probably erected in memory of some event or person, or to designate a famous place; dolmen (dol - table, men - stone) - a chamber of 4 standing slabs perpendicular to each other, covered on top with a large horizontal slab; cromlech (crom - circle) - a circle of stones, independent or surrounding a dolmen. Special types of M. monuments are chambers with corridors (allees couvertes, for example in Provence); rows of stones (alignements, for example in Carnac, in Brittany, sometimes stretching for a mile or more; cup stones - large blocks with cup-shaped depressions in them, apparently of natural origin, but sometimes served, it seems, for religious (sacrificial) purposes; swinging stones (pierres branlantes) - placed on a narrow plane so that they can be easily set into oscillatory motion, but despite their colossal size, remaining in the same form for centuries (also, apparently, of natural origin, although humans could sometimes assist in their installation); box-shaped graves (made of large slabs placed in a pit); boat-shaped graves - made of stones arranged so that the outline of a boat is obtained, sometimes very large, and with transverse partitions simulating benches. for sitting (such graves are known in Sweden and the Baltic region; they served for the burial of Vikings, etc.). M. monuments are most numerous in France, Spain and the Balearic Islands, in England, in the north. Germany, in Algeria, in Palestine, here in the Crimea and the Caucasus, also in places in Siberia (menhirs and kromlekhs in the Minusinsk region), in Mongolia ("deer stones", i.e. with images of deer), etc. In some areas In India, dolmens, cromlechs, etc. are being erected to this day. In addition to general works on prehistoric archaeology, cf. Ferguson, “Rude StoneMonuments” (L., 1872; important for many facts and drawings, but incorrect in the main idea, namely in the desire to attribute almost all of these monuments to the historical era); Carthailac "La France prehislorique" (1893). D.L.
F. Brockhaus, I.A. Efron. encyclopedic Dictionary

Megaliths
- buildings made of huge roughly processed stones, the first architectural structures primitive society; appeared in the Bronze Age. There are three types: a) dolmens - quadrangular structures made of large stone slabs, placed on an edge and covered with a slab. They served as tombs, less often as dwellings; b) menhirs - vertical pillars covered with relief, sometimes designed in the form of a human figure (stone women in the south of Russia, Siberia), or an animal; c) cromlechs are the most complex structures of antiquity. Usually these are menhirs, installed on a large area in concentric circles around the sacrificial stone, sometimes covered in pairs with a slab. These are the first places of worship. One of the most famous cromlechs is Stonehenge in England (1900 - 1500 BC).
World of dictionaries

Megaliths(from mega... and Greek lithos - stone) - ancient structures made of large blocks of stone, sometimes roughly processed. They often served for burials or were associated with a funeral cult, but it has not yet been possible to accurately establish their purpose. In all likelihood, megaliths are communal structures, since their construction required the joint efforts of many people. European megaliths date back to the Chalcolithic and Bronze Ages (3-2 millennia BC), with the exception of England, where they belong to the Neolithic era. Distributed throughout the world, except Australia (the artificial origin of the world's largest stone monolith, Uluru, in the Australian desert (perimeter 9 km, height 348 m) has not been proven).

Megaliths include various types of buildings, including dolmens (several giant blocks covered with a similar slab on top), menhirs (single upright stones), cromlechs (a group of menhirs forming a (semi) circle), thaulas, stone boxes, covered galleries and etc.

Many different hypotheses have been put forward about the meaning of megaliths. The most common is that the buildings were ancient altars, temples, tombs or observatories. Among the most exotic, we can mention the hypothesis that dolmens served as dwellings for animals or dwarfs. Burials under structures, as a rule, took place much later than the construction of the megalith itself.

In Russia, most of the megaliths are known on the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus.

The latest discoveries of mysterious structures occurred in Altai and near Ryazan. On South Chelyabinsk region There is a functioning historical park - the settlement of Arkaim, opened 15 years ago by students and teachers of the archaeological laboratory of ChelSU under the leadership of G.B. Zdanovich. The cultural archaeological complex (remains of ancient sites and settlements, funerary and religious structures in the form of earthen mounds, stone fences and stelae, etc.) is part of the so-called “Country of Cities”, steppe region Southern Urals, where in the 20th-17th centuries BC a vibrant Bronze Age civilization flourished, contemporary with the pyramids of the Middle Kingdom of Egypt and the famous palaces of the Cretan-Mycenaean culture. It has been established that Arkaim is one of the ancient observatories of the world, similar to Stonehenge.

Sanctuary during excavations on Spasskaya Luka in Ryazan region V central Russia, on a hill above the confluence of two rivers - Oka and Pronya, archaeologists discovered at the beginning of the 21st century.

The age of the religious building, located at the very top of the hill, is 4,000 years. The structure of the monument led archaeologists to think about its astronomical purpose, and the objects found indicate the religious rites that took place here.

A circle with a diameter of seven meters is marked by pillars half a meter thick, between which there is the same distance. In the center of the circle is a large rectangular hole and a pillar. The wooden pillars have not survived, but the round holes from which they protruded are clearly visible in the ground. Along the edges of the site there are two more pits with pillars. A few meters to the east, another pit with a similar pillar was excavated, and to the south there is a pillar that was discovered several years earlier. Within the circle, two pairs of pillars form a gate through which, when viewed from the center, sunset can be seen in summer. Another pillar, behind the circular fence, indicates the sunrise.

The size of the pits ranges from 44 by 46 cm to 75 by 56 cm. In the central pit lay a small ceramic vessel from the Bronze Age with a subtle ornament: a zigzag reminiscent of the rays of the sun and wavy lines - a symbol of water. Externally, the vessel resembles the products of the steppe peoples who lived in the south of Eurasia. In the center of one of the pits with a pillar outside the temple, fragments of long human bones and teeth were unearthed - probable traces of a sacrifice. In 1979, another expedition was excavating at this site; its workers laid a trench and missed by only a meter, revealing only pillars, the meaning of which remained unclear.

As scientists from Gorno-Altai State University (GASU) found out in early 2006, working on compiling a map of archaeological sites Gorny Altai Using GPS receivers and satellite remote sensing data, many ancient archaeological sites and megalithic structures on the territory of the high-mountainous Ukok plateau (mounds, steles, barbals, stone displays, megaliths like the famous Stonehenge) are subject to strict spatial patterns. They have a north-south orientation, are located at a certain distance from each other and are tied to certain geological and geographical conditions. That is, the ancient builders consciously placed ritual and burial complexes in certain conditions. According to researchers, these complexes were used for orientation in space (when moving along caravan trails) or, possibly, in some astronomical cults.

The most famous megalithic structures in the world, in addition to Stonehenge, include: the temple in Baalbek (Lebanon), the La Roche-aux-Fées dolmen in Brittany, and the complex in Karnac (Egypt).
Text: Olga Portugalova.
From the website Gazeta.ru

Early megalithic structures of Asia Minor

Large ceremonial buildings from the 9th millennium BC. e. were discovered in Asia Minor. They date back to the era of the emergence of agriculture and cattle breeding in society, under the influence of which or directly from it the Middle Eastern and European Neolithic subsequently arose. The structures are large, rounded structures, supported by megalithic columns (3 m or more) made of monolithic hewn stone. The most ancient of the currently known are the temples of Gobekli Tepe and Nevali Chori. In Göbekli Tepe, only four temples out of about two dozen have been excavated to date. The diameter of some reaches 30 m. The columns have bas-relief images of animals (foxes, wild boars, lions, birds, snakes and scorpions). Although these temples represent the oldest megalithic structures on Earth, it is unknown how they are related to the European megaliths.

European megaliths

Megaliths are distributed throughout the world, mainly in coastal areas. In Europe, they mainly date from the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age (3 - 2 thousand BC), with the exception of the British Isles, Portugal and France, where megaliths date back to the Neolithic era (for example, Carrowmore in Ireland, Almendros in Portugal, Barnen in Brittany and the Bougon necropolis in the Poitou-Charente department, France). Megalithic monuments are especially numerous and varied in Brittany. Also big number megaliths are found on the Mediterranean coast of Spain, in Portugal, parts of France, on west coast England, Ireland, Denmark, south coast Sweden and Israel. At the beginning of the 20th century, it was widely believed that all megaliths belonged to one global megalithic culture, but modern research and dating methods refute this assumption.

The most common megalithic structure in Europe, the dolmen, is a chamber or crypt of vertically hewn monoliths on which rest one or more large flat stones that make up the “roof.” Many, although not all, contain the remains of people buried inside. Whether burial was the main purpose of the building, or whether people were sacrificed, were buried inside due to the performance of some rituals here during their lives, or remained in the dolmen for some other reason is unknown. Dolmen is the general name for such a building; in different languages and dialects of Europe it can also have other names, for example, cromlech (in Wales), anta (in Portugal) or stazzone (in Sardinia).

The second most common type of megalithic burial is the corridor tomb. It usually consists of a rectangular, circular or cruciform chamber with a flat or projecting roof at the edges, to which a long, straight passage leads. The entire structure is covered with earth on top, forming a kind of mound, into which an entrance made of stone blocks opens. Sometimes the edge of the mound is bordered by a stone border. The most remarkable examples are Brú na Bóinne in Ireland, Bryn Kelly Dee in Wales, Maeshowe in Orkney and Gavriny in Brittany.

The third type is a variety of tombs in the form of galleries, for example, the Severn Cotswolds. In plan they have axial symmetry and consist of rows of chambers covered with elongated mounds. Individual or grouped menhirs and stone circles are also common, which in Russian-language literature are also called cromlechs, like Welsh dolmens. The latter type includes Stonehenge, Avebury, the Circle of Brodgar and hundreds of other similar monuments. Like menhirs, they were important astronomical devices for observing the sun and moon and are usually not as ancient as megalithic burials.

Types of megalithic structures

* menhir is a single vertical stone up to 20 m high.
* cromlech - a group of menhirs forming a circle or semicircle.
* dolmen - a structure made of a huge stone placed on several other stones (similar to a gate).
* taula - a stone structure in the shape of the letter “T”.
* trilith - a structure made of a block of stone mounted on two vertical stones.
* seid - including a structure made of stone.
* cairn - a stone mound with one or more rooms.
* indoor gallery
* boat-shaped grave
* deer stone - massive hewn stone slabs with drawings (most often of a deer).

Purpose

Some megalithic structures, such as the complex of more than 3,000 stones at Carnac (Brittany) France, were important ceremonial centers associated with the cult of the dead. 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, a megalithic structure was found that served for astronomical purposes. This structure is 1000 years older than Stonehenge, which is also considered a kind of prehistoric observatory.

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. In addition, the dead in this ancient settlement 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. The largest megalith, created around 4500 BC, measures almost 21 meters in length 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 legends that before the statues were damaged by an earthquake, the northern statue made a sound in the morning that resembled bell ringing(possibly due to increased temperature). 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 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 says 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. “Stele 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 - a 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, megalithic temple complex 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 can be found at Hajar Qim religious beliefs- A number of statues of the goddess of fertility have been 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. 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.

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 as well known 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.

The first place we start our journey is Mount Vottovaara - highest point West Karelian Upland - 417.3 m above sea level. The area of the mountain is 6 square meters. km.
The place is simply full of strange artifacts after which you begin to think about ancient highly developed stone processing technologies, 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?

It’s like using a laser:) geologists believe that the cracks and faults were formed as a result of a strong earthquake about 9 thousand years ago. The even 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 like perfectly cut blocks tightly fitted to each other. It’s hard to imagine an ancient ancestor with a copper chisel somewhere on a mountain turning out such even blocks.

Good angle, perfectly straight wall.

Who lost the ball?)

This obviously involved high technology in stone processing, or is it just a play of nature? :)

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

But getting closer it looks more like megalithic masonry.

Looking between the blocks, where the stones were less susceptible to erosion from wind and rain, you can see the man-made nature and how 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.

Stone City in the Perm region.
According to scientists, the Stone City is the mouth of a river that flowed into the Permian Sea millions of years ago; this is what explains the beautifully and evenly, at right angles, carved stones, their neat laying and the “channels” of the “mouth” 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 Kola Peninsula This pool is located right in the rock.

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

Mountain Shoria.
Some granite blocks below were made of red granite, topped with blocks of gray granite, and above lay a polygonal masonry of various blocks, both red and gray granite.

The 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 these are 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.

In the photo, Georgy Sidorov, in his opinion, this entire megalithic structure may be the ruins of an ancient power plant or power plant, which transferred seismic energy to some others.

Looking inside the masonry again, where the blocks were less susceptible to erosion, smooth straight edges are visible, look at how the two blocks lie tightly, the handicraft is better visible here.

Polygonal masonry.

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

Then, in the Tomsk branch of the Russian Geographical Society, the photographs were studied by scientific geologists and geographers. Both of them came to the conclusion that the presented artifacts were man-made.

Sklyarov was asked to comment on the find. And what did he say? That all the artifacts found are nothing more than rocks cracked at right angles. 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.
First you need to squeeze into a hole measuring 40 by 120 cm, then climb down a narrow vertical shaft on a rope. It is formed by two parallel stone slabs. After 9 meters there is the first “knee”: the hole goes to the side and immediately breaks down again. Already here you will be covered absolute silence- Not a sound comes from outside. Another 23 meters deep - and a 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 will find yourself in a huge room, which the researchers called the “flask”. Inside we will see processed walls made of tuff and granite, composed 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.

The technologies for processing stone are amazing, and even more amazing is the comment of the head of the Kabardino-Balkarian geological exploration expedition, Vera Davidenko, but she is a realist and believes that nature can do everything and concluded: “Tuff is an accumulation of products of volcanic ejection - ash, fragments of lava , volcanic glass and, to a small extent, rock fragments that make up the crater walls. The ejecta material was hot during accumulation and therefore, when it solidified, cracks formed separately - that is, the entire tuff massif appeared to be broken into blocks. The depression discovered in the area of the village of Zayukovo is one of these gravitational separation cracks, which is characterized by smooth contact surfaces,” but this is the head of the 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 :)

The term “megaliths” comes from the Greek words μέγας - large, λίθος - stone. Megaliths are structures made of stone blocks or blocks, from different rocks, various modifications, sizes and shapes, combined and installed in such an order that these blocks/blocks constitute a single monumental structure.

Stone blocks in megalithic structures weigh from several kilograms to hundreds and even thousands of tons. Individual structures are so huge and unique that it is not at all clear how they were built. Also in the scientific world there is no consensus regarding the technologies of ancient builders.

Some megaliths seem to have been carved (processed) with some kind of tools, some objects seem to have been cast from liquid materials, and some objects have traces of clearly artificial processing by unknown technologies.

Megalithic culture is represented in absolutely all countries of the world, on land and under water (and...probably not only on our planet..). The age of the megaliths is different, the main period of megalith construction is determined from the 8th to the 1st millennium BC, although some objects have much more ancient origin, which is often denied official science. Megalithic monuments of a later period are also widely represented - 1-2 millennia AD.

Classification and types of megaliths

According to their classification, megaliths are divided into separate categories:

megalithic complexes (ancient cities, settlements, temples, fortresses, ancient
observatories, palaces, towers, walls, etc.);
pyramids and pyramidal mountain complexes;
mounds, ziggurats, kofuns, cairns, tumuli, tombs, galleries, chambers, etc.;
dolmens, trilithons, etc.;
menhirs (standing stones, stone alleys, statues, etc.);
seids, Sin-stones, trail-stones, cup-stones, altar-stones, etc.;
stones/rock with ancient images - petroglyphs;
rock, cave and underground structures;
stone labyrinths (surads);
geoglyphs;
and etc.

There are many hypotheses about the purpose of megaliths, but there are some features that are characteristic of many megaliths of the world, regardless of their classification, modification, size, etc. - these are their external similarity, locations (geolocation), geophysical characteristics and belonging to certain highly developed civilizations. The study of megaliths using geophysics and dowsing began in the 20th century. During the study, it was absolutely established that the places for the construction of megaliths were not chosen by chance; very often megaliths are located in places (near) dowsing anomalies (in different-frequency geopathogenic zones - near or on a tectonic fault in the earth’s crust).

Thus, it can be assumed that the generator of these waves of different frequencies are tectonic faults, and stone structures in this case, they act as multifunctional acoustic devices that resonate with this frequency.

It turns out that megaliths can influence human bioenergy! This allows you to effectively correct a person’s biofield by influencing both his energy points of the body and individual systems.

In ancient times, dedicated priests engaged in similar practices, and this was practiced through various rites and rituals.

With the help of stones, ancient priests, shamans, healers communicated with the spirits of departed ancestors, with the gods, received the answers they were interested in, treated diseases, etc., and also made offerings and demands (not sacrifices, which appeared later and most likely not by the creators of megaliths). Knowledge about this was first distorted, then completely erased.

Almost everywhere near the megaliths there was or is water (some kind of reservoir, stream, spring, etc.)! Often the orientation of megaliths is directed towards the water, this is especially clearly seen in the example of most dolmens Krasnodar region, which in turn, not without reason, are the standard in dolmen construction.

It is also worth mentioning the orientation of many megaliths to the cardinal points, taking into account some astronomical features.

Often, when studying megaliths, one gets the impression that over time the builders seemed to have lost the ability to erect stone structures and over time the megaliths became like only distant copies of the original structures.

Perhaps, for some reason, the ancients lost that knowledge and technology, and most importantly, over time, the need for megalith construction was lost.

However, despite the time, megalith building continues to exist in the world. Even today in Sumatra (Indonesia), people continue to create funerary stone monuments that are similar in appearance to ancient megaliths, thus preserving the memory and customs of their ancestors.

In many places around the world, traditions, legends and stories have been preserved that many megaliths are associated with the reincarnation of dead people.

Many megaliths are closely related to astrology, in connection with this, a new direction in antiquity researchers has emerged - archaeoastronomy. It is archaeoastronomers who study the astronomical aspect in megalith construction. It was archaeoastronomers who proved many hypotheses regarding the purpose of many ancient stone structures.

Some megalithic structures were created to determine the main solar and lunar cycles of the year. These objects served as calendars and observatories for observing celestial bodies.

Megaliths - the legacy of ancient civilizations

Unfortunately, in our time, in all corners of the world, for various reasons, the tendency to destroy ancient monuments continues, but new finds of ancient structures also continue to be discovered all over the world.

Many studies and the objects themselves are stubbornly hushed up by official departments, or dates are deliberately incorrectly determined and reports and conclusions of scientists are falsified, because many objects simply do not fit into the generally accepted chronology of our civilization.

Megaliths are the very objects that connect us with the distant past, with the deep past, and it can definitely be said that they have not yet revealed all their secrets to people...

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