Megaliths, Balanced Rocks, Dolmens - Crystalinks Megaliths A megalithic monument, in archaeology, is a construction involving one or several roughly hewn stone slabs of great size; it is usually of prehistoric antiquity. These monuments are found in various parts of the world, but the best known and most numerous are concentrated in Western Europe, including Brittany, the British Isles, Iberia, S France, S Scandinavia, and N Germany. Aside from the standing stones and stone heaps that are still raised occasionally as boundary marks or memorials of personal and public events, most megalithic monuments seem to have been erected for funerary and religious purposes. The Western European megaliths were constructed during the Neolithic and the Bronze Age and are believed to range in date from c.4000 B.C. to 1100 B.C. Most chamber tombs were probably built during the 4th millennium B.C., and the stone circles generally date somewhat later. Megalithic monuments may be divided into four categories: the chamber tomb, or dolmen; the single standing stone, or menhir; the stone row; and the stone circle.

Chamber tombs were usually covered with earth mounds, forming a barrow. Menhirs sometimes stood alone near the entrance of a tomb or on top of the mound. Sometimes they were set in long rows called alignments, as at Carnac in Brittany; in other places they were arranged in a circle, the most elaborate of which is Stonehenge in England (these are known as cromlechs outside Britain). The individual stone slabs may reach 65 ft (20 m) in length and 100 tons (90 metric tons) in weight. Such massive structures testify to the engineering feats possible with the concerted efforts of relatively ill-equipped peoples. Balanced Rocks and Earthquakes Balancing rocks trace history of 'jumping' earthquakes BBC - August 5, 2015 US scientists say they have solved the riddle of why a collection of balancing rocks near the San Andreas fault has never been toppled by earthquakes. Their decade-long study concludes that quakes can stop or "jump" due to interactions between the San Andreas and the neighboring San Jacinto fault. Models show that these interactions sent the biggest vibrations around the rock stacks, leaving them intact. But the connected nature of the faults has implications for quake planning.

Precarious rocks, like this one in Nevada, can act as natural measures of earthquake strength over time Gobekli Tepe At a number of sites in eastern Turkey, large ceremonial complexes from the 9th millennium BC have been discovered. They belong to the incipient phases of agriculture and animal husbandry, from which the European (or Western) Neolithic would later develop. Large circular structures involving carved megalithic orthostats are a typical feature, eg. at Nevali Cori and Gobekli Tepe . Although these structures are the most ancient megalithic structures known so far, it is not clear that any of the European Megalithic traditions (see below) are actually derived from them. At Gobekli Tepe four stone circles have been excavated from an estimated 20. Some measure up to 30 metres across. The stones carry carved reliefs of boars, foxes, lions, birds, snakes and scorpions. Other European Megaliths Dolmen The most common type of megalithic construction in Europe is the dolmen - a chamber consisting of upright stones (orthostats) with one or more large flat capstones forming a roof.

A dolmen , also known as a portal tomb, portal grave, or quoit, is a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb, usually consisting of three or more upright stones supporting a large flat horizontal capstone. Most date from the early Neolithic period (4000 to 3000 BCE). Dolmens were usually covered with earth or smaller stones to form a barrow, though in many cases that covering has weathered away, leaving only the stone "skeleton" of the burial mound intact. Dolmen are found in Europe, Korea, India, the Middle East, and South America. It remains unclear when, why, and by whom the earliest dolmens were made. The oldest known dolmen are found in Western Europe, where they were set in place around 7000 years ago. This would date them alongside the ancient civilizations of Egypt, India and the Middle East. Archaeologists still do not know who erected these dolmens, which makes it difficult to know why they did it. The most widely accepted theory is that all dolmen are tombs or burial chambers. Human remains, sometimes accompanied by artifacts, have been found in or close to them, which allowed a scientific dating.

There is however no firm evidence that even this theory is correct. It has been impossible to prove that these remains date back to the time when the stones were set in place. Many of these, though by no means all, contain human remains, but it is debatable whether use as burial sites was their primary function. Though generally known as dolmens, many local names exist, such as anta in Portugal, stazzone in Sardinia, hunebed in the Netherlands, Hunengrab in Germany, dysse in Denmark, and cromlech in Wales. It is assumed that most dolmens were originally covered by earthen mounds. The second most common tomb type is the passage grave. It normally consists of a square, circular or cruciform chamber with a slabbed or corbeled roof, accessed by a long, straight passageway, with the whole structure covered by a circular mound of earth. Sometimes it is also surrounded by an external stone kerb. Prominent examples include the sites of Bru na Boinne and Carrowmore in Ireland, Maes Howe in Orkney, and Gavrinis in France. The third tomb type is a diverse group known as gallery graves.

These are axially arranged chambers placed under elongated mounds. The Irish court tombs, British long barrows and German Steinkisten belong to this group. Another type of megalithic monument is the single standing stone, or menhir. Some of these are thought to have an astronomical function as a marker or foresight, and in some areas long and complex alignments of such stones exist - for example at Carnac in Brittany. In parts of Britain and Ireland the best-known type of megalithic construction is the stone circle, of which there are hundreds of examples, including Stonehenge , Avebury , Ring of Brodgar and Beltany. These too display evidence of astronomical alignments, both solar and lunar. Stonehenge, for example, is famous for its solstice alignment. Examples of stone circles are also found in the rest of Europe. They are normally assumed to be of later date than the tombs, straddling the Neolithic and the Bronze Age. Tombs Megalithic tombs are aboveground burial chambers, built of large stone slabs (megaliths) laid on edge and covered with earth or other, smaller stones.

They are a type of chamber tomb, and the term is used to describe the structures built across Atlantic Europe, the Mediterranean and neighboring regions, mostly during the Neolithic period, by Neolithic farming communities. They differ from the contemporary long barrows through their structural use of stone. There is a huge variety of megalithic tombs. The free-standing single chamber dolmens and portal dolmens found in Brittany, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Sweden, Wales and elsewhere consist of a large flat stone supported by three, four or more standing stones. They were covered by a stone cairn or earth barrow. Examples with outer areas, not used for burial, are also known. The Court Cairns of south west Scotland and northern Ireland, the Severn-Cotswold tombs of south west England and the Transepted gallery graves of the Loire region in France share many internal features although the links between them are not yet fully understood. That they often have antechambers or forecourts is thought to imply a desire on the part of the builders to emphasize a special ritual or physical separation of the dead from the living.

The Passage graves of Orkney, Ireland's Boyne Valley, and north Wales are even more complex and impressive, with cross shaped arrangements of chambers and passages. The workmanship on the stone blocks at Maeshowe for example is unknown elsewhere in north west Europe at the time. Megalithic tombs appear to have been used by communities for the long-term deposition of the remains of their dead and some seem to have undergone alteration and enlargement. The organization and effort required to erect these large stones mean that the societies concerned must have placed great emphasis on the proper treatment of their dead. The ritual significance of the tombs is supported by the presence of megalithic art carved into the stones at some sites. Hearths and deposits of pottery and animal bone found by archaeologists around some tombs also implies some form of burial feast or sacrificial rites took place there. Further examples of megalithic tombs include the stalled cairn at Midhowe in Orkney and the passage grave at Bryn Celli Ddu on Anglesey. Despite its name, the Stone Tomb in Ukraine was not a tomb but rather a sanctuary.

Other Structures Associated with the megalithic constructions across Europe there are often large earthworks of various designs - ditches and banks, broad terraces, circular enclosures known as henges, and frequently artificial mounds such as Silbury Hill in England and Monte d'Accoddi in Sardinia. Sometimes, as at Glastonbury Tor in England, it is suggested that a natural hill has been artificially sculpted to form a maze or spiral pattern in the turf. Spirals were evidently an important motif for the megalith builders, and have been found carved into megalithic structures all over Europe - along with other symbols such as lozenges, eye-patterns, zigzags in various configurations, and cup and ring marks. Whilst clearly not a written script in the modern sense of the term, these symbols are considered to have conveyed meaning to their creators, and are remarkably consistent across the whole of Western Europe. Spread of Megalithic Architecture in Europe In Western Europe and the Mediterranean, megaliths are generally constructions erected during the Neolithic or late stone age and Chalcolithic or Copper Age (4500-1500 BC).

Perhaps the most famous megalithic structure is Stonehenge in England, although many others are known throughout the world. The French Comte de Caylus was the first to describe the Carnac stones. Legrand d'Aussy introduced the terms menhir and dolmen, both taken from the Breton language, into antiquarian terminology. He interpreted megaliths as gallic tombs. In Britain, the antiquarians Aubrey and Stukeley conducted early research into megaliths. In 1805, Jacques Cambry published a book called Monuments celtiques, ou recherches sur le culte des Pierres, precedees d'une notice sur les Celtes et sur les Druides, et suivies d'Etymologie celtiques, where he proposed a Celtic stone cult. This completely unfounded connection between druids and megaliths has haunted the public imagination ever since. In Belgium there is a megalithic site at Weris, a little town situated in the Ardennes. In the Netherlands, megalithic structures can be found in the north-east of the current, mostly in the province of Drenthe.

Knowth is a passage grave of the Bru na Boinne neolithic complex in Ireland, dating from c.3500-3000 BC. It contains more than a third of the total number of examples of megalithic art in all Western Europe, with over 200 decorated stones found during excavations. The Megalithic The Megalithic Stone. Metal. Culture. Megalithic Culture One "For all the world it feels as though both Megalithic Man and the Sumerians shared the same teacher. The sudden development of brilliant cultures after more than 5,000 generations of humanity and the absence of any audit trail strongly suggests the intervention of a third party that is no longer known." "Unfortunately there are no documentary records of Neolithic traditions - but we know that the Sumerians and Ancient Egyptians specifically stated that a group of people with, what appeared to them to be, god-like powers arrived from somewhere unknown to instruct them in the sciences and teach them skills in manufacturing. These ‘Watchers’ were thought of as gods, but it is said that they looked like normal people and they lived and died just like everyone else.

While it is fashionable today to dismiss old myth and legend as little more than fairy stories, we believe that this explanation holds more water than any other. Is this solution so preposterous that we have to overlook the obvious? Stepping back from the arrogance of the belief that our current civilization simply has to be the pinnacle of all human achievement leaves us wondering, ‘Why on Earth do we have to accuse our forebears of writing down nonsense?’ The first response of any archaeologist to this thesis will be, ‘So where is the archaeological evidence to support the notion of such a group of advanced people?’ This is an entirely fair and reasonable question but our answer lies in information that we have brought forward from our forensic examination of measurement systems. The evidence outlined in this book appears to have demolished the standard idea that there was a slow, incremental improvement of humankind’s understanding of science and nature from Stone Age to Internet Age. Like Charles Dickens’ Mr. Gradgrind, we love facts, and we set out to find more facts than had previously been available. The whole idea of a ‘Civilization One’ is not going to appeal to many academics - and we fully understand why. This kind of notion has to be treated with great caution.

Yet it does explain how these fantastically sophisticated units existed in cultures that were otherwise rather unsophisticated. Could it be that there was once a single, highly-advanced group that virtually kick-started the world’s first civilizations? If so, it appears that it failed in the case of the Megalithic culture because it seems to have died out...Others may identify a different solution, but in our estimation it would be impossible to create this interrelated Megalithic/ Mesopotamian measurement matrix from a cold start. In other words, the Earth, Moon and Sun as well as the speed of light and the orbiting Earth would have to be measured using some arbitrary units before it would be possible to create units that produced such wonderful integer results. If we are correct regarding this point, the inference has to be that Civilization One was as advanced as the modern world, though far, far back in time during the period we refer to as prehistoric." ( "In 2004, Alan Butler went to work with Christopher Knight, and together they authored an excellent book on the significance of the Megalithic Yard.

In this book, entitled Civilization One: The World Is Not As You Thought It Was, Butler and Knight successfully demolish the long accepted fallacies concerning the primitivism of ancient man. They write: Generations of investigators have assumed that stone circles and other prehistoric monuments were built for some unknown pagan ritualistic purposes by otherwise unsophisticated Stone Age tribes...The evidence of Thom's Megalithic Yard has demolished any notion of the naivety of its creators assumed by most archaeologists. We have to respect these forgotten people for the great astronomers and geometricians they certainly were. It seems that there must have been a Civilization One; an advanced people who trained the rest of the world in science and technology, thereby leading it out of the Stone Age." ( Egypt's Elder Culture "There is compelling evidence to suggest that the Ancient Egyptians inherited their great wisdom from a much earlier Elder culture which was able to pass on the flame of knowledge before its own apparent demise. As we see, all the indications are that the Elder gods inhabited Egypt some between c . 12,500 and 9500 BC .

They build the Sphinx and the earliest megalithic temples of Giza, and they achieved a high level of sophistication later encapsulated in the design of the Great Pyramid . .. " ( The term "Elder Culture" seems to be a term created by Andrew Collins. This term may relate to "elder gods" of the Titan/Olympian gods of the Greeks. "Egypt has recorded and kept eternally the wisdom of the old times. ...all coming from time immemorial when gods governed the earth in the dawn of civilization." - Plato Egypt is known as the Land of the Pharaohs. Perhaps it should be known as the Land of the Neters. The roots of Egypt's grand civilization starts with the Neters the "civilizer Gods". Since you have gotten this far it should come as no surprise that the terms civilizer gods rings a bell. Neter means "guardian" or "Watcher". As these early Egyptians tell it themselves these Neters journeyed from the "land of Ur" and that they came from the south by boat. These gods were both superhuman and mortal. What we see here is the spread of civilization to the world from a tradition rooted in Mesopotamia.

You will find it in India and you will find it in Mesoamerica. When the tools of civilization arrive so do the legends of anthropomorphic gods who are divine yet mortal. Authoritatively intellectual, undeniable in their leadership capabilities, always recognized as the carriers of an ancient high culture these inventive and far roaming Andites spread civilization to the world at large. "But before we deal with that city situated on the plains of Shinar (SHU.MER/Sumer/Sumeria ) we must give some background on the pre dynastic, even pre historic "history" of Kemet. As the Egyptian mythologies tell us, the Black Land was, in it's early stages, a land of low civilization where religion/science was not known and even the practice of cannibalism was prevalent. That is until the civilizers... those worshiped as Gods by later generations of Egyptians came from the far off "olden land". The "civilizer Gods" were called Neters ( NTR ) which according to comparisons with other Semetic languages means "Guardian" or "Watcher".

These Neters had supposedly arrived in Kemet by boat from the Red Sea ( there is also evidence to suggest that these same Neters had been present in the Horn of Africa and West Africa at earlier dates than their arrival in Egypt ) or Sea of UR which they had entered via Ta Neter ( Ta Neter meant "Place/Land of the Neters/Gods" ) which is the narrow straights at the southern end of the Red Sea now called Bab'el'Mandeb. These Neters journey had originated in Ta UR ( Ta UR meant "the olden land" or more simply "Place/Land of Ur" ) which could be reached by exiting the Red Sea and following the coast towards the left. This type of course would have led a traveler towards the Persian gulf, towards Mesopotamia and Sumer! So according to their own admission, the "civilizer Gods" of the Egyptians, called Neters or "Guardians/Watchers" had originated in a place called "the land of Ur" which could be located somewhere in the area of the ancient Middle East called Sumer.

The place name Ur is of course known as the starting point of the travels of the Hebrew Isra'Elite patriarch Abraham." ( "...during the mythical age of the gods, the Zep Tepi, or First Time. As has been ably demonstrated by recent works from Hancock, Bauval et al, this believed mythical age, when gods ruled the earth, appears to have been an actual stage of human development pre-dating Pharaonic Egypt by many thousands of years." ( The term NETER hieroglyphically is written as N35 R8, A40 , where sign N35 is "N", sign X1 is "T", and sign D21 is "R", and additionally, the signs R8 and A40 also stand for NETER, that is TANRI in Turkish. Thus, It has the shortened form of "NTR" which has been transliterated as NETER. The "E"vowels are filled in either by Wallis Budge himself or together with other Egyptologists. In other words, the hieroglyphic writing could just as easily have been transliterated as "NATAR".

When NETER or NATAR is viewed as "N-ETE-R" or "N-ATA-R", we find that it is a composite word made up from three Turkish words. They are namely the Turkish words AN meaning "SKY", ATA meaning "FATHER", and ER meaning "MAN". Thus, viewed in this manner, NETER would mean"Sky Father Man". ( The symbol is a determinative which means the name following it is divine which is exactly how the Sumerians used the asterisk or star sign and is called a dingir. An in Sumerian also means "Sky Father". The Evidence of Archaeology "...Yet the date is set somewhere about 5000 BC, or some 7000 years ago, a tiny segment of the total of 500,000 years. What was happening during this immense period of stagnation? And what happened that suddenly in a period of only 2000 or 3000 years at the most, a circle of astonishingly high civilizations suddenly sprang into being in Sumer, Egypt, and in the Indus Valley? The sudden appearance of these ancient civilizations was as evident as it was unexpected.

The time lapse in each cultural center from initial settlement to established civilization was completed within a few hundred years... Neither in Egypt or in Babylonia has any beginning of civilization been found. As far back as archaeology can carry us, man is already civilized, building cities and temples, carving hard stone into artistic form, and even employing a system of pictorial record...The fact is very remarkable in view of modern theories of development and of the evolution of civilization out of barbarism...In any case, the culture and civilization of Egypt and Babylonia appear to spring into existence already fully developed. Archaeology at all events has failed to discover the elements out of which they ought to have grown... Pottery Halaf Some sites in Syria bear witness to this same peculiar aspect of Middle East cultures. T. J. Meek in this connection wrote: (55) Tell Halaf has revealed the most wonderful handmade pottery ever found. Although the lowest strata here are probably representatives of the oldest culture so far definitely attested [this was in 1938], yet it is already clearly chalcolithic. From various indications we know that metal was used, although not very extensively.

In this period great skill was shown in the working of obsidian into knives and scrapers...The pottery of Tell Halaf was made by hand, unbelievably thin, indeed not thicker than two playing cards, and shows an extraordinary grasp of shape and decorative effect in color and design. The pottery was fired at great heat in closed kilns that permitted indirect firing with controlled temperatures. The result of the intense heat was the fusion and vitrification of the silicates in the paint so that it became a genuine glaze that gives the surface a porcelain finish quite different from the gloss of burnished ware so common later. Technically and artistically the Tell Halaf pottery is the finest handmade pottery of antiquity and bears witness to the high culture of its makers. Where are the long ages of development? An early contemporary culture in Mesopotamia was being evolved at Al Ubaid. It represents one of the root settlements of the later Sumerian civilization. V. G. Childe wrote of these people: (56) The authors of the Al Ubaid culture cannot have sprung from the marsh bottom, and the culture itself shows no sign of having developed locally from any more primitive Mesolithic forerunner... This then seems to be the picture.

Somewhere in this Iranian highland a small group of people settled who needed little time to develop sufficiently to create the later culture complex which characterized first of all Jarmo and then Sialk. From here, or from some similar site in about the same stages of development, emigrants set out towards the West to settle finally at Tell Halaf. Others went south, dividing into two bands, the one passing around the lower end of the Zagros Mountains where they came up into the plains of Mesopotamia from the south, and the other turning to the east and finally establishing themselves in the Indus Valley. From Mesopotamia and Northern Syria it seems, more adventurous spirits traveled on until they reached Lower and Upper Egypt. And all this took place within a remarkably short time... It is important to observe the sequence of events. First, for perhaps a quarter of a million years, intelligent men, to all intents and purposes apparently much like ourselves, advanced their culture scarcely at all.

Then appeared a settlement in the Iranian Highlands near the traditional site of the landing of the Ark, which within a period of perhaps 1500 years evolved into a culture in the Mesopotamian plains which in turn, within a thousand years, developed into a series of high cultures scarcely paralleled until comparatively modern times. And finally, after this sudden burst of activity lasting possibly a further 1000 years, which witnessed some of the greatest cultural achievements in Babylonia, Egypt, and the Indus Valley which the world has known, the process once more slowed up until many prosperous centers decayed and disappeared, and much of India, Africa, and Europe remained in a state of semi-barbarism till well on towards Roman times, and in some instances much later.

The sequence is, then, an unbelievably long time with almost no growth; a sudden spurt leading within a very few centuries to remarkably high culture; a gradual slowing up, and decay; followed only much later by recovery of lost arts and by development of new ones, finally creating our modern world." ( This link is no longer available so it is not possible to follow up further on the questionable " traditional site of the landing of the Ark" in Iran which would be Mount Suleiman in the Elburz Mountains if this is based on Robert Cornuke's published claims. Pottery Susa "It is chiefly by the many thousand broken pieces of pottery found in the lowest deposits of the Susa mound that the story has been built up, bit by bit, of these unknown immigrants from an unknown land; something like the reconstruction of the unseen, lame, half-blind camel in "The Arabian Nights." This pottery is wonderfully hard and thin, not much thicker than a couple of postcards, and it rings like porcelain, though it is not so transparent. The forms are simple and graceful; they were produced on a rudimentary potter's wheel, used with a skill that was probably due to the inherited experience of many generations of craftsmen.

Nearly all the bowls and vases were elaborately decorated either inside or outside with strange designs, most of which have no similarity with any designs found in other parts of the world, so that we have no due to the country where these potters learned their art, though we can be fairly sure that they brought it from some centre of civilization where it had been undergoing a long period of development. For it is now admitted that ornamental designs in all countries and in all ages are not the chance product of the craftsman's brain-they have a regular evolution from the simple to the complex, most of the simple designs being evidently based on natural forms of men or animals." ( The Megalithic occurs somewhat in parallel with the Neolithic, the New Stone Age, and spans into the age of metals. At Çayönü the use of copper has been found and dated to somewhere around 7,000 B.C. If we accept the date of 9,000 - 10,000 B.C. for Göbekli Tepe then the start of the Megalithic has its first evidence just before the time of the Neolithic. The term Megalithic means very large stones (used in structures).

Just previous to the Neolithic is the Mesolithic Age when hunting and gathering were all the rage. It was the Neolithic when things really started to happen and it very roughly dates between10,000 and 2,000 B.C. overlapping the ages of metal. The end of the Neolithic is open ended due to the varying technological advances of differing locations. All dates relating to these differing ages are relative as they do not appear within a smooth continuum. Rather they come into being at differtent times in different places so using "about" is appropriate. Thus there are many differing opinions about these dates. The starting date for the Neolithic on this website is based upon the beginning of farming in the Zagros. Also all dates regarding the beginnings of civilization are being pushed back farther into the past. The engineers of the megalithic monuments were the Andites and their descendants. They were big thinkers as evidenced by what they built. Not only were these constructions impressively large but many contain methods and meanings not which all is understood.

When looking at the scope of these projects like Baalbek, Stonehenge and the pyramids one is drawn to the conclusion that whoever oversaw these constructions were well informed civil engineers skilled in mathmatics, geometry and astronomy. These people who carried megalithic building skills were seemingly professionals schooled in many disciplines. Concerning astronomy if you were really really smart you would be aware of the precession of the equinoxes and they were. Yes, cave men sitting around the fire discussing the problem of sighting the point in empty space upon which the wobble of the earth's rotation revolves around. I love this stuff. To understand astronomy requires a long time of observation over the lifetimes of many generations. Then you would have to accumulate these observations and continue to pass on this collective knowledge over an enormous length of time. As to passing on of this knowledge one theory has it that the structures encoded the math and geometry as a pneumonic device that would last long after the original builders were gone. This knowledge of say knowing the earth was a sphere and that latitude affected observation would help you navigate vast distances over land or water and discover America in 2200 BC. This sophisticated knowledge always passed through the ancient elite. They were the carriers of culture.

They became priest kings. But the crux of the argument is this: to explain how geometry and astronomy combined with mathematics was laid down by a Paleolithic culture which used such knowledge to build these awesome structures with no previous evidence or source from which such knowledge was drawn. The megalithic culture (first world civilization) was a world wide phenomenon. Five Examples of What They Built Stone Circles There are numerous stone circles (about 900 - 1000) found throughout the British Isles. The most famous stone circle is of course Stonehenge. This megalithic monument on the Salisbury Plain is perhaps the most studied stone circle of all. The earliest date for its construction is about 3100 BC with 2300 BC for the start of erecting the stones. Some stone circles like Stonehenge besides being open air temples were astronomical observatories marking both solar and lunar phenomenon (Castlerigg is another one). Not all circles do this. Many sites have an orientation to some type of celestial phenomenon such as soltices, helical rising stars, constellations and such. Others have seemingly only a mortuary purpose.

There are so many in some places that they are referred to as a field of tombs. The Carrowmore Megalithic Cemetery has more than 60 megalithic tombs forming a ritualistic landscape and it is Ireland's largest dating from about 3,000 BC. It contains dolmens, passage tombs and circles refered to as stone kerbs. It is not unusual to find a tomb within a circle. The earliest stone circle, if we can call it that, is located at Göbekli Tepe and dates to about 9,000 BC. Three of these ceremonial circles have been unearthed so far and contain T shaped monoliths weighing on average 10 to 20 tons. These monoliths are carved with animals and abstract designs which is a sophisticated achievement for these pre-neolithic hunters and gathers. The largest circle is located in Avebury England and spans within the henge about 1300 feet. A henge is an earthen bank with the usual accompaning ditch. Some sites are henges only such as the Thornborough Henge complex. Dolmens Dolmens in Britain are called Quoits, in Portugal they are called Antas.

They are megalithic mortuary stone chambers. Although they come in a variety of styles the classic construction is of three or four vertical slabs supporting a large capstone. Some are more walled in but the vertical stones and large capstone is the hallmark of the dolmen. A great number of these dolmens have vertical supports that are pointed giving the impression of having the roof lightly resting on them. Even when a flat surface was available the stone support was often rotated to a corner up position. Some of the capstones are over 40 tons. The Urantia Book says the Andites built "stone huts" in which the dead were cremated. Originally, say archeaologists, these stone structures were covered with dirt thus forming a mound. Related to Dolmens are the megalithic cairns which are also called passage tombs or graves. A good example of these structures can be found in Loughcrew Ireland, with the most famous cairn being Newgrange which was most likely built around 3200 BC. Like Newgrange these cairns have clear astrological alignments. The Loughcrew cairns may represent the oldest cemetery in the world.

And related to the cairns are the tumuli (plural for tumulus, or small mound). These look like cairns as they are completely cover by stones. A large field of these dolmen/tumuli is located in the Golan heights. But dolmens are found from western Europe to China and India. Denmark also has many as well. Standing Stones Also called menhirs these standing stones usually are erected as a single stone. These simple stones may in fact be the most complex of megalithic monuments when trying to understand their reason for being. They are used for circles which can be very impressive looking, used in rows both single and double with or without circles, used in constructing dolmens and found to be used as a line of sight for alignments. Some think they are boundry markers and even as representing locations on earth by referencing the pattern of stars within constellations. You could call them Neolithic star maps. Another way of explaining this placement of stones is a land survey by astronomy. These stones have been found in Turkmenistan and were elaborately carved during the Iron Age. They could be the inspiration or out growth for the stele of the Assyrians, Babylonians, Egyptians and Mayans.

To enlarge on this idea they could be the forerunners to the Egyptian obelisk. And depending on how you wish to interpret the meaning of these ancient stones they may be represented in the colonnade surrounding the first Egyptian temples. This concept of the colonnade was later used extensively in Greek and Roman architecture. Pyramids The first pyramid built in Egypt was at Saqqara at about 2,600 BC. This pyramid was designed by Imhotep. The largest is Khufu the Great Pyramid and also the oldest in the group of three. Date for Khufu's pyramid is about 2,500 BC. The math associated with Khufu is as amazing as the pyramid's precision. This pyramid also contains the golden ratio. Average weight of the blocks is 2.5 tons. Pyramid building was a world wide phenomenon. China has many pyramids a number of which are impressive. The legendary White Pyramid has been reported to be almost 980 feet hight and about 1,640 feet wide at the base.

“The pyramid is about 1,000 feet high (other descriptions estimate 1,000 to 1,200 feet high) and roughly 1,500 feet at the base, which makes it twice as large as any pyramid in Egypt. The four faces of the structure are oriented with the compass points” (Shroeder in 1912, There are other massive pyramids elsewhere in the world. The so-called Bosnian Pyramid of the Sun in the town of Viscko is one. Its height is estimated at 720 feet. Other European pyramids are located near Milan Italy. These are the pyramids of Montevecchia discovered in 2003. There are 16 known pyramids in Greece. Many countries have pyramidal shaped mountains that could contain a pyramid. Locations include Croatia, the Koreas, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Sicily, Spain, Turkey and the Ukraine. In the New World we have more famous pyramids. The Incas of Peru built a number of them. At Tucume 26 have been unearthed. The most famous Mayan pyramid is El Castillo at Chichén Itzá.

Other major Mayan pyramid cities include Copan, Tikal and Uxmal. The Aztecs built pyramids as well. Just north of Mexico City is Teotihuacan with its Avenue of the Dead and three pyramids. Foundations and Walls The most notable of megalithic walls are the stone walls at Sacsahuaman and the lower foundation is built in the polygonal style of construction. It was these walls that the later appearing Incas built upon. However, many web sites consider all Peruvian and Bolivian polygonal construction as Incan. But a wall of polygonal blocks exists on Easter Island (one of the last) and is considered as from a pre-Inca civilization. "Perhaps the upper part of the walls, constructed of small, regularly-shaped stones was the only part of Sacsahuaman that was built by the Incas and "finished in 1508." This could explain why no one at the time of the conquest seemed to know how those mighty walls were built." (© 2003-2004 by Richard Nisbet "The possibility also exists that the Inca’s were latecomers to the area taking over pre-existing building sites and adding to them.

This theory is given some credence by the fact of the obvious differences in the quality and style of architecture, where later generations of Inca added to and in some cases expanded existing structures. Many of the sites further a field in Mesoamerica fit the same pattern, many show two distinct and different architectural styles and levels of technology, this is true for the Mayans and the Aztecs and not just the Inca." (~theseeker/Viracocha.htm) Lixus Morocco also has megalithic foundations resembling those in Peru. The Romans built upon these the same way the Incas did in Bolivia. Machu Pichu also has in some locations polygonal construction. This polygonal style is also found in several places in Greece. A retaining wall at the Temple of Apollo at Delphi and locations about the Acropolis have examples of this style of building. There are other sites with what is called cyclopean constructure named after the folk legend of Cyclops. These large blocks are the usual rectanglular shape and although megalithic in size they are not as interesting or unique as those of the polygonal style.

There cannot be a complete discussion on megalithic construction without mentioning the great terrace at Baalbek. There are three famous blocks laid end to end at the top of the back wall that are called the Trilithon. They are estimated to weigh in at 1,100 tons each. They were quarried about a quarter mile away, transported up hill and lain in place with the usual exacting precision so common with Andite megalithic construction. No mortar was used. These are the largest stone blocks used in construction in the world. There are also polygonal stones in use at Baalbek. There is a stone block not fully quarried at Baalbek named Hajar el Hibla. It weighs an estimated 1,200 tons. This is the largest block of stone in the world. Additional places for polygonal construction are Turkey and Egypt. All of this is very impressive until we look at the most recent discoveries. At Baalbek a new and even larger stone block has been located next to the Hajar el Hibla. It is now being excavated. But there are even larger blocks of stone out there.

At Gornaya Shoria, Russia, are blocks within a wall estimated to be between 3,000 and 4,000 tons. That would mean that these blocks are three to four times larger than those at Baalbek. This site was first explored in 2013 and has yet to be scientifically investigated. There is a second location of another megalithic wall at Gora Livadiyskay, Russia. The common name is Pidan and the wall which is straight runs about 350 to 400 meters (.20 to .25 miles). It is located on Mount Pidan and at the start of the wall is a dolmen. There is not much information on this wall. This location is at the top of a ring of Megalithic sites that travel down through the Koreas and back up through Japan. As you can see it is an impressive grouping of Megalithic sites. Click on map for details. Metal and the Ancients Copper Slab Saws The Egyptians used the copper slab saw, a toothless band of copper, that used an abrasive to cut through the stone.

There is undisputed evidence that slab saws were used to cut stone blocks in Egypt. Note how the slab saw to the left could be used to clean up the adjoining faces insuring a very tight fit when pushed together. The Egyptians also used circular saws. However the question as to who used the saws first still remains unanswered. No one knows how old Baalbek is where there is evidence that saws were used to cut stone. The marks are from a circular saw. Friedrich Ragette suggests that a circular saw with a radius of 4 meters was used in the quarrying of Baalbek's largest blocks. This would mean the saw blade would be about 26 and a quarter feet in diameter. (Ragette, Baalbek, p. 115 1980 from: Copper Boring Tools As with slab saws there is unquestionable proof that the ancient Egyptians used copper boring tubes also called bow drills. These copper tools have been shown to work but the stone ate the copper at a fast ratio of approximately 3:1. That is one inch of cutting used three inches of copper. The Egyptian illustration is from inside the Saqqara pyramid.

So at the time of the building of Egypt's first pyramid the bow drill was already in use. Examples of both saw and drill technologies are in the Cairo museum. Use of the copper boring tool can be also found at ancient Argob. Sketches made of the hard black basalt window shutters at Argob have cleanly bored holes through them. Copper, Bronze and Iron Copper was the first most widely used metal in the ancient world. The Egyptians mined tons and tons of it from what is considered the world's oldest copper mines. These are the copper mines of the Timna Valley. "The Hathor Temple of Timna provides the first archaeological evidence for actual and lengthy Egyptian control of this area." (Timna, Beno Rothenberg, 1969 AD) Egyptian mining dates from 2000 BC to 1200 BC. It would hardly have been a secret that copper was in abundant supply at this location. And everyone wanted it. The above tools are made of copper. Experiments have used copper in this way and it works but it does not work with all tools such as chisels. This brings up the question whether archaeologists are right about Egyptians using only copper tools.

The traditional view is that the Egyptians used only copper for tools and other implements. It seems odd that Egypt would not know about bronze in light of their familiarity with copper and their closeness with the Phoenicians. One of Egypt's closest trading partners was Phoenicia. It was in Phoenicia where bronze may have first been smelted. "Bronze Age smelting techniques arrived in the region [the Cyclades] with settlers from the East, probably Phoenicia, about 3,000 B.C..." ( All dates for the earliest smelting of bronze are estimations but between 3,500 - 3,000 BC is the accepted timeline. The first stone pyramid in Egypt dates to about 2600 BC. Evidence is mounting that we must include Anatolia as the birthplace of smelting bronze as well. Even the date for smelting iron is being pushed further into antiquity: "On Friday May 26th 1837, during the Vyse excavations at Giza, one of the excavators, J R Hill, found an iron plate embedded in the cement of an inner joint at the southern `Star Shaft' of the Kings Chamber.

It was around 12 by 4 inches and 1/8th of an inch thick. 1 More interestingly it was deeply embedded in the masonry and had to be removed by blasting apart the outer two tiers of stones. In 1989 a fragment was taken from the plate found by Hill, and was tested by two eminent metallurgists Jones and Gayer who concluded that it was very ancient. Significantly they stated that the metallurgical evidence supported the archaeological evidence that it was incorporated within the pyramid when it was built. More importantly they went on to determine that the iron was not meteoritic, had been smelted at a temperature of between 1000 and 1100 degrees centigrade, and bore traces of gold on one of the surfaces of the plate.

What holds back the acceptance of iron in antiquity, apart from the rarity of finds, is the erroneous assumption that it must have been poured to make it useable....A temperature as low as 900° Centigrade in a charcoal furnace will easily separate iron from its ore....To smelt copper from its common ore of Malachite a temperature of between 700° and 800° is required, which would easily have been achieved by the kilns of the ancient world." ( © Keith Squires 2005) Keith Squires goes into much more detail on the ancient smelting of metals and makes a convincing argument for dating the smelting of iron both in Anatolia and Egypt to a much earlier time. He also explains why the scarcity of metal from this very early time frame and the technology of these early furnaces to smelt copper and iron. "The earliest iron was probably a byproduct of copper smelting, as copper ores almost always contain iron. Chalcopyrite, for example, contains about thirty percent iron.

When iron ore was smelted, what would be produced would be a spongy mass of iron, slag, and cinders which has to be hammered to remove the slag and air bubbles. This was so-called wrought iron. Wrought iron was forged while still in its heated, soft, and ductile state." ( ©1993 EDWIN YAMAUCHI Department of History, Miami University, Oxford, OH 45056) These two above authors taken together demonstarte that the chances of iron smelting by the Egyptians is wholly probable even unto the time of the building the pyramids at Giza. The Egyptian mined tons and tons of copper. Even if there was only a small amount of iron present it still would have been a considerable amount. The Egyptians did smelt copper and had furnaces that could have smelted iron. This hot iron could have been hammered into useful tools and implements. A French archaeologist named Gaston Camille Charles Maspero wrote a book called a MANUAL OF EGYPTIAN ARCHAEOLOGY and Guide to the Study of Antiquities in Egypt. It was published in 1895.

In it he also argues for the use of iron tools by the Egyptians explaining that only iron could work stone as hard as diorite, basalt, and the granite of Syene. As for losing their edge the tools would be returned to the forge to be fixed. This observation was made by M. Maspero first hand of local artisans sculpting stone statues for tourists while in Egypt. ( Megalithic Tool Kit: Copper and Bronze - Megalithic building spanned both the Copper 5500 BC and Bronze 2250 BC Ages Wheel - discovered by the Sumerians but may have been used by the earliest Egyptians Levers - probably one of the first simple machines discovered Wedge - Egyptian Copper slab saws and copper boring drills - Egyptian Counterweights - Egyptians knew how to use them at the time they built the pyramids Surveying Skills - self evident Mathematics/Geometry - this has been confirmed through reversed engineering Astronomy - same as above Standard Units of Measure - the "megalithic yard" which is British Square Plumb Line Theories on Raising the Blocks of Stone "An alternative method of raising the blocks is suggested by a comment the Greek historian Herodotus made in the fifth-century BC.

When Egyptian priests were showing him the GP, they told him that the stones had been lifted with levers made of short timbers. Some theorists feel that this clue may offer a better solution than the ramps... Some theorists suggest that a simple machine using levers and counterweights was used to elevate the blocks. Such a machine, called a shadoof, has existed in Egypt for millennia and is still used to elevate pots full of water from the Nile River to the irrigation canals. Though a shadoof itself could never lift a 2.5-ton block, engineer Olaf Tellefsen (1970) observed three men using a similar machine to lift very large stones while he was riding up the Nile. Even so, a few considerations must be met before one can propose a machine that could be used on the GP. First, it must fit and be capable of operation on the pyramid's stepped face. Second, it must be manageable and controllable so that damage would not be done to the blocks being lifted and so that workers would face a minimal risk of falling or being knocked off the edge. Third, it should be simple so as to align as closely as possible with the scant archaeological record that such machines can claim.

Finally, it must be capable of lifting at least 5000-6000 pounds." ( Why the Megalithic Culture did not Survive There was a long and very slow evolutionary growth of human knowledge that was radically up stepped by the ideas, ideals and technology of Eden. This high culture of Eden was carried out to the emerging world by the Andites, a pre-Sumarian stock. They make their appearance in the fertile crescent and not in southern Mesopotamia. It was in the region of the fertile crescent where the Adamites and Nodites migrating outward to this pastoral land, interbred with the original inhabitants and started the cultural revolution that would encompass the entire planet. This is the megalithic culture that some archaeologists speculate as the "hidden high culture" found around the world. Theological concepts from Mesopotamia found in Mesoamerica, stepped pyramids found in China, dolmens found in Korea and the academic jury is still out as to how all of this fits together. But eventually numbers won out and the overwhelming genetic pool of indigenous peoples absorbed the Andites into their ranks. When the Andites were gone so was their culture.

"These civilizations [Indus Valley Civilization, the Sumerians, Egyptians, and Mesoamerican cultures] were formed fully intact with no known pre-cursors having fully formed sophisticated writing, mathematical and technological systems. These civilizations had advanced medical knowledge, agriculture and law. All of these civilizations claim that they got their knowledge directly from their celestial gods and goddesses. These civilizations also claim that their “Gods” actually established “Kingship” and sat the thrones of their lands from earliest history. One accepted theory of the time strongly argues that there had to have been an as yet unnamed or undiscovered civilization whose influence must have spread independently to each of these civilizations. This theory would best explain the common features and the fundamental differences between one civilization and the next... Another example of diffusion is the history of human languages.

Almost all the languages of Europe, Asia and northern India share enough common points of vocabulary, syntax and usage that it’s obvious they stem from a single 'Proto-Indo-European Language group'." (~theseeker/New%20Evolution%20of%20holy%20books.htm) Conclusion The megalithic which is a cultural definition spans from the time of Goblecki Tepe 9,000 BC to Mesoamerica estimated at 1,000 BC but could go later even into the AD period. No one knows for sure. One reason why there were Edenic influences moderately intact in Europe and perhaps elsewhere is the Andite domestication of the horse. It was the speed of the horse that allowed culture to spread to the west in a more cohesive fashion. As far as migrating into India, the Andites were first known as the Dravidians and later as the Aryans. In fact anywhere culture has been discovered the Andites were there first. This culture included religion, agriculture (and therefore stone circles), architecture, astronomy, metallurgy, writing, and of course megalithic building skills.

Neolithic Art - The New Stone Age - ca 8000-3000 BC Art History Expert By Shelley Esaak After the rather ho-hum art of the Mesolithic era, art in the Neolithic (literally: "new stone") age represents a spree of hellzapoppin' innovation. Humans were settling themselves down into agrarian societies, which left them enough spare time to explore some key concepts of civilization - namely, religion, measurement, the rudiments of architecture and writing and, yes, art. What was going on in the world? The big geological news was that the glaciers of the Northern Hemisphere concluded their long, slow retreat, thus freeing up a lot of real estate and stabilizing the climate. The impact this had on humans was of the utmost significance. For the first time, anyone living from the sub-tropics northward to the tundra could count on crops that appeared on schedule, and seasons that could be reliably tracked. This newly-found climatic stability (however relative it may seem to us in the present) was the one factor that allowed many tribes to abandon their wandering ways and begin to construct more-or-less permanent villages.

No longer dependent, since the end of the Mesolithic era, on herd migration for food supplies, peoples of the Neolithic were becoming adept at refining farming techniques and building up domesticated herds of their own animals. With an ever-increasing, steady supply of grain and meat, we humans now had time to ponder the Big Picture and invent some rather radical technological advances. continue reading below our video 4 Tips for Improving Test Performance What kinds of art were created during this time? The "new" arts to emerge from this era were weaving, architecture, the construction of megaliths and increasingly stylized pictographs that were well on their way to becoming writing. The earlier arts of statuary, painting and pottery stuck with (and still remain with) us. The Neolithic era saw many refinements to each. Statuary (primarily statuettes), made a big comeback after having been largely absent during the Mesolithic age . Its Neolithic theme dwelt primarily on the female/fertility, or "Mother Goddess" imagery (quite in keeping with agriculture, this). There were still animal statuettes, however these weren't lavished with the detail the goddesses enjoyed.

They are often found broken into bits - perhaps indicating that they were used symbolically in hunting rituals. Additionally, sculpture was no longer created strictly by carving something. In the Near East, in particular, figurines were now fashioned out of clay and baked. Archaeological digs at Jericho turned up a marvelous human skull (c. 7,000 BC) overlaid with delicate, sculpted plaster features. Painting, in Western Europe and the Near East, left the caves and cliffs for good, and became a purely decorative element. The finds of Çatal Hüyük, an ancient village in modern Turkey, show lovely wall paintings (including the world's earliest known landscape), dating from c. 6150 BC. As for pottery, it began replacing stone and wood utensils at a rapid pace, and also become more highly decorated. What are the key characteristics of Neolithic art? • It was still, almost without exception, created for some functional purpose. • There were more images of humans than animals, and the humans looked more, well, human. • It began to be used for ornamentation. • In the cases of architecture and megalithic constructions, art was now created in fixed locations. This was significant.

Where temples, sanctuaries and stone rings were built, gods and goddesses were provided with known destinations. Additionally, the emergence of tombs provided unmoving, "visit-able" resting places for the dearly departed - another first. Side note: At this point, Dear Reader, "art history" typically begins to follow a prescribed course: Iron and bronze are discovered. Ancient civilizations in Mesopotamia and Egypt arise, make art, and are followed by art in the classical civilizations of Greece and Rome. After this, we hang out in Europe for the next thousand years, eventually moving on to the New World, which subsequently shares artistic honors with Europe. This route is commonly known as "Western Art", and is often the focus of any art history/art appreciation syllabus. It is both acceptable (if not ideal) and the route we will take here - for the time being. However, the sort of art that has been described in this article as "Neolithic" (i.e.: Stone age; that of pre-literate peoples who hadn't yet discovered how to smelt metals) continued to flourish in the Americas, Africa, Australia and, in particular, Oceania.

In some instances, it was still thriving in the previous (20th) century. So noted. Dolmen - definition of dolmen by The Free Dictionary Dolmen - definition of dolmen by The Free Dictionary (dōl′mən, dŏl′-) n. A Neolithic tomb consisting of two or more upright stones with a capstone, believed to have been buried in earth except for a central opening.

[French (introduced in 1792 as a technical term by Théophile Malo de La Tour d'Auvergne-Corret, French soldier and antiquarian ), either from Cornish dolmen, form (with grammatical mutation of the initial consonant) of tolmen, dolmen, literally "hole of stone" (Cornish tol, hole (since people or animals can pass under a dolmen); akin to Welsh twll and Old Irish toll + Cornish men, stone; akin to Breton maen; see menhir), or from misinterpretation of Breton *daolvaen, form (with grammatical mutation of the initial consonant) of *taolvaen, literally, "table of stone" (Breton taol, table from Middle Breton, from Latin tabula, board + Breton maen, stone; see menhir).] dolmen (ˈdɒlmɛn) n 1. (Archaeology) (in British archaeology) a Neolithic stone formation, consisting of a horizontal stone supported by several vertical stones, and thought to be a tomb 2.

(Archaeology) (in French archaeology) any megalithic tomb [C19: from French, probably from Old Breton tol table, from Latin tabula board + Breton mēn stone, of Celtic origin; see table] dol•men (ˈdoʊl mɛn, -mən, ˈdɒl-) n. a structure usu. regarded as a tomb, consisting of two or more large, upright stones set with a space between and capped by a horizontal stone. [1855–60; < French < Cornish, variant (by lenition) of tolmen hole of stone (taken by French archaeologists to mean cromlech )] dol•men′ic, adj. dolmen a construction consisting of two or more upright stones with a third on top, regarded by archaeologists as an ancient tomb or monument. See also: Stones dolmen A Neolithic structure consisting of a large flat stone supported horizontally on two or more upright stones, thought to have been used as a tomb. ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend: Poulnabrone Portal Tomb Poulnabrone Portal Tomb Ancient Ireland Home Poulnabrone Portal Tomb, Co.

Clare Location: From Ennis, take N 85 north to R 476. Travel through Corofin and turn right onto R 480 at Leamaneh Castle. Signposted, Poulnabrone is approximately 9 kilometers up this road on the right. Visible from the road. Dimensions: : The burial chamber was 25 cm deep. The dolmen, which is also called a portal tomb, is made up of a large single capstone that rests on two portal stones, two more orthostats, and an end stone. The portal stones are each 1.8 m tall. The entrance of the dolmen faces to the North. A sill stone crosses the front of the entrance, and might have extended all the way up to the cap stone, thus sealing the tomb. The capstone is 12 ft by 7 ft and angles from the portals down to the rear. The chamber was 8 ft by 4 ft in size. The dolmen was always a prominent feature above the limestone bedrock. A portico was formed in front of the tomb by three upright limestone stones. The portico was then backfilled with loose dirt and gravel.

The tomb lies in the center of the cairn. The cairn is in the shape of an oval. The cairn is made up of large limestone slabs extending about 3m from the tomb and laid against the side of the chamber. The cairn has been stripped down from its original depth, but it has been theorized that it was only 55 cm deep at the time Poulnabrone was built. The cairn, even though it was not very tall, helped prop up the side stones. Features: Poulnabrone is probably one of the most photographed ancient monuments in Ireland. It rises prominently above the limestone pavement of clints (blocks) and grykes (crevices) resulting from eons of water erosion through the limestone. Comments: The dolmen sits about 100 meters back from the road. Be aware that the natural limestone karst landscape is very uneven and can be tricky to navigate, particularly when it is wet. Tour buses stop regularly all year round but do not stay long. Early morning and off season are the best times to view this elegant monument.

History: This tomb was in use during the Neolithic and radiocarbon dates place its use between 3,800 - 3,600 BC. The first excavation of Poulnabrone Dolmen was in 1986 and then again in 1988 by Ann Lynch. During this excavation, one portal stone was replaced, and the team excavated the chamber, portico, and cairn. The remains of up to 22 individuals from the Neolithic were found. Sixteen adults, six children, and one newborn (from the Bronze Age) were among the remains. Their bodies were not cremated. Only one adult was over the age of 40 while most died before they reached 30. Most of the children were between the ages of five and fifteen. The skeletal remains show evidence of arthritis. The tip of a flint or chert projectile point was found embedded in the hip of one individual. Two other healed fractures, one skull and one rib, were also found. Dental wear analysis shows evidence for the consumption of stone-grounded cereals.

Also found in the burial chamber was a polished stone axe, 2 stone beads, a decorated bone pendant, a fragment of a mushroom-headed bone pin, 2 quartz crystals, several sherds of coarse pottery, and a number of arrowheads and scrapers. Grykes are crevices in the limestone that were then filled with remains. Chamber and grykes also were filled with the bones of various large and small animals. Other Items of Interest: While here, wander around with an eye to the grykes (crevices between the pavement-like blocks of limestone). The Burren boasts a diversity of flora representing over 70% of Ireland's 900 native species in less than 0.5% of its area. No matter what time of year, there always seems to be something wonderful growing in these little unexpected areas. Poulnabrone Dolmen - Amazing Ancient Poulnabrone Dolmen Posted by: admin | on November 10, 2014 Poulnabrone dolmen, meaning “hole of the quern stones” is an ancient stone tomb in Burren, Ireland.

Origin Poulnabrone Dolmen dates back to Neolithic Period, around 4200 and 2900BC Appearance The dolmen consists of a 12ft, thin, slab-like, tabular capstone supported by 2 slender portal stones, which support the capstone 1.8m (6ft) from the ground, creating a chamber in a 9m (30ft) low cairn that stabilize the tomb chamber, and would have been no higher during the Neolithic time. The entrance faces north and is crossed by a low sill stone Builder Local Burren community of that time built Poulnabrone Dolmen. Discovery A crack was discovered in the eastern portal stone in 1985. Excavation Soon after the discovery, excavation began and between 16 and 22 adults and 6 children were found buried under the monument. Personal items buried with the dead included a polished stone axe, a bone pendant, quartz crystals, weapons and pottery and a new born baby. Facts The burial chamber of Poulnabrone dolmen was 25cm deep.

Purpose The tomb was probably a centre for ceremony and ritual until well into the Celtic period, or it may have served as a territorial marker in the Neolithic landscape. Astronomy Due to the Burren’s excellent dark skies and Poulnabrone’s remote location, the car park built in 2007, has been used by Shannonside Astronomy Club as an unofficial public observatory. Significance It is one of the most famous and most photographed Irish dolmens. Do you Know? The remarkable image of the sun setting through the Dolmen is one of those most commonly associated with the area. Museumization Many artefacts, including arrowheads and axes, stone beads and broken pottery were found on the alongside, some of which are now on display in the National Museum in Dublin. 1000+ images about Megalithic Neolithic Dolmen on Pinterest | Stonehenge, Russia and Stones Forward Three carved votive chambers in Gavrinis Dolmen passage grave, Gulf of Morbihan, Larmor-Baden Morbihan, France. The largest and most decorated tomb in Neolithic Europe with 29 six-foot-tall menhirs carved with labyrinthine fingerprints.

Built on a hilltop circa 3400 B.C.E. near the stone rows of Carnac, with the sea rise it is now an island in the Morbihan Gulf. See More

Question: In Neolithic times, what was the purpose of a dolmen?
Answer: A TOMB