Secrets of ancient megaliths. The most famous megaliths of Russia (50 photos) Who created the megaliths
Scientists argue about the appointment of megaliths no less than about who built them. But there is still a consensus on this issue today. Megaliths, as the researchers suggest, had three main functions.
Single megaliths, menhirs, characteristic of the earliest period of this era, are believed by some archaeologists to have served as a kind of symbols that stood out against the background of the agricultural landscape, and may have been boundary signs in the face of a growing shortage of land suitable for arable land and pastures.
The most common European megaliths - dolmens, or stone boxes, were tombs for wealthy leaders or entire communities. Some of the earliest were simple tombs, consisting of vertically placed slabs, covered with a horizontal slab. Access to such a grave was limited to a very narrow passage, which was blocked by a stone or earthen mound. Even though the passage was often very low and narrow, it provided access to the grave for the performance of rites. More complex structures consisted of whole alleys of stones. Under a long embankment there was a corridor with side stone chambers. Where there was not enough stone, the chambers were built of wood.
Many of these collective stone tombs were used for decades, even centuries, and such a large cemetery as, for example, Bouton in Western France, for more than 2 thousand years and contained the remains of hundreds of people buried.
The most complex stone buildings, alleys and cromlechs, according to scientists, were a kind of astronomical observatory. These megalithic buildings were built collectively - by entire clans and tribes, because their construction required a huge expenditure of muscular strength.
The labor force needed to create even the smallest cromlechs and galleries was incomparable with the capabilities of a single community. The digging of ditches, the transportation and installation of huge stones, involved cooperation between communities. Estimates of the man-hours required to build these monuments show an interesting progression: the most ancient megaliths in Wessex, according to the calculations of the researchers, required about 50 - 70 thousand man-hours, while for later and larger structures already about half a million man-hours were needed. And for the construction of Stonehenge at the third stage, it took already 2 million! The grandiosity of such buildings and the colossal costs of their construction testify to the great importance of religion and ritual centers in the life of ancient Europeans. Although we know little about the religious beliefs of the builders of megaliths, there is no doubt that the heavenly bodies played an important role in them: the Sun, the Moon, the stars. Observations of astronomical and seasonal natural phenomena were the main functions of ancient observatories - ritual centers.
Cromlech Newgrange in Ireland is oriented so that sunlight enters the central chamber inside the stone circle exactly on the winter solstice in the middle of winter. Stonehenge was oriented on the day of the summer solstice. With the help of these structures, it is possible to fix other astronomical phenomena, in particular, the location of stars in the sky.
Megalithic tomb under a long barrow at West Kennet. England
Hundreds of various carved drawings, which cover many megaliths, also give ideas about the lifestyle and worldview of the builders of megaliths. The earliest examples are simple axes and intersections, but over time more complex elements appear on them: spirals are symbols of the Sun, wavy lines are symbols of the water element. Entire galleries of such "engravings" are open in Scandinavia. Here are images of human figures, and hunting scenes, and fantastic creatures. They testify to how complex the religious ideas of the ancestors of Europeans were.
The old agricultural symbols of the Neolithic era, especially the female deity associated with abundance and the Earth, gradually gave way to a male mythology more in line with the new order: wealth expressed in quantities of cattle and metal, valuables captured in war. The old myth of the Mother Goddess gave way to new ones. Circles, wheels, spirals and similar elements reflect the endless movement associated with fire, the Sun and their opposite - water, the source of life. These elements have become the main objects of veneration in Central and Western Europe.
Around the middle of the VI millennium BC. e. the construction of stone circles and galleries in Spain, Portugal, northwestern France and the British Isles ceases. The old cults are being replaced by new ones associated with the era of wars and enrichment. The objects of worship are Earth and water. Gifts are dedicated to them - treasures buried in the ground or flooded in swamps and lakes. Collective tombs - dolmens are being replaced by other forms of grave structures. In Europe, a new era of warriors and heroes is beginning, the era of barrows, under which ordinary community members and noble leaders were buried.
Megaliths of the valley of the river of wars
This small river flows in Ireland, in a coastal region located north of Dublin. In its valley, several burial mounds were found, as well as separate stone blocks belonging to the so-called slaughterhouse culture. Apparently, in ancient times this valley was considered a sacred place. The center of the entire local megalithic complex, of course, is Newgrange.
The Irish, who discovered Newgrange at the very end of the 17th century, considered it the tomb of the Celtic kings for a long time.
Only later it was proved that this burial dates back to the 4th millennium BC. e., i.e. it is older than the Egyptian pyramids. In the list of World Heritage Sites, Newgrange is characterized as the largest and most important of the megalithic structures in Europe of that period.
Indeed, this huge dolmen structure, 60-80 m long and 11 m high, is made of 200 thousand tons of stones, and is covered with earth and white quartz pebbles on top. An 18-meter corridor made of stone slabs leads from the entrance into the depths of the dolmen. It hides the path to the actual burial chamber with a ritual bowl and three niches decorated with stone carvings. Above the entrance, oriented to the southeast, there is a hole - a window through which the sun's rays can penetrate into the inner chamber, but only once a year - on the day of the winter solstice, and even then only for 17 minutes. What is it connected with? Why are there only five people buried at Newgrange? How could ancient people bring such huge stone blocks here? There are no answers to these questions yet.
Ancient observatory?
Perhaps the most famous megalithic monument in Europe is the giant cromlech Stonehenge (translated from the Celtic, its name means “hanging stones”), not far from the city of Salisbury in southern England. Stonehenge has become a favorite object of study not only for archaeologists, but also for astronomers. It is estimated that the work to erect Stonehenge in total took a third of a million hours. It turned out that the ring of giant boulders served as an astronomical observatory. 2 thousand years before Euclid and Pythagoras, the builders of Stonehenge used the mathematical laws they discovered in practice.
This structure has survived to this day in the form of a horseshoe of five pairs of vertical sandstone stones, covered on top with the same stone blocks (triliths). This horseshoe was surrounded by a ring of 30 stone monoliths weighing 25 tons and 4.5 m high. There was a stone altar inside it.
Stonehenge stones clearly indicate the sunrise and sunset at different times of the year. Obviously, this cult was most closely associated with observations of the cyclical changes in nature, the movement of the Sun, Moon and stars. Stonehenge performed many functions. It was a monument that embodied the energy power of the Earth. It was an astronomical observatory. And, finally, it was a temple built for people who prayed here and celebrated religious holidays.
The megalith in Avebury next to Stonehenge is also a giant cromlech. Modern researchers believe that the outer circle consisted of about 100 stone blocks and was surrounded by a very wide moat. Together with the two inner circles and the road leading to the monument, the total number of stones reached 274. The stones are unhewn and not decorated with patterns. It is believed that they were installed around 2600 BC. e., although religious rites were performed here before. The mysteries of Avebury's stone rings have also not yet been fully unraveled. It is possible that the ancient people in this place worshiped the Sun and the Moon.
Fast forward to the Maltese archipelago. One of the favorite holiday destinations of tourists has long been considered a place of historical importance. One of the oldest mysterious megalithic structures of mankind is located here - the megalithic temples of Malta and Gozo.
Amazing age of buildings
The true history of the local ancient inhabitants is currently unknown. It is impossible to say who exactly they were, for what purpose they made this trip to the islands, but the buildings of these skilled craftsmen still stand to this day.
Scientists believe that the origin of the civilization of the Maltese builders takes about 7,000 years ago. For the most part, it was a Neolithic culture - all the buildings are made in stone. But it is not worth talking about the complete isolation of the inhabitants, it is believed that they had developed trade relations with the European part, in particular with Italy.
For a long time it was believed that the megalithic structures of Malta were of a later origin, but after radiocarbon analysis, everything fell into place. Now the palm in the construction of the largest stone structures goes from Egypt and Mesopotamia to Malta. A truly fascinating and significant discovery for understanding human history. The very period of the creation of the megalithic temples of Malta and Gozo (approximately the middle of the 4th - the end of the 3rd millennium BC) was called the “epoch of temple builders”.
Megaliths of Malta: Highlights
A total of 23 megalithic sanctuaries have been found here. All of them are made of local limestone. In the course of further agricultural activities of local residents, many temples were dismantled for the needs of the Maltese peasants, so some of the temples are presented in the form of ruins, but the size of these ruins makes even the most sophisticated spectator be amazed.
Only four temples have survived to this day in relative safety - Jgantiya, Hagar Kvim, Mnajdra, Tarshyen.
Ggantija in the heart of Gozo
Ggantija
Ggantija ("Tower of the Giant") - the oldest of the megaliths, is located in the center of the island of Gozo. Ggantija is a complex of two temples. The remains of a larger temple are surprising - the ruined facade now reaches a height of six meters, which speaks of its greater grandeur in ancient times. It is also worth remembering that the construction of such facilities was carried out without modern construction equipment, in the conditions of the Stone Age. The temple is partly executed in the cyclopean style of masonry - the stones are held by their own weight. There are also places for hanging sacrificed animals, recesses for washing feet. The entrance to the sanctuary is fenced with large stones. Inside the sanctuary itself, an altar has been preserved, in which niches for ancient deities and holes for bloodletting the victim remained. The fence of the Ggantija temple surrounds both temples. Some of the stones that form it weigh about 50 tons, which further casts doubt on the human origin of this structure.
Hagar Kwim - the largest temple complex
Hagar Quim
Hagar Qwim is the next temple on our list of Malta's megaliths. Concurrently, the largest and best preserved temple complex. Here you can see everything the same as in Ggantiy - a wall, a sanctuary, an altar.
Tarxien - three in one
Tarshjen is a complex of three temples, the pinnacle of the development of Maltese architecture. At the entrance of the third temple, in the foreseeable past, there was a statue of the ancient goddess of the local population. According to scientists, its size reached 2.7 m in height. Only its lower part has survived, the original of which is kept in the museum of the capital of Malta. A copy of it has been installed on the spot.
Mnajdra - heading for the sun
Mnajdra
It is worth noting the attachment of the Maltese builders to the choice of the place and location of the building. There is something similar to the Chinese "feng shui". As well as many ancient architects, the Maltese, in addition to the location in the landscape, also tied to the sky. So the temple of Mnajdra is involved in such astronomical phenomena as the winter and summer solstices and equinoxes.
Hypogeum - underground temples
As for the very culture of the inhabitants of Malta, there is a great influence of religion. Temples for the gods were built with high quality and for centuries, and special structures for greater safety were generally built underground.
Hypogeum Hal-Saflieni
So one of these structures is the hypogeum (an underground structure carved into the rock) Khal-Saflieni, near the Tarshien temple. In its structure, this hypogeum is similar to its external counterparts with mirror accuracy. There is also a hall and an altar. But according to the functional position, there was still not a temple, but a burial place. For many centuries this place was a burial place for local inhabitants. Due to this, the Hal-Saflieni system is full of different corridors and grottoes in three tiers with a total area of 480 square meters. m. It is believed that about 6-7 thousand people of the ancient world found a resting place here.
Secrets of the Maltese buildings
In general, one gets the impression that the Maltese archipelago was a kind of major religious center of the ancient world, a place of pilgrimage for the Mediterranean inhabitants. Temples, in addition to the spiritual role, took on the functions of administrative, medical, financial institutions, further strengthening their central influence in society.
The end of the civilization of ancient Malta is shrouded in deep mystery. Researchers give a very definite date - 2300 BC. The reasons are unknown, traces of epidemics, military conflicts, natural disasters have not been found. People simply disappeared without giving hints of their future fate. But whatever happens to them, the megaliths of Malta will remain a great monument of the world heritage of human civilization.
Video about the megaliths of Malta:
Stone structures dating back thousands of years are scattered all over the world. Many of them appeared even before the invention of writing, so there is no evidence left about the builders and the purposes of erecting these structures. However, despite the lack of written historical sources, the specific structure of ancient megaliths allows scientists to make fairly solid assumptions about the purpose for which these structures were built and what function they performed.
In the north-west of Ireland, near the town of Rafo, there is a simple-looking circle that in the past could perform a variety of functions - from ritual to scientific. Around the embankment, along a circle with a diameter of 45 meters, there are 64 stones, the average height of which is two meters. Scientists estimate that the stone circle was built around 1400-1800 BC. According to Oliver Davis, who explored the ancient site in the 1930s, there were signs in the stone circle area that someone tried to excavate in a makeshift way, but suddenly, perhaps out of fear, left this place.
Despite the study of the Beltani stone circle, its purpose has not yet been clarified. According to one version, the answer lies in the name of the megalith. The word Beltani is possibly associated with the name of the pagan festival Beltane, during which bonfires were lit on the top of the hill, symbolizing the renewal of the forces of the Sun. Other hypotheses link the Beltani stone circle to the circles at Carrowmore Cemetery, suggesting that the Beltani circle was used in burial rituals for the dead. Some believe that the whole complex of stones and the mound that they frame hides something like a tomb underneath, but no one has yet been able to find out what it really is.
Megaliths of the Bada Valley
In Indonesian, you can see interesting megaliths that resemble moai statues and are distinguished by high sculptural skill. Scientists cannot name either the exact age of the stone statues or their purpose. Questions from local residents did not help shed light on the mystery of megaliths, the natives claim that "they have always been here." However, a number of legends are associated with these stone statues among local residents.
Some argue that megaliths are installed on the sites of mass human sacrifices. Others say that stone statues guard evil spirits. And there is also a belief that these statues are petrified villains, and some even believe that they are able to move. Another surprising fact related to the Bud megaliths is also perplexing: the fact is that the statues are made of stone that is not mined in the area.
Spirit wheel
Rujm el-Hiri, or "wheel of spirits", is a megalithic structure located in the Golan Heights, on the border of Syria and Israel. The structure consists of four concentric circles and a central cairn. The largest outer diameter is 158 m (520 ft). The circles are made of basalt stones. The rings are interconnected by jumpers. There were suggestions that the place in the center was intended for burial, but when studying the building, no burial was found below. There is a version that in the distant past, jewels were kept here, which were looted by marauders.
Scientists believe that the stone wheel was not built as a fortress or a place where people could live. Judging by the structure of the structure and how the sunrise and solstice correlate with the “spokes” of the wheel, a version was put forward according to which this structure served as a calendar.
Some researchers believe that rituals were held in the circle for the liberation of the dead from everything carnal, involving the separation of flesh from bones. After the ritual, the bones were moved to another place, this can explain the absence of buried remains in the circle. However, no evidence of such activities at Rujm el-Hiri has been found. Whatever the purpose of the "wheel of spirits", it is clear that a lot of time and effort was spent on its construction, and this object was very important for the people who used it.
The Rudston Monolith is the tallest single stone in Britain. Such stone monoliths are called menhirs. This menhir is located in the church cemetery of the village of Radston and is 7.6 meters high. The age of the monolith is attributed to 1600 BC. Considering the size and venerable age of the monolith, there is nothing surprising in the fact that local people from generation to generation pass on traditions and legends associated with this stone. According to one of them, this stone used to be a spear that the devil threw at the church, but hit the ground of the church cemetery. Another story tells that a stone spear was thrown from above, aiming at the cemetery vandals.
Sir William Strickland dug up the whole area in search of any archaeological evidence of the stone's true history. According to him, half of the monolith is deep underground, respectively, its real height is twice as high as the known figure. The researcher also found many human skulls, hinting that this place could be used for human sacrifices and religious rituals. However, be that as it may, neither the skulls nor the local folklore shed light on what really happened at the stone in Radston.
Separate standing megalithic monuments in Cornwall are called Pipers and Merry Maidens. Pipers are two separate stones, and the Merry Maidens near Pipers form a stone circle of perfect shape. There is an entrance on the eastern side of the structure, which could theoretically indicate the use of megaliths for astronomical purposes. There are many burial grounds in the vicinity of the megalithic complex, which in turn allows scientists to assume that the stones were related to spiritual rituals or funeral rites. It is possible that the stones installed in a strict order performed several functions at once.
Despite the fact that Pipers and the Merry Maidens stand apart from each other, these structures are invariably referred to in the same context. According to one of the local legends, two pipers played for the dancing girls on one Sunday, but since such behavior was forbidden on such a day, the musicians and cheerful dancers turned into stones. Sounds nice, but is it true?
In County Galway, in Ireland, everyone can admire the amazing stone, which at one time was placed in the area of the Firvor ring fort. Later, the stone was moved to the vicinity of Turua's house. The stone has a rounded shape and is decorated with patterns made in the ancient Celtic technique “la tene”. The Turua stone is the most striking and well-preserved example of this decorative stonework in Europe.
But what purpose did this stone serve? Nobody knows the exact answer to this question. Given the characteristic, close to phallic, shape of the stone, some experts suggest that the stone was used in rituals aimed at increasing fertility in all its manifestations.
Another version connects the English spelling of the name Turua with the phrase "Cloch an Tuair Rua", which means "stone of the red wasteland". The presence of the word “red”, according to the researchers, may hint at the fact that sacrifices, including human sacrifices, were practiced near the stone. There is an opinion that this stone was originally located in France, and came to Ireland later.
On the territory of the highland plain in the center of the Iberian Peninsula, as well as in the north of Portugal and Galicia, you can find more than 400 granite, rather rough, but realistic sculptures of animals - most often, wild boars, which is why the Spaniards call them "verraco" (from Spanish verraco - wild boar ), as well as bears and bulls. Scientists date them to the IV-I centuries. BC e. It is assumed that the creators of the verraco were the Vettones - the ancient Celtic people of Spain.
The bulls of Guisando are perhaps the most famous of the verracos. This is a sculptural complex of 4 statues, dated around the 2nd century BC. e. It is believed that once these bulls had horns, but under the influence of precipitation and wind they collapsed. Some historians believe that the stone figures of bulls were made separately from each other, and were brought together much later.
Scientists are not sure about the true purpose of stone bulls, but it has been noticed that verraco are located in places where they are clearly visible to others. Perhaps the sculptors just wanted to draw attention to their work. The location of the bulls in a well-observed place could also be associated with some religious moments. Some believe that verraco protect villages and farms from evil spirits.
Gray Sheep is a unique megalithic structure. Its originality lies primarily in the fact that this structure consists of two circles located next to each other. There are 30 stones in each circle, the diameter of the stone circles is 33 meters. During the excavation of stone circles, a thin layer of charcoal was found, which may indicate extensive fires in this place. It is obvious that something was happening inside the circles, but what exactly is unknown.
There is a version that links circles to spiritual concepts. That is, one circle is connected with the world of the living, and the other represents those who have departed to another world. The rituals performed in the "circle of the living" were aimed at creating portals between the two worlds. Another theory does not emphasize the spiritual nature of the stone circles, but connects them with the gender of their visitors: one circle was intended for men, the other for women. There are those who believe that representatives of different tribes met in this place, here they traded, feasted and resolved pressing issues. And where does the sheep, you ask.
Local legend explains the name of the megaliths as follows: once a farmer came to Dartmoor and immediately began to criticize the quality of sheep in the local market. After a couple of glasses, the locals managed to convince the visiting farmer that they had a product that could satisfy his refined taste. The tipsy farmer was taken out to a field where, allegedly, sheep were grazing. The weather was foggy, and the farmer, seeing indistinct silhouettes in the fog, believed the sellers. Having paid, the next morning the poor fellow discovered that he had bought not real sheep, but stones standing in the field.
Locals call this megalithic complex "the altar of the Druids". Dromberg consists of 17 menhirs, the origin of which is unknown. But certain assumptions can be made about the purpose of these stones: one of the stones is oriented to the point of sunset during the winter solstice. Perhaps it was a calendar.
In addition, another interesting find was found in Dromberg: the remains of a cremated person were found in a broken vessel, and the vessel was intentionally broken during burial. The age of the burial dates back to 1100-800 BC. Archaeologists have established that people once lived in the vicinity of the stone circle, who for some reason came to Dromberg and were forced to stay there for a while.
In the north of Mongolia, you can see megaliths covered with amazing carvings, which were installed at the burial place of warriors or at the place of sacrifice, and served as a kind of monument to the buried. In total, 1,200 free-standing stones were found, the height of which ranges from one to five meters. They date back to the Late Bronze Age and the beginning of the Iron Age.
Almost all the stones have images of deer, both realistic and fantastic. In addition to deer, there are images of horses, the sun, birds, weapons, and various geometric figures on the stones.
Some historians believe that such an interaction of natural elements - a deer, the sun and a bird, can symbolize the path that the soul takes when it passes into another world. The spirit leaves the earth (deer), goes to heaven (bird), and then to heaven, that is, to the next world (sun). Perhaps the images of deer on stone blocks provided protection from evil spirits.
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June 16th, 2016
These mysterious ancient stones are located near the French village of Carnac (whose name comes from the Breton word "carn" - stone), located in Brittany. For some reason, much less is said and written about the Karnak stones than about the "promoted" Stonehenge (and remember, we discussed it with you), although they are the world's largest complex of megaliths, fraught with many mysteries ...
Let's list some of them...
Photo 2. 
The Karnak Megalithic Complex is an amazing archaeological site that includes many mounds, giant dolmens (stone structures) and menhirs (single stone pillars). About three thousand Karnak menhirs are located in whole rows of alleys, which stretch for about three kilometers.
Photo 3. 
A great difficulty in studying Karnak is the fact that for millennia and people destroyed the ancient complex. This territory has always been a rather lively place, occupying an important place in the history of Europe.
The Celts and the ancient Romans left their traces in Karnak - there are images of Roman gods and Celtic symbols on the stones. Violent battles unfolded here: there is even a legend that the stones are the enemies of King Arthur, bewitched by the wizard Merlin.
Photo 4. 
Raids of wild nomadic tribes, wars, natural disasters - all this has significantly changed Karnak. Some of the stones have been dragged away for centuries by the peasants - in the economy, they say, everything will come in handy, some went to the construction of roads and other needs. Therefore, it is rather difficult now to imagine what the Karnak complex was several thousand years ago. Judging by the old images, a few centuries ago there were much more stones in Karnak and they were much denser.
Karnak stones were created in the Neolithic era - archaeologists believe that the stones were carved from local rocks about four and a half thousand years BC. However, it is not clear how these stones were delivered to the site and erected - some stones weigh several tons.
Scientists cannot say for sure what these stones were used for - the purpose of the Karnak complex is controversial in the scientific community.
Most archaeologists are inclined to think that the Karnak stones are a place of worship for pagan gods.
Photo 5. 
Yes, the ancient Gauls and Celts used stones for their religious cults, but nevertheless they were created long before the appearance of the tribes known to us in these places!
As French explorer Jean Markal wrote in his book Karnak and the Mystery of Atlantis:
“Megalithic monuments are considered “druidic” or traces of Celtic or Gaulish culture. But the megaliths were erected at least two thousand years before the arrival of the Celts, whether they like it or not, those who still believe that the dolmens were "sacrificial altars" on which the Druids cut the throats of their victims.
Jean Markal himself was sure that Karnak was created by the inhabitants of Atlantis, which disappeared from the face of the earth.
Photo 6. 
It is not known whether this is true or not, but it is quite clear that the builders of Karnak had serious scientific knowledge, and in the 20th century it turned out that they even understood things that we are just beginning to discover. Here is what Jan Brequillien, a scientist from France, writes about this:
“It is absolutely amazing that ancient scientists could accurately determine the configuration of telluric flows and groundwater horizons, the existence of which, according to sound rationalistic logic, they should not have even suspected. And yet they did it. A separate menhir, as a rule, is located above the place where the underground stream branches into two or three branches.
Dolmens are also erected above the points of divergence of underground horizons: the covered alley of Flat Stones exactly follows the course of the stream, which flows invisibly underground.
Photo 7. 
Jan Breckillen asks questions to which he would very much like to know the answer: “How could people who lived six thousand years ago not only know about the existence of groundwater, but accurately determine its course and even the course of telluric flows?”
A number of modern researchers point out that the Karnak stones are observatories of the ancients. As far back as the 19th century, similar assumptions were put forward, but no one took these statements seriously.
Photo 8. 
In 1970-74, Scottish scientist Alexander Tom and his son Archie published articles in which they argued that the Karnak stones and their location clearly prove the fact that ancient people were not only familiar with astronomy, but also had very wide knowledge in this science.
I must say that after this article, the scientific community began to persecute and ridicule Scottish scientists. However, as the researcher Joseph Farrell put it: “If we accept that Alexander Tom is right, then the whole history of mankind will have to be rewritten.”
Photo 9. 
Supporters of the theory of paleocontacts agree with the last statement. However, they put forward their own versions of the explanation of the mysteries of Karnak.
Michael Kremo, author of the book Forbidden Archeology, is sure that the stones were located not just like that, but “with meaning”. They are arranged in the form of triangles, which can only be distinguished from a height - taking into account the already missing stones.
The guru of the theory of paleocontacts, Erich von Daniken, agrees with him. According to him, the study of Karnak with the help of photographs taken from a helicopter helped to prove that the surviving stones are stacked in shapes that make up the famous Pythagorean triangle - a rectangle with sides that are related as 3:4:5.
Photo 10. 
By the way, an interesting point - in ancient Greece, such a rectangle was called Egyptian. During their travels, the Greeks observed how the Egyptians used this triangle to build their famous architectural structures. Pythagoras proved his famous theorem just by visiting Egypt, where he tried to understand the principles of building the Egyptian pyramids. However, judging by the Karnak stones, people knew this theorem many centuries before Pythagoras ...
Photo 11. 
But why did ancient people lay out geometric figures with huge stones?
An interesting nuance - Karnak is one of the few earthly structures that can be seen from space. It is possible that these drawings are signs for those who flew through the sky several millennia before our era.
Proponents of the paleocontact theory are sure of this and prove that the Karnak stones are located as a guide for the gods who flew to our planet from the depths of space...
Photo 12. 
Also, the complex of Karnak stones includes a large number of burial mounds and dolmens (ancient graves with stone structures on the surface of the earth). In general, there are many other structures here, the functions of which scientists are still fiercely arguing about. Each version is interesting and has its own arguments.
Photo 13. 
This is what the place looked like in 1921:
Photo 15. 
Here, the manifestation of the interest of primitive people in the Moon and the Sun is noticeable. So it was found that many of the burial grounds are oriented towards the Sun. And further study of the area made it possible to discover two lunar observatories that have come down to our times from the Neolithic era.
But speaking of ancient observatories, it is worth considering the area. And the terrain here is mostly low-lying, flat, covered with shrubs. People did not have a natural landmark for observations in such conditions, so they had to install artificial ones.
Photo 16. 
One of these installed stones of Karnak is located near the Lokmaryaker farm, the other is in Le Magnou. Both are located near Karnak, and both are tied into a complex system of stones near Petit Meneque, Saint-Pierre-Quibrone and Keryavale.
The menhir installed in Lokmarjaker is by far the largest object in the world that has been moved without the use of machines. It is called the Great Broken Menhir, or in the Breton Fairy Stone (Er-Gra). Its total weight is 330 tons, length is 22.5 meters. In the old days, it towered 19 meters, but later fell and split into four parts.
Photo 17. 
The large menhir was surrounded on three sides by the sea and was located on a 13-meter hill. It was carved from granite, which was mined 80 kilometers from here. Although there are versions that in the old days the sea was somewhat lower, and its extraction could be carried out in closer places. In any case, in the conditions of the Stone Age, working with a 300-ton block was a difficult engineering task.
As already mentioned, now the menhir is split and lies. The main version of its destruction is a major earthquake, but it is possible that someone deliberately laid it down. Its collapse is attributed to the end of the 17th century, and in 1727 it is depicted in one of the paintings already lying down.
Photo 18. 
But back to the main attraction - the stone rows of Karnak. Less than a kilometer apart are the two systems of Karnak's megaliths, Le Meneca and Kermario. The first of them contains 12 rows with a total length of 1167 meters. The system starts in the west - here the rows are closer and the stones are larger. As the stone alleys move away, they begin to diverge, and the stones decrease from 4 meters to 0.6 meters. On the eastern edge, the stones increase again. This is also observed in the series of the Kermario system, although in general there are many differences in them.
Photo 19. 
Time has not been kind to these buildings. Now it is difficult to determine where the stones end. Sometimes they are interrupted, lost in the thickets, then they collapse and completely disappear. Even an attempt at restoration did not give serious results.
Photo 20. 
But these two systems of stones are not the only ones here. There are many other smaller lanes a few kilometers away. In total, it is estimated that over 2,000 Karnak stones were used in France.
Photo 21. 
Now there is no doubt that the complex and intricate system of all the Karnak stones were used to conduct accurate astronomical research. But the integrity of this system is now difficult to restore. Many mysteries remain about this great structure, the great secret of Karnak remains hidden.
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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 of that period that have come down to us is not known.
Megaliths(from Greek - big stone) - structures made of huge boulders, characteristic of the late Neolithic. All megaliths can be divided into two categories. The first includes the most ancient architectural structures of prehistoric (preliterate) societies: menhirs, cromlechs, dolmens, temples of the island of Malta). For them, either not processed at all, or with minimal processing, stones were used. The cultures that left these monuments are called megalithic. The megalithic culture also includes labyrinths (structures made of small stones), and individual stones with petroglyphs (trackers). Also, buildings of more advanced societies (the tombs of Japanese emperors and the dolmens of the Korean nobility) are considered megalithic architecture.
The second category are structures of more developed architecture. These are mainly structures made of very large stones, which are given a geometrically regular shape. Such megalithic architecture is characteristic of early states, but was also built in later times. These are the monuments of the Mediterranean - the Egyptian pyramids, the buildings of the Mycenaean civilization, the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. In South America - some structures in Tiwanaku, Ollantaytambo, Sacsayhuaman. Tiwanaku, Sacsayhuamane, Ollantaytambo.
Menhir– it is usually a free-standing stone with traces of processing, sometimes oriented in some way or marking a certain direction.
Cromlech - it is a circle of standing stones, of 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 the prehistoric era also in Germany (Goloring, Gosek circle) and in other countries.
Dolmen is something like a stone house.
All of them are united by the name " megaliths”, which translates simply as “big stones”. For the most part, according to some scientists, they served for burials or were associated with a funeral cult. There are other opinions as well. Apparently, megaliths are communal structures with a socializing function. Their construction was a most difficult task for primitive technology and required the unification of large masses of people.
Göbekli Tepe, Turkey Complex on the Armenian Highlands considered the oldest of the largest megalithic structures (approximately X-IX millennium BC). At that time, people were still engaged in hunting and gathering, but someone was able to erect circles from 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 Göbekli Tepe hill, which was almost fifteen meters high and about three hundred meters in diameter.
Some megalithic structures were important ceremonial centers associated with the cult of the dead. For example, 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 diverge like a fan, in some places they form circles. The complex dates back to the 5th-4th millennium BC. There were legends in Brittany that the great Merlin made the ranks of Roman legionnaires petrify.
Megaliths in Carnac (Brittany) France
Other megalithic complexes have been used to determine the timing of astronomical events such as the solstice and equinox. 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 allows you to determine the day of the summer solstice. Archaeologists believe that people lived here seasonally, when there was water in the lake, so they needed a calendar.
Nabta Observatory, Nubia, Sahara
Stonehenge is a structure of 82 five-ton megaliths, 30 stone blocks, weighing 25 tons each, and 5 huge so-called triliths, stones weighing up to 50 tons. Stacked stone blocks form arches that once served as a flawless indicator of the cardinal directions. Scientists suggest that this monument was built in 3100 BC by the 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 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 all represent the reflection of the parameters of the 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 there are two more planets unknown to us beyond the outer orbit of Pluto, and the asteroid belt, which is located between the orbits Mars and Jupiter, these 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 appointment of Stonehenge. The excavation of the path, along which ritual processions went in ancient times, confirms the hypothesis that Stonehenge was built along the relief of the ice age, which ended up on the axis of the solstice. 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. Brougar's cromlech or Brodgar's ring has been dated by archaeologists to 2500 - 2000 BC. The area where the Brodgar monument is located is ritual, sacred, communicative. It is literally stuffed with mounds, group and individual burials, even a "cathedral", as well as dwellings and villages of Neolithic people. All these monuments are combined into a single complex protected by UNESCO. Archaeological research is currently underway in the Orkney Islands.
Cromlech Brougar or Temple of the Sun, Orkney
Dolmens. Scientists believe that the approximate age dolmens 3–10 thousand years old. The most famous dolmens are located in Scandinavia, on the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts of Europe and Africa, on the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus, on the Kuban region, in India. However, most of them are in the Caucasus - about 2.5 thousand! Here along the coast of the Black Sea (megaliths generally gravitate towards the seas) one can find "classic" tiled dolmens, monolithic dolmens, entirely hollowed out in the rock, dolmen structures 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 Zhane river valley
maltese temples were built long before the Egyptian pyramids - in the Bronze Age. Their age is over 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 the locals believed that they were built by giant giants. It still remains an open question how the 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 binder solution, if we remember that the temples were built even before the invention of the wheel. Scientists have established that the cultures of prehistoric Malta are largely associated with Sicily, therefore, it is possible that Malta was the cult center of the peoples of the Sicilian Neolithic.
There is not a single temple that has survived in its original form to this day. It is believed that only four of all have survived relatively intact - the temples of Ggantiy, Hajar Kvim, Mnajdra and Tarshin. Although they suffered the sad fate of not entirely reliable reconstruction.
Ggantija Temples in Shara(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 rear wall. Each of the temples has a somewhat concave facade, in front of which is a platform of large stone blocks. The most ancient temple of the complex consists of three semicircular rooms arranged in the shape of a shamrock.
Modern scholars believe that such a trinity symbolizes the past, present and future or birth, life and death. According to a popular version, the temple complex was a sanctuary for worshiping the goddess of fertility. Such a conclusion is helped to make findings discovered during archaeological work. But there is another version, according to which Ggantija is nothing but a tomb. The people of the megalithic era really gave too much effort and time to the observance of traditions. Honoring their ancestors, they erected grandiose tombs, and later, these places were used as sanctuaries where they worshiped the gods.
