Menhirs are stone mysteries of the ancient world. What is a menhir? Vertically placed boulders

In them, we tried to figure out what these ancient structures are, how they are arranged and work, what they are intended for. Perhaps, someone will consider these articles not so important for spiritual seekers, diverting attention from the main goal, as they say, "the master's business." It seems to me that, to the best of our ability, together we are trying to restore history, lost knowledge and traditions, for the sake of, let's say, a more holistic perception of reality, collecting puzzles of a single picture. How well this works, it is difficult to say.

In this article I want to propose to consider other megaliths, which, along with pyramids and dolmens, can also be part of a great architectural plan. And at a certain moment, perhaps, they will help save humanity or transition to some new round of civilization. We will talk about menhirs and cromlechs. Of course, there is a lot of information on the Internet, but it turned out to be hard to put together. Given the experience of the above articles about dolmens, in order to reduce the amount of "water" in the article, so as not to confuse you and myself completely, I will try to display it concisely in essence, broken down into several parts.

megaliths(from Greek μέγας - large, λίθος - stone) - prehistoric structures made of large blocks. In the limiting case, this is one module (menhir). The term is not strictly scientific, therefore, a rather vague group of buildings falls under the definition of megaliths and megalithic structures. As a rule, they belong to the "pre-literate" era. Megaliths are distributed all over the world, mainly in coastal areas. In Europe, they mainly date from the Eneolithic and Bronze Age (3-2 thousand BC), with the exception of England, where the megaliths belong to the Neolithic era. Megalithic monuments are especially numerous and varied in Brittany. Also, a large number of megaliths are found on the Mediterranean coast of Spain, in Portugal, part of France, on the west coast of England, in Ireland, Denmark, on the south coast of Sweden. At the beginning of the 20th century, it was widely believed that all megaliths belonged to one global megalithic culture, but modern research and dating methods refute this assumption.

Types of megalithic structures.

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

In many European countries, in the middle of fields and meadows, on high hills, near ancient temples, in forests, often right in the middle of roads and on lawns near houses where people live, huge long stones rise - menhirs (menhir is translated as “long stone "). Sometimes they stand alone, sometimes they line up in rings and semicircles or form long rows and whole alleys. Some are pointing straight up, others are tilted and seem to fall. But this "fall" has been going on for five, or even six thousand years: that is how long, as it is assumed today, the most ancient of them exist. The Bretons call them pelvans, which means "pillar-stones", and the British call them standing stones. Science considers them to be the first reliably man-made structures that have survived to this day.

Menhir (also found peylvan) - from the Lower Breton (France) maen - stone and hir - long - processed or wild rock, installed by a person, in which the vertical dimensions noticeably exceed the horizontal ones. In the English-speaking tradition, the term "standing stones" (standing stones) is more often used. In Scandinavia, such monuments are called "Bautasteine" (Bautasteine).

Menhir- This is a free-standing stone, considered sacred. A working menhir, that is, a stone that gives a connection with other megaliths, was usually located either in special zones (at the intersection of force fields, on faults), or above the sacred graves of ancestors. This is usually a high stone, often looking like a stele, or just a huge free-standing boulder, strongly elongated upwards. And in Egypt, for example, it was specially hewn out so that it was much larger in height than it was wide, and they made it flat. All ancient menhirs are placed in the right places. Sometimes whole complexes are formed from menhirs - circles, semicircles, spirals and other forms from menhirs. They are called cromlech (but about them later).

Menhirs are found among a variety of peoples, starting from the northern latitudes and ending with the high latitudes of the southern hemisphere, they are found in different parts of the world. Especially a lot of them in Europe, Russia and the Caucasus.

The standing stones of Brittany and the British Isles are best studied and well known. But there are many more of them on our planet. Today, menhirs from one to 17 meters high and weighing up to several hundred tons can be seen in Greece and Italy, in Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica and the Balearic Islands, in the south of France, in Switzerland, Austria and the Czech Republic, in Spain and Portugal, in Belgium, Holland, Denmark, Germany and southern Scandinavia. They are found along the entire Mediterranean coast from Libya to Morocco and further south, as far as Senegal and the Gambia. They are in Syria, in Palestine.

It is believed that the tallest menhir was the Fairy Stone, which stood near the village of Lokmariaker in French Brittany. He towered above the ground by 17 meters and went into the ground by more than three, and weighed about 350 tons! The fairy stone was supposedly erected 4000 years ago, but unfortunately destroyed around 1727. It now lies destroyed at the entrance to the village of the same name.). The most grandiose ensemble of menhirs is located in the same place, in Brittany, in Carnac - grandiose stone alleys of more than 3,000 uncut stones (it is assumed that there were about 10,000 before!) stretch for several kilometers. They are about 6000 years old. It can be seen from the air that some large and small megaliths form huge circles and triangles.

How not to recall the Akhunovo megalithic complex, mentioned earlier in the articles of the site, or the Bakhchisaray menhir in the Crimea, which is considered a very powerful place of power (by the way, the coordinates are still the same 43-44 degrees N44.76506 E33.90208) and many others.

A clear geometric plan can be traced in the location of the stone "alleys" of the menhirs, some stone rows, stretching for kilometers from west to east, gradually approach each other according to a complex mathematical law described by a parabolic function.

Menhirs are a fertile subject for fantasies, including scientific ones. According to researchers, menhirs were used for a variety of purposes, incl. currently unknown and often indefinable. Among the well-known purposes of menhirs are cult (ritual fencing of other structures, symbolism of the center, ritual determination of the boundaries of possessions, elements of transition rituals, phallic symbolism), memorial, solar-astronomical (visors and systems of sights), boundary and even information. Very attractive is the opinion that menhirs are ancient observatories. Indeed, Stonehenge (just a mega complex of menhirs, dolmens) became a place of pilgrimage for tourists after it turned out that at the time of the summer solstice, the main axis of the entire structure points to the northeast, exactly where the Sun rises on the longest day of the year.

There is nothing on the most simple and ancient objects, however, over time, drawings, ornaments, inscriptions, and bas-reliefs begin to appear on the standing rocks.

And what are the images on the menhirs of Göbekli Tepe worth:

Often, subsequent peoples reused menhirs for their cult and other purposes, making additions, editing, applying their inscriptions and even changing the general shape, transforming them into idols. On the other hand, menhirs are functionally adjacent to single unworked stones, both specially installed and lying in their original places, as well as systems of specially arranged stones.

Menhirs were installed both singly and forming complex systems: oval and rectangular "fences", semi-ovals, lines, incl. many kilometers, rows of lines, alleys. Despite the fact that the tradition of placing stones vertically is one of the oldest, it is also one of the most stable. Mankind puts stone steles in honor of any events or intentions so far. For example, the largest "menhir" - a monolith stands in St. Petersburg and is well known as the Pillar of Alexandria (for now we will not get ahead of ourselves and pay much attention to this, since this is the topic of a separate subsequent article and separate conclusions). On the other hand, the tradition of being proud of one's tallest towers and broadcasting towers also has its roots in the tradition of menhirs.

Of course, there are many legends associated with menhirs. They say that dwarfs living underground turn into pelvans when sunlight hits them. And since this people is considered the keeper of treasures, the legends assure that countless riches are hidden under the standing stones. However, the stones vigilantly guard them, and not a single person has yet managed to get them. According to other legends, menhirs are, on the contrary, petrified giants. And on the day of the summer and winter solstices, on Christmas Eve and on Easter, they come to life - they walk, dance, spin around their axis or run to the nearest river to drink water or swim, and then return to their place and again turn into stone.

It is believed that menhirs are tombstones. Possibly beacons. Or viziers. Groups of menhirs are known, standing in such a way that one can see the second from the second, the third from the second, the fourth from the third, and so on - very similar to a signaling system. True, pelvans also stand far from the seashore, where it is strange to speak of them as lighthouses, and not all long stones are found with traces of burials.

According to Ivan Matskerle, according to one of the theories, these places of worship accumulate the energy of the Earth. “Scientists have found that at sunrise, especially during the solstice, menhirs scream, emit sound, but in an area that is not audible to humans. Measurements have shown that ancient menhirs have a powerful magnetic field. This is how the hypothesis appeared that menhirs are the points of concentration of the energy of the Earth. They, like acupuncture points on the human body, are the intersection points of invisible vein-tunnels, magnetic flows passing through the surface of the Earth.

It is known, for example, that in India, rough, vertically standing stones are still considered the abode of deities. In Greece, a huge, unhewn stone pillar once represented Artemis. At the crossroads there were tetrahedral pillars with a sculpted head of the god Hermes - herms. In ancient Rome, Terminalia was celebrated in honor of the god of boundaries Terminus. On this day, boundary stones were rubbed with oils, decorated with garlands of flowers, and sacrificial gifts were brought to them: honey, wine, milk, grain. Anyone who dared to move such a border stone was considered forever damned - the borders in Rome were sacred. And the stone, representing the god Terminus himself, was located in the Capitoline temple and guaranteed the inviolability of the borders of the entire empire. Maybe menhirs were the same boundary stones. Only they did not share neighboring possessions, but rather something else. Now the hypothesis is very popular that all these stones were placed on the faults of the earth's crust, where they concentrated and came to the surface of the energy of the Earth. If you believe the myths, menhirs stand on the border of two worlds - the world where people lived, and the world where the gods lived. So, in the Irish sagas it is said that standing stones marked the entrance to the sides, the dwellings of the marvelous magical people of the Celts. And in Brittany, the belief has been preserved that thanks to the pelvan one can meet the dead: in ancient times, people erected stone thrones somewhere in a conspicuous place, lit a fire and waited for the souls of their ancestors to sit on them to warm themselves by the fire. And just like the Terminus stone, some menhirs, while standing, guarantee the existence of entire villages, pushing back the end of time...

And these versions came across:

Menhirs are temples near which sacrifices were made. Menhirs - astronomical clock of the Stone Age. The stones of Carnac (Brittany) are arranged in such a way that they show the position of the Sun at certain times of the year.

Menhirs of Indians with images of people in masks of animals, birds - symbols of religious cults.

Menhirs of the Indians with two heads (human and animal) are symbols of the ancient Toltec doctrine of the nagual and tonal. Perhaps our ancestors used dolmens - menhirs to practice the art of stalking - "reviewing personal history" - one of the paths leading to the main goal of the Toltecs - freedom?

And take, for example, the ancient obelisks of the Egyptians:

Or take the ancient Slavic temples:

And if you look closely at the moai of Easter Island, these are also menhirs in their purest form.

In general, there is something to think about at your leisure.

Prepared by: Alexander N (Ukraine)

Menhir in translation from the Lower Breton means men - stone and hir - long - "long stone" and is a roughly processed wild stone in the form of a pillar. Stones can stand either alone or represent a whole group of menhirs located close to each other.

A great many legends are associated with Menhirs, they say that dwarfs living underground turn into pelvans when sunlight hits them. And under these stones, countless treasures are allegedly hidden. Well, these are all myths.

Menhirs that scream

There are many legends and romantic stories about menhirs - stone pillars scattered in different parts of our planet. According to legend, the Druids performed their sacred rituals near these stone monoliths. It was believed that a night spent at such a stone could cure a woman of infertility. And they say about the largest Czech menhir that, in fact, this is not even a stone, but a petrified shepherd who every night takes a step closer to the local church. The secrets of Czech menhirs could not leave indifferent our interlocutor, publicist and traveler Ivan Matskerle.
You can now admire menhirs in the Czech Republic in more than 20 places, mainly in the north-west of the country - an area that was previously inhabited by the Celts. Czechs, as a rule, give these stone structures nicknames. A menhir in Klobuky near Prague is called a “petrified shepherd”, a stone near the village of Dragomysl is an “enchanted monk”, while Slavetin has a “woman”. Not everyone knows that one of the sacred stones props up the fence of a private house in the Prague district of Habry.

“The owners of the site on which the menhir stands, specially set up their fence so that it goes around the stone. They are used to the fact that people come to the menhir, put their hands on it, and then talk about their strange feelings - some have numb hands, some feel warm, some feel nauseous, ”
- says Ivan Matskerle.
Geologists have proved that many Czech menhirs were brought from somewhere to the territory of the Czech Republic, but the age of the stone blocks is still a mystery. At first, archaeologists attributed the installation of megaliths to the Celts, who appeared in Europe 3 thousand years ago, but then they came to the conclusion that the real creator of the menhirs was an ancient people who lived in the Stone Age. According to Ivan Matskerle, according to one of the theories, these places of worship accumulate the energy of the Earth.

“Scientists have found that at sunrise, especially during the solstice, menhirs scream, emit sound, but in an area that is not audible to humans. Measurements have shown that ancient menhirs have a powerful magnetic field. This is how the hypothesis appeared that menhirs are the points of concentration of the energy of the Earth. They, like acupuncture points on the human body, are the intersection points of invisible vein-tunnels, magnetic flows passing through the surface of the Earth.
Pan Matskerle also tried to unravel the mystery of the magnetic field of one of the Czech menhirs.

“In the Czech Republic, the largest menhir is located in Klobuky, a village about 30 kilometers from Prague. There, a physicist and I conducted experiments during the Summer Solstice. The physicist recorded the parameters of the magnetic field at the menhir during sunrise and sunset. The results surprised us. The magnetic anomaly, found in one place before sunrise, moved one meter to the west after sunrise, although the stone did not move.

Two years later, the researchers repeated their experiment using ultrasonic and infrasound techniques, but nothing strange was recorded.
- By the way, what is this story about the menhir that moves towards the church?
“According to the legend about the menhir in Klobuky, every night when the bell strikes midnight in the nearest village, the menhir approaches the church one step the length of a sand grain, and when it reaches the church, the end of the world will come.”

Seeing us off to the Breton town of Lokmariaker, our friends admonished us:
— The town, of course, is small, but you will not be bored around only dolmens and menhirs. There will be something to do.

Indeed, literally at every step, as soon as we left the city (and it ended before it even started), we found huge stones: some stood like pillars, others piled one on top of the other, like giant tables, and the third ones were stacked whole galleries . For centuries, if not millennia, legends have been composed about these stones and, what is most amusing, they are still being composed, however, under the guise of supposedly scientific hypotheses that are not confirmed by anything.

For a long time it was believed that all these structures (they are found in Western Europe, as well as in some places in the Caucasus) were erected by the Celts - a harsh and warlike people. These stones, they say, served as open-air temples, and the Druids, the priests of the Celts, performed bloody sacrifices near them. some are even older - archaeologists give the date 4800 BC. And many tribes, which we call the Celts, appeared much later - in the middle of the first millennium BC.

In addition, if we talk about those giant stones that are located on the territory of Great Britain and France, then they were most likely really used by the Druids, who replaced the more ancient priests unknown to us; after all, these structures were built as pagan temples, and a holy place is never empty, and each new religion uses it in its own way.

But that's bad luck: in the Caucasus, for example, there were no druids at all, where did such stones come from? However, in fantastic and non-scientific books one can find the most unexpected explanations for everything. For example, that the druids are aliens sent to us or miraculously survived the inhabitants of Atlantis. If so, then anything is possible...

But real scientists courageously admit their own ignorance: we do not know, they say, what the people who built these structures were called, we do not know for what and how these buildings were used. We can only establish their age and assume that they are somehow connected with cult activities. It's not as interesting as the hypotheses of the romantic pseudo-scientists, but at least it's honest.

In fact, no one even really knows how to properly name these monuments of antiquity. Standing stones are called menhirs. Those that look like tables are dolmens. Stones arranged in a circle, like the English Stonehenge, are cromlechs. In any guidebook it is written that these words are Breton, the first means "long stone", the second "table-stone", and the third - "rounded place". This is so and not so.

Yes, the word "menhir" came to the French language, and after it to all others from Breton. But in the Breton language there is no such word, and a standing stone is denoted by a completely different word "pelvan" - "pillar-stone". How did it happen? Here's the thing: when scientists, and just lovers of antiquities, first became interested in these outlandish structures (and this was back in the early 19th century), they decided to ask the local population what these strange things were called. The local population spoke French in those days with difficulty.

So from the very beginning there were continuous misunderstandings and misunderstandings between the bearers of the local tradition and researchers.

Further more. Those "new legends" that romantic writers created in their works - about druids and bard singers who drew their inspiration from the shadow of menhirs - have nothing to do with those legends that the Breton peasants passed from mouth to mouth. The peasants simply believed that these stones were magical.

And how could it be otherwise, because at first they served the pagans, and when Christianity came to Brittany, the old stones did not disappear along with the old religion. The first priests were smart people and understood that since the locals had been accustomed to worshiping idol stones for more than one thousand years, it was stupid, if not dangerous, to try to convince them overnight that it was a sin. And instead of fighting with pagan stones, the priests decided to "tame" them, as the priests of other religions had done more than once. The springs, considered magical in ancient times, became sacred. Most often, it was enough to carve a cross on the top of the menhir. Sometimes they didn’t even do this: just some old ceremony with a procession to a stone turned into a religious procession. And the wolves are full, and the sheep are safe. And what people tell about the strange stones of fairy tales and legends is so natural.

A special reverence has always been surrounded by an alley of dolmens, which is located in Upper Brittany, not far from the town of Esse - called "fairy stones". It is said that in order to build it, the famous Merlin, by the power of his magic, moved heavy stones from afar. Interestingly, archaeologists are surprised to confirm that the multi-ton slabs that make up the alley really traveled many kilometers before they were installed near Esse. Just how did they do it? And to whom, and most importantly, why is it needed?

According to another legend, fairies built this stone alley. Each of them had to bring three huge stones at a time to build - one in each hand and one on the head. And woe to that fairy who cannot hold at least one stone. Having dropped it to the ground, she would no longer be able to pick it up and continue on her way - she had to return and start all over again.

They say that those who built this alley are not averse to joking with people even now. Many are trying to count how many stones are in the building, and everyone names their number - some are forty-two stones, some are forty-three, and some are forty-five. Even if the same person undertakes to count them several times, he will not succeed - each time the number of stones will be different. “Don’t joke with the devil’s power,” they said in the old days, “no one could ever count these stones. You can't outsmart the devil."

But the lovers believed that the fairies would help them choose their fate. In the old days, young men and women came on the night of the new moon to the alley of ancient stones. The young man went around them on the right, and the girl on the left. Having made a full circle, they met. If both counted the same number of stones, then their union should have been happy. If one of them counted one or two stones more, then their fate was far from cloudless, but, in general, happy. Well, if the difference between the two numbers turned out to be too big, then, according to legend, it was better not to think about the wedding. However, even the warnings of the fairies did not stop the lovers.

There were also legends about menhirs. In the old days, it was believed that treasures were kept under standing stones. For example, under a menhir near the city of Fougeres. It was said that every year on the night before Christmas, a thrush flies to the stone and lifts it up, so that you can see the louis lying on the ground. But if someone wants to take advantage of this moment and grab the money, then a huge menhir will crush him with his weight.

And there are also menhirs, which on Christmas night, while Mass is being served in churches, go to the stream to drink, and then return to their place. Woe to those who find themselves on the road of a stone that rushes at great speed and can crush everything in its path. However, as the legends say, there are those who like to take risks: after all, in the pit left by the absent menhir, there can easily be a treasure. If you have time to pick it up while the menhirs are at the watering hole, you will live the rest of your life comfortably. True, few people managed to survive: an angry menhir usually chased the thief like an angry bull, and crushed the poor fellow into a cake.

Of course, we were not going to look for treasures, especially since it was still far from Christmas. It was just curious to look at the stones about which so much is said and written. First of all, we went to a small open-air museum, where for a modest fee you could see the largest menhir in Brittany - 20 meters long, weighing about 280 tons. True, the giant did not stand, as it should be for a decent menhir, but lay on the ground, split into several parts. This happened, most likely in antiquity, but no one knows from what. Maybe the ancient builders were let down by gigantomania, and they simply could not install the miracle stone and dropped it. Perhaps the stone still stood for some time, but then collapsed due to an earthquake. Locals claim that it was broken by lightning. Who knows what really happened?

By the way, not all menhirs and dolmens are gigantic. Once, while still a student (I studied in the Breton city of Rennes), a funny incident happened to me. It was in the town of Pont-Labbe, where my friend and I were invited by a classmate, a native of this town. Among other attractions, he decided to show us a whole meadow of dolmens. Together we got into his old Ford and covered a distance that we could easily have covered on foot. Getting out of the car, I began to look around in bewilderment: where are the promised dolmens?
“Yes, here they are,” they prompted me, “look around.

Indeed, the clearing was dotted with dolmens. Small: the tallest reached my knee. I involuntarily laughed, but my guide began to defend the dwarf dolmens, arguing that they are no less ancient than those multi-meter giants that tourists love to show so much. I did not deny this, but nevertheless the clearing made a somewhat depressing impression on me and not at all because of the size of the dolmens. I recalled the Moscow forest parks after the May holidays: under the dolmens there were candy wrappers, cigarette butts and a myriad of empty bottles, indicating that non-ritual libations were regularly made here.

“Yes,” my guide sighed, “they don’t take care of our dolmens with menhirs, they don’t take care of them ... That’s nothing, it can be removed, but twenty or thirty years ago we saw enough films about your virgin lands and also began to unite small fields, destroy the boundary... Under the hot hand and menhirs tucked up: imagine standing in the middle of the field menhir, like no one interferes. It is not included in the list of monuments due to its small stature. Of course, every time you can carefully drive around it on a tractor, only this requires time, attention, and unnecessary waste of fuel. But what about savings? So menhirs were uprooted, which scientists had not heard of. How many of these stones were missing, no one knows.

Large menhirs with dolmens are really lucky. They are heavily protected by the state. You won't get close to them in Lokmariaker; they are cordoned off, and dozens of visitors roam the narrow paths in droves, gazing to right and left. Outside the city, however, there are underground galleries that you can freely climb. Near each there is a sign and a panel explaining the history of the monument in four languages: French, Breton, English and German.

The most beautiful gallery seemed to me in the town of Kerere, at Cape Kerpenhir, about two kilometers from Lokmariaker. We went there early in the morning to enjoy the beauty of the ancient monument without bumping our heads with our own kind. Outside, the view is not so hot: stone slabs on the top of a small hill, a kind of hole, at the entrance to which there is a small - slightly taller than human growth - menhir. We go down to the gallery. It smells of salt and dampness - no wonder, because the sea is very close. You have to go on all fours: for several millennia, huge plates have had time to thoroughly grow into the ground. Although, most likely, initially the vaults of the gallery were not very high; people were much smaller: remember at least knightly armor in museums - not every thirteen-year-old boy will fit into them. What can we say about the people of five thousand years ago! To them, probably, such galleries seemed high and spacious. Be that as it may, we, the people of the twentieth century, have to protect our heads.

You can straighten up to your full height only at the end of the gallery, in a small hall. And then if your height is not above average.

On a panel installed nearby, a plan of the gallery is drawn and two slabs are marked, on which mysterious drawings are carved. However, it is impossible to see them; darkness reigns in the gallery, and only occasionally in some places a ray of sun breaks through the gap between the ceiling tiles. You have to make your way by touch, which makes the gallery seem even more mysterious: it suddenly turns, just as suddenly ends. However, I managed to find plates with drawings. Moreover, it was possible to photograph them with a flash. And only when the photographs were ready, we were able to see the message left to us by the ancient artists.

It is not known what the ornaments from the Kerere Gallery mean, but one of them is very reminiscent of the traditional Breton embroidery motif. It must be assumed that local handicraftsmen from time immemorial repeated the ornament, once seen by the light of a torch in underground galleries. They tell amazing things: for example, on one of the dolmen slabs in Lokmariaker, half of an animal is depicted. The second half is located on the slab of the dolmen of the island of Gavriniz (which means “Goat Island” in Breton), four kilometers away from Lokmariaker. Scientists suggest that these are two parts of one, once broken fourteen-meter howling stone stele, which was divided between two temples. Only it is not known on what it was possible to carry such a burden by sea to the very island of Gavriniz?

... After pitch darkness, the summer sun blinds. It seems that we have made a journey into the darkness of centuries - in the literal sense of the word.

Sevastopol menhirs are stone blocks placed vertically in the form of obelisks, one of the most famous monuments of primitive man. We can say that this is a kind of Sevastopol Stonehenge, although the number of stones, of course, is much less than the "original" version.

To date, two menhirs have been preserved. The dimensions of the first of them are as follows: height 2.8 m, cross section - 1x0.7 m. The second menhir is somewhat lower, its height is 1.5m., in section 1.2x0.55m. The weight of the larger stone is over 6 tons, which is surprising since there are no quarries nearby. This means that the blocks were brought from the Crimean mountains.

Stonehenge menhir: heel stone

Stonehenge is an area on the swampy plain of Salisbury in southwestern England, about which lovers of the detective genre have heard. It was there that the chilling events of Conan Doyle's story "The Hound of the Baskervilles" unfolded. The attention of Sherlock Holmes was absorbed by something else, otherwise the astute detective would certainly have turned all the power of his deductive method to unraveling the mystery of the monolithic boulders that dotted the swamps of Stonehenge. And not randomly, but, as it turned out, in the strictest mathematical sequence.

Stonehenge is a megalithic structure belonging to the cromlechs - ring structures consisting of stone monoliths dug into the ground. In England and Scotland, several hundred such structures with a diameter of 2 to 113 meters have been found. Although, as you know, the remains of cromlechs are found in many other countries of the world, however, the ruins of Stonehenge amaze with their grandeur and mystery. This is a unique building, erected several centuries before the fall of Homeric Troy, i.e. nearly four thousand years ago. It would be no exaggeration to say that there is nothing like these harsh ruins in the whole world.

Let's at least mentally take a tour of the stone structure ... In the center of Stonehenge there is a stone measuring 4.8x1.0x0.5 meters. Around it, in the form of a gigantic horseshoe with a diameter of about 15 meters, five triliths rise. A trilith is a structure of two vertical stones on which a third is placed. The height of the triliths varies from 6.0 to 7.2 meters and increases towards the center of the horseshoe.

Triliths at one time were surrounded by thirty vertical stones about 5.5 meters high. On these supports lay, forming a ring, horizontal slabs. The diameter of this ring, which is called sarsen, is about 30 meters. Behind the sarsen ring there were several more ring structures. One of them had a diameter of about 40 meters and consisted of 30 holes. Another - a ring with a diameter of approximately 53.4 meters - also had 30 holes. The next ring, whose diameter is 88 meters, got its name in honor of the first explorer of Stonehenge, J. Aubrey, who lived in the 17th century. The Aubrey Ring has 56 holes. Further, behind this ring was an internal chalk rampart. Its diameter is about 100 meters, the width of the embankment is about 6 meters and the height is just under two meters. And finally, the entire complex of structures was surrounded by an external earthen rampart with a diameter of 115 meters, the width of the embankment was 2.5 meters, its height was 50-80 centimeters. The entrance to Stonehenge is made from the northeast, it was in this direction that the horseshoe of the triliths opened. In the same direction, at a distance of about 85 meters from the center of the complex, there is a stone pillar - a menhir up to 6 meters high and weighing about 35 tons. It is often called the "Heel Stone", although there is no heel-shaped depression on the menhir.

What was the purpose of the oldest monument created by people who left no other material evidence of existence on Earth? What is the Temple of the Sun? A place of ritual ceremonies? The strange building gave rise to many legends. Hundreds of scientific expeditions (including in our time) explored the mysterious ruins. To the question "when?" radiocarbon helped scientists find the answer. Radioactive analysis of the human remains burned during the burial reliably established the most probable date for the construction of the complex - this, as already reported above, is 1900-1600 BC.

To the question "how?" - how these huge stones were transported and installed - so far no unequivocal answer has been found, but a lot of interesting material has been revealed for archaeologists, engineers and all those who are interested in the abilities and capabilities of prehistoric people ... In this regard, the work of the Czechoslovak engineer P. Pavel, who revealed the secrets of installation of statues of Easter Island. The researcher has long been interested in the question of how the ancestors of the British millennia ago managed to heap five-ton stone slabs on the menhirs? Paul was sure that the original inhabitants of Britain, without cranes and other modern devices, could lift such weights to a considerable height. He wanted to conduct an experiment on the spot, but the British refused. Then, at the end of 1990, a fragment of Stonehenge appeared in the Czech city of Strakonice: two concrete pillars - an exact copy of those that have stood in foggy Albion for thousands of years. And next to it lay a concrete slab of five tons. With the help of ropes, 18 voluntary assistants of Pavel, who were by no means heroes, were able to lift this slab up. So, millennia later, a 35-year-old engineer may have discovered a completely safe and simple method of the ancient builders of Stonehenge ...

As for the main question "why?" - for what purpose Stonehenge was built - it was decided quite difficult. It has long been suggested that Stonehenge was not only a temple, but also a kind of astronomical observatory. In fact, the observer, being on the central platform of the complex, could see through one of the arches of the sarsen ring how on the day of the summer solstice the daylight rises directly above the menhir. On all subsequent (as previous) days, the sunrise point lies to the right of the menhir.

Exposing the Epiphany Menhir

Today, Stone and Bronze Age observatories are known on every continent except Antarctica. They were erected from the 5th-6th to the 2nd millennium BC inclusive. Europe turned out to be extremely rich in astronomically oriented structures. The oldest stargazing sites in the Old World have been found in Malta and Portugal. At the same time, not all megaliths (structures made of stone or stone blocks) have an astronomical reference, although the total number of observatories is impressive.

Academic scientists are of the opinion about the utilitarian purpose and independent origin of stone structures in different cultures: with the transition from the primitive communal system to agriculture and cattle breeding, people everywhere began to observe the movement of the luminaries in order to know when to plow, sow and drive cattle. Romantically minded researchers put forward a theory about the remains of an unknown highly developed civilization, whose representatives "inherited" around the globe, setting up cyclopean observatories.

Russia has always tried to be the birthplace of elephants. Naturally, sooner or later, your own Stonehenge should appear in its open spaces.

Back in the 70s, the first reports of domestic "astronomical" megaliths appeared. Near Nalchik, they found a stone with a bowl-shaped recess, allegedly repeating the pattern of the constellation Ursa Major. Repeated references to the revered stones, which, in some respects, are suitable for astronomical observatories, ended up on the pages of the regional press or in popular science books on history.

The breakthrough occurred in the late Soviet era. Tula local historian Alexander Levin came up with the idea of ​​the astronomical orientation of some unusually shaped stones located in the south of the Tula region. Then the Tula publicist Valery Shavyrin wrote the book "Muravsky Way". One of the chapters of the work, which does not claim to be historically accurate, just talked about Levin’s research and the stones he found, which allegedly served in ancient and not very ancient times as stone observatories and even sacred solar calendars of the ancestors of the Slavs, and then the Russians of the Middle Ages.

This was enough for the birth of the legend of the "Tula Stonehenge". Local historians were not at all embarrassed by the fact that in central Russia ancient sanctuaries made of stones are unknown to science. And if they were, then, due to the shortage of stone, they would have been taken away for household needs long ago - as in the 19th century and in Soviet times, the foundations of former churches and medieval graves with stone lining were dismantled for the construction of roads or buildings - pity.

Stonehenge in the homeland of samovars and gunsmiths continued to delight the imagination of impressionable citizens. From year to year there were more and more legends. For now, the ubiquitous aliens began to be written down as the authors of stone observatories. But for some reason, almost no one, even visiting the stones, bothered to check the initial information about their astronomical orientation.

The hour of reckoning came last year. The "Labyrinth" group unites lovers of scientific tourism who are fond of searching for and introducing into scientific circulation little-known natural and historical objects from all over Russia. Here and speleologists, and physicists, and zoologists, who just is not. They not only look for themselves, but also check the information of colleagues. Andrey Perepelitsyn from Kaluga became the inspiration for the team of pundits with backpacks.

"Labyrinth" made the first attempt at a comprehensive field study of megaliths in the Tula region: they drove around the stones and interviewed the local population. The results were quite unexpected.

The first victim of the experts was the so-called Epifan menhir. The uniqueness of the stone, according to Levin and Shavyrin, as well as a number of authors who repeated their conclusions, is in a vertical arrangement. Menhir in the classification of megaliths just means a stone stuck vertically into the ground. If the data on the ancient origin were confirmed, then the sensation would be obvious - there are no more menhirs on the territory of the Russian Plain.

The members of the Labyrinth expedition immediately began to doubt the authenticity of the stone. The menhir is clearly visible from the road, you can drive up to it by car, it is located not in the middle of swamps and marshes, as Levin wrote, but almost on a collective farm field. Around the menhir, traces of active human activity of recent years were visible. The stone has clearly become a local tourist attraction.

The "Epifan miracle" is oriented along the north-south line, it also has a face located in the plane of the celestial equator. At the same time, not only vodka corks and cigarette butts were lying near the stone, but also other stones similar in structure. Those who were on the expedition, people with a geological education determined the natural output of sandstone, which is typical for the forest-steppe zone of the Tula region.

The final exposure happened in the nearest settlement. Local residents, not without pride, told how ten years ago a tractor driver put a stone vertically on a dare. The daring collective farmer won a bottle in a dispute and went to enjoy life. (Another part of the natives claimed that the collective farmer tried to tear a stone out of the ground for the foundation, but something didn’t work out there.) And after a while, passing people frequented the “stone guest” viewed from the road. And so the legend of the first Russian menhir was born. Now the villagers really like to watch the "fools - the city" who go to the stone to "worship".

After the break with the menhir, the expedition went to the neighboring area, to the Gypsy stone. According to preliminary information, there were drilled holes in it, pointing directly to the North Star, to the point of sunrise on the day of the summer solstice on June 22, and so on.

The geographical position of the stone let us down again. The megalith lies on the slope of a ravine. It turns out either a deception, or a world sensation - the first observatory in a ravine, and not at the top of the area. But why suffer and follow the luminaries from below is completely incomprehensible. The survey showed that there was only one through hole on the stone. There are, however, a few more shallow deaf "holes", but they are all with a high degree of probability of natural origin. Such depressions are formed at the site of the roots of ancient plants in the process of weathering. After all, sandstone is a sedimentary rock, cemented sand of the “beaches” of the Carboniferous period. It was pierced by the roots of plants, which, rotting, left "donut holes" ...

It is possible that the “hole” in the Gypsy stone was slightly worked out by people. Residents of the surrounding villages reported that once there was a gypsy camp near the stone. Its inhabitants adapted holes for mini-stoves for cooking. Hence the name of the object.

The main goal of the expedition was the Horse-Stone on the banks of one of the Tula rivers. More precise coordinates of the "Labyrinth" asked not to be given due to the popularity of rock slides and rock gardens among Russian summer residents.

According to local historians and the local press, the Horse-Stone is an impressive multi-ton boulder on an artificially paved area. The stone is held on three supports, so cleverly designed that, they say, the ancients could naturally turn it after the luminaries! And at the top of the stone, a groove for “aiming” is carved. The moving megalith is the only one of the only ones.

When approaching the stone, the "Labyrinthians" cheered up a little. Unlike the "collective farm menhirs" and observatories in the ravine, the Horse-stone majestically rises above the bend of the river. The indigenous people told a legend about a rider who appeared from the sky and turned into stone. And as if their grandparents went to the Horse-stone on the Trinity.

A detailed examination of the megalith refuted the assumption of an artificial origin. First, there is no platform under the stone. The horse-stone actually stands on three supports - stones from a natural rock outcrop on the shore, one of which has already practically collapsed - this is the question of the movements of the megalith. The supports, like the stone itself, are of a purely natural origin, no one processed them. Instead of a groove at the top, there is a small cruciform groove.

Perepelitsyn suggested the natural nature of the deepening, while another member of the expedition, Ilya Agapov, admits that it is man-made and may be associated with attempts by the Orthodox Church in the Middle Ages to christen the pagan symbol. Astronomically, neither the groove nor the stone itself is oriented in any way. However, the greatness of the Horse-stone is amazing.

At the end of June this year, Andrei single-handedly made another attempt to study the Tula megaliths. After his return from the expedition, we contacted the Kaluga researcher.

“How are the old Russian observatories there?” I ask Andrey. “The final defeat of the megaliths near Tula,” he laughs in response. - On the night of June 21-22, I specifically watched the sunrise at the Gypsy stone with measuring instruments. Alas, the hole does not point to sunrise, not only on the day of the solstice, but never at all - it is directed to the dead zone of the horizon, where the sun does not exist.

Unfortunately, no one has yet systematized information about Russian megaliths. Therefore, the Labyrinth group - and the guys believe that there will still be astronomical observatories in Russia - calls on every Russian to take the problem of finding stone observatories seriously. “If you have seen something similar to megaliths, be sure to let us know,” Andrey says, “we will come and we will definitely figure it out. We must hurry with this work, because villages are dying out, legends are forgotten, and stones are lost and overgrown ... "

Menhir of Bakhchisaray

The Bakhchisaray menhir is located at the southern cliff of the Inner Ridge of the Crimean Mountains near the village of Glubokiy Yar. In the Middle Ages there was a settlement of Balta-chokrak. Chokrak is a source in Crimean Tatar, and balta is an ax or a hammer.
According to the generally accepted international classification, a menhir is a single, vertically standing stone pillar, representing a monument of megalithic culture (from the Greek megas-big and lithos-stone).

The menhir at Glubokoy Yar is one of the few remaining in the Crimea where it was installed in antiquity. According to the calculations of scientists, this could be around 1900 BC. Other Stone Age monuments in the area confirm that the local population had very sophisticated stone-working skills and engineering knowledge to move multi-ton blocks over long distances. Higher up in the mountains near the village of Vysokoye, for example, two diabase steles were discovered, on which, with the help of hydrofluoric acid and bronze tools, ritual images quite complex in plot and graphics were carved. One of these steles is exhibited in the Republican Museum of Local Lore in Simferopol, right in the lobby.

Thus, the Bakhchisaray menhir cannot be considered a random game of nature. This is a specially created astronomical structure. Along with other megalithic monuments, it testifies to the presence in those days of authoritarian leaders, wise priests, skilled craftsmen, and in general. a fairly high standard of living.
The menhir is 4 meters high and 2 meters wide.

In the rock to the east of the menhir, at a distance of about 400 m, there is an artificial through hole in a natural grotto. On the days of the spring and autumn equinoxes (March 21 and September 23), the sun rises from behind this rock, a ray of the sun passes through a hole in the grotto and hits exactly on the top of the menhir.

Thus, even in ancient times, this menhir served as an accurate astronomical calendar for the local population, like the famous Stonehenge in Great Britain.

It remains a mystery what kind of tribes they were, what language they spoke, how strong were their spiritual and trade ties with other tribes that left megaliths from Siberia to England.

Crimean menhirs

There is a lot of mystery and mystery in Crimea. Take menhirs - large unhewn stones, set vertically (from the Greek "megas" - large and "lithos" - stone). Why and when they were created - in this regard, only assumptions and conjectures. These ancient idols stand and are silent about some forgotten customs and aspects of the life of civilizations that have long disappeared ...
Several menhirs are known on the peninsula: two - in the village of Rodnikovskoe in the Baydarskaya Valley, three - were discovered during excavations of the sanctuary in Scythian Naples, one more - the largest - is located in the Bogaz-Sala gully, 7 kilometers from Bakhchisarai.

The Bakhchisaray menhir is located in the upper reaches of the Bogaz-Sala tract, not far from the village of Deep Yar. Behind the Bakhchisaray ring on the Sevastopol-Simferopol highway, the first turn to the right and we go through the peach orchard. Soon the road climbs to the right (orographically) side of the beam. At first, there seemed to be no road there, just a field, and then suddenly loomed. Passing a pine strip, through a passage carved into the rock, we get ... no, not yet to the menhir.

Here we are interested in a grotto gaping in a monolithic rock. The walls of a small cave are sooty with the smoke of fires. It is clearly seen that the grotto and the territory adjacent to it were used for economic purposes for a long time. There are many different cuts in the limestone: steps, round and rectangular posts for posts, and a large opening that looks like a door. According to the technique of creating a clearing, including the “door”, they are attributed to the late Middle Ages - it was then that the creation of such structures was widespread.

It is obvious that at all times the grotto was used as a temporary shelter by shepherds grazing cattle on the slopes of the beam. This assumption is supported by the fact that earlier the outer open side of the grotto was “sewn up” with boards, the grooves from which are well preserved in the floor and stream of the grotto. The lone figure of a shepherd with a small herd of cows still looms below.

The Bakhchisaray menhir turned out to be what it should have been - a roughly hewn rectangular stone block 4x2 meters. One glance is enough to make sure that this stone is not an accidental game of nature, but the work of human hands.

Back in the late 90s, a hypothesis appeared, according to which a four-meter stone and a grotto with a hole on the opposite slope are a kind of solar calendar of the ancients. The menhir and the hole, located on the same east-west axis, are, as it were, parts of a colossal optical instrument. On the days of the spring and autumn equinoxes (March 21 and September 23), the sun rises from behind the rock, a ray of the sun passes through a hole in the grotto and hits exactly on the top of the menhir. This was the starting point.

Menhirs are a fertile subject for fantasies, including scientific ones. The main version of the appearance of such stone stelae is some kind of cult purpose. Esotericists do not even need to be convinced that menhirs stand in special “zones of power”, where energy flows that go into space converge. Another assumption is that menhirs are ancient observatories. Stonehenge became a place of pilgrimage for tourists after it turned out that at the time of the summer solstice, the main axis of the entire structure points to the northeast, where the Sun rises on the longest day of the year. By the way, the involvement of the Bakhchisarai menhir in astronomy was established by the employee of the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory A. Lagutin, who spent many years observing the sunrise at the menhir.

In general, there are many versions, you can choose according to your taste. In any case, the menhir is unusually attractive for its loneliness and mystery.

Skelsky menhirs

Skelsky menhirs (III - II millennium BC) - a cult astronomical structure of the Stone Age. The most famous building of this kind in the world is Stonehenge. Preserved near the village of Rodnikovoe (Skelya), at the entrance to the village, on the left, at the first stone house (club). Skelsky menhirs are stone blocks of marble-like limestone placed vertically in the form of obelisks. There are two of them: a large one, 2.8 m high, the other is squat, its height is less than 1.2 m. There was also a third one, 0.85 m high, but in the 50s it was dug out during the construction of a water pipeline. The local name for this place is Tekli-Tash (“placed stone”). The weight of the larger one is more than 6 tons, but there are no quarries nearby, and the nearest rocks can be seen only a few kilometers away. Menhirs are said to heal well. A lone menhir stands above an underground stream of water, and at the point where the rivers intersect with each other. It is assumed that water is the concentration of accumulation and conservation of energy and information. And in the place where the rivers are intertwined into a ball, the water acquires the properties of a magic crystal. Other studies have shown that menhirs, like a snake, are entwined with an energy ribbon that goes up. And they stand at the points of accumulation of negative energy, transforming it into positive. People call such places zones of Power. It is worth touching the megalith - and hands seem to be washed by an invisible stream of water.

Baidar (Skelsky) menhirs

The most famous monument of primitive man in the vicinity of Sevastopol is located in the center of the Baydarskaya Valley, in the village of Rodnikovskoye (former Skeli) - the oldest example of conscious construction activity of man, the first example of architecture.

Menhir in Breton means "long stone". This word denotes long stone idols vertically dug into the ground, which are cult monuments of the Neolithic and Bronze Ages. They are known in Western Europe, North Africa, India, Siberia. There are they in the Caucasus and in the Crimea. Skelsky menhirs are the largest known in South-Eastern Europe. They were discovered near the village of Skelya (now the village of Rodnikovskoye, Bakhchisaray district) 85 years ago by archaeologist N.I. Rennikov. In Tatar, these stone obelisks are called "temke-tash" ("placed stone").

There are two menhirs, these are monolithic blocks of marble-like limestone, covered with cracks, mosses or lichens. In 1978 they were examined by A. A. Schepinsky. He noted that the menhirs with their "facade" and "rear" are located almost along the north-south line, and the compacted sides are oriented to the east and west. And although such monuments are quite common in Europe and Asia (in Siberia, the Caucasus, the largest menhir, more than 20 m high, is located in France, in Brittany), but the monuments of the Baidar Valley are the largest found in southeastern Europe. . He believes that they had a cult significance, and relates their appearance to the III - the beginning of the II millennium BC. It is possible that the ancient inhabitants of these places who installed them, like the creators of the famous English Stonehenge, which has the same four thousand years of age, were engaged in astronomical observations.

The Simferopol historian and archaeologist A. A. Stolbunov came to the same conclusion. Skelsky menhirs rise on a flat area near the building of the Rodnikovsky rural club. One of them - Big - with an above-ground height of about 2.6 m (up to 1 m in diameter), the other - Small - has a height of 0.85 m (width up to 0.8 m). They are made of marbled limestone, which forms the Main Ridge of the Crimean Mountains. Nearby there is nothing like a quarry - it was brought from the mountains and, apparently, from afar. Imagine the effort required to transport the menhir and set it upright.
The top of the Big menhir has a conical shape, the Small one is flattened. The monument is far from being fully studied. Only in the 1960s. a third menhir (fragment) was excavated in Rodnikovskoye, and in 1989 a fourth, fallen menhir, about 2.4 m high (up to 0.8 m in diameter) was discovered. Skelskie< менгиры охраняются в составе Байдарского ландшафтного заказника, созданного в 1990 г.

Alley of menhirs of Arkaim

Probably, in the modern world there is no person who would be interested in ancient history and have not heard about such colossi of Eurasian religious architecture as Stonehenge or the rows of menhirs in Le Meneque. However, how many people know that in our trans-Ural steppes in the era of the late Bronze Age, the megalithic cult was highly developed? Alleys of menhirs and single menhirs of the Southern Trans-Urals do not differ in colossal sizes, but megalithic monuments were widespread, and the expressive features of their construction speak eloquently of the special sacred significance of these complexes in the culture of the population of the Late Bronze Age of our steppes. One of such monuments - the Simbirsk Alley of Menhirs - is currently presented among the objects of the historical park of the Arkaim Museum-Reserve.

The alley was excavated in 1990 by a team of the Chelyabinsk State University archaeological expedition led by I.E. Lyubchansky during archaeological research in the construction zone of the Ilyassky reservoir in the Kizilsky district of the Chelyabinsk region. After the research work, the alley was dismantled and transported to the reserve in order to preserve the monument, which was located in the zone of the planned flooding. The Simbirsk alley of menhirs is an example of an unknown cult that was widespread in the Trans-Ural steppes in antiquity.

The monuments explored and discovered in the Southern Trans-Urals can be divided into 4 types:

* Single menhirs.
* Alleys of menhirs in the form of a straight line.
* Alleys of menhirs in the form of an arc.
* Complexes of menhirs.

What specific culture of the Late Bronze Age owned menhirs and alleys of menhirs? What cult were they dedicated to - solar-lunar, phallic? What did the menhir dug into the ground symbolize? From whom did the alley protect? What role did megalithic monuments play in the development of cultural space by the ancient population of the Eurasian steppes? Archaeologists are now trying to answer all these questions. Today, these mysterious stones have not been studied enough, but in the course of research over the years, some interesting patterns have emerged.

Almost all studied megalithic complexes are located in close proximity to the Late Bronze Age sites. Most often these are settlements, less often - burial grounds. There are cases when a complex of monuments of the same time and located in close proximity is represented by: a settlement - a communal cult object (megalith) - a communal necropolis (for example, monuments of the Sistema microdistrict in the Kartalinsky district of the Chelyabinsk region, exploration and excavations by V.P. Kostyukov in 1989 and F.N. Petrova in 2001). Megalithic monuments are not just located near the settlements, but occupy a strictly defined position relative to them. The monuments seem to line up along a certain semantic line: a settlement - a megalith - a burial ground/hill. In the landscape, it looks like this: a river - a settlement (for example, on the first floodplain terrace) - further, along a gradually rising terrain - a menhir or an alley of menhirs (in almost all cases this is the slope of the nearest, often quite low hill) - further, on the indicated line the top of the hill described above will be located. In some cases, when settlements near a menhir or an alley of menhirs are not recorded, there is, as it were, a part of the indicated scheme above the scheme: megalith - burial ground. The burial ground in this case will also be located in the landscape above the megalith, as if replacing or anticipating a hill dominating the surrounding area (for example, the alley of menhirs Peschanka, excavations by S.S. Markov, 2002). Preferably, said line or axis follows a north-south line, often with deviations. This is probably due to the general arrangement of the landscape, in which the alley must necessarily be located on a hillside, for example, in the case of the Simbirskaya alley of menhirs, the alley was located to the east of the settlement, that is, the settlement was accordingly located to the west of the nearest hill. Apparently, the location of the cult megalithic complex on the hillside played a particularly important role in its construction, even if (in very rare cases) no settlements or burial grounds were recorded near the megalith. For example, two alleys of menhirs studied in the field season of 2002 on the massif of Mount Cheka in the Kizilsky district of the Chelyabinsk region (Cheka I and Cheka II). No settlements or burial grounds were found in the immediate vicinity of these monuments, however, both alleys, like most alleys of menhirs in the Southern Trans-Urals, were built along the west-east line and located on a hillside.

Excavations of megalithic monuments provide a variety of data. And this, in its own way, makes their analysis even more difficult. In essence, today researchers can only say with a certain degree of certainty that the chronological belonging of most of the Trans-Ural megaliths is the Late Bronze Age. This is the time of close contacts on the territory of our region of the Alakul (Eastern) and Srubnaya (Western) tribes.

The main results of excavations in the steppe zone are material traces of just such contacts. In addition, there is so far a single case of obtaining materials from the Cherkaskul (forest) tribes during excavations (excavations of the Akhunovo megalithic complex in the trans-Ural part of the Republic of Bashkortostan, F.N. Petrov, 2003). Also, as a result of these excavations, materials were obtained, presumably dated to an earlier period - the Eneolithic.

During the excavations of some megalithic monuments of the Southern Trans-Urals, the remains of burials (burnings and corpses, which in itself speaks of different cultural traditions or a mixture of them) were found. Whether they were traces of special burials is difficult to say. In the case of the cremations, neither the grave pit nor the corresponding inventory (vessels or altars) was found. The only encountered case of a complete funeral rite was recorded on a single menhir Lisya Gora (excavations by F.N. Petrov, 2003). The burial was carried out according to the srubny rite.

What did these burials mean outside the traditional necropolis of the community? Maybe there was a case of abnormal death (for example, a strange disease)? Or did the deceased have some special status during his lifetime? In the case of the Lisya Gory menhir, where a burial of a woman with two infants was discovered, one can assume either death from natural causes, or ritual murder - the sacrifice of twins by the community, whose birth may have been considered a bad sign, and their mother. Also, burials on megalithic monuments could be a "construction sacrifice" widely known in the cult practice of different peoples (Taylor, 1989).

There is another relatively new direction in the study of ancient monuments, including megalithic ones - this is archaeoastronomy. Researchers working in this direction suggest that some astronomical rituals related to agricultural cycles could be performed on megalithic monuments. For example, during the excavations of the Simbirsk alley of menhirs, the remains of a cremation were found, located inside a certain wooden or stone structure. Their location highlights the northeast direction relative to the center of the alley. This direction is generally significant for near-horizon astronomy, as it marks the direction of sunrise on the days of the summer solstice, and was of particular importance in the ritual (including funeral) practice of antiquity. It is also appropriate to mention the fact that during excavations at perhaps the most famous megalithic monument in Europe - Stonehenge (this is one of the most ancient observatories), traces of cremation were also found (J. Wood, 1981. P. 227-228). A possible analogy in this case does not allow us to talk about some kind of kinship or continuity of cultures, however, by the very presence of human sacrifice, it can emphasize the special significance of the megalithic cult in the life of ancient societies.

A special place in the study of megaliths of the Southern Trans-Urals is occupied by the issue of artistic side work found on stones - zoomorphic or anthropomorphic, extremely rare for menhirs of this territory. Why is it so? Researchers have no reason to believe that people of the Bronze Age - the creators of amazingly beautiful dishes made of clay and small stone plastic - were not able to reproduce artistic images. Older in time, relative to the menhirs of the Southern Trans-Urals, Okunev steles are known, on which one can trace both achievements in stone processing and unusual style. In essence, all artistic creative skills were adopted by mankind at the earliest stage of its development - in the ancient Stone Age. “From XXX to X thousand BC. e. mastered all the basic principles of fine art - in the ensemble and in its individual components, in compositions and decor. Creation of the sacred space of the "temple"; the canon of a figure deployed on a plane; frieze and heraldic construction of the scene; correlation of a thing and its embodiment; interaction between the form of the object and the image. Whatever we touch, everything has its post-types, post-images, everything develops in the subsequent millennia-long history of human art” (Laevskaya, 1997, p. 23). However, among the menhirs of the Southern Trans-Urals, among which only in a few cases there was a hardly guessed attempt to give the stone some kind of not quite clear shape, there is only one reliable case of finding an image - this is one of the two central stelae of the Akhunovo megalithic complex. Judging by the state of the image on this stone, which is very deplorable, it can be assumed that time itself (geological weathering to which the stone was constantly exposed) erased the work of ancient masters from the monuments. But this is just a version.

It can also be assumed that most of the menhirs of the steppe Trans-Urals did not have any images at all. Quite different, in no way tied to the morphology of individual stones, was the semantic load of complexes, alleys and single menhirs. “The essence of ancient art, especially monumental art, was determined by its special function, which differs from the function of modern art. Not so much a reflection, copying of reality, but a recreation of the ideological foundations of being with the aim of influencing both the real and the illusory spheres of society's life - these ideas determined the specifics of the creation and functioning of ancient monuments of this kind. The art of creating a monument (stele, menhir, sculpture, etc.), thus, was thought and perceived as a demiurgic religious and magical process, designed to ensure the normal interaction of the world of people with the world of gods, ancestors and heroes ”(Samashev, Olkhovsky, 1996. S. 218). Thus, we can assume that for the South Ural builders of megalithic monuments, the most significant could be both the device itself, the “architecture” of the structure, and its position inside or outside the cultural “civilized” space of the community.

So, as we can see, the problem of studying megalithic monuments is very multifaceted. This is a relatively new direction in the study of the ancient societies of the Southern Trans-Urals. Here, broad prospects are presented for research in various fields, both archeology proper and searches in the field of mythology, religious studies, and art history. Paleosoil scientists and astronomers are already taking an active part in the field work of archaeologists; the data obtained by them expand the possibilities of archaeologists in terms of clarifying the chronology and reconstructing the spiritual life of ancient societies.

Disputes about the correct name of the monuments do not subside. Is it right to call them "megaliths"? In fact, the Trans-Urals menhirs in their bulk are not so large, although there are individual stones of very impressive size. But we think that the main criterion is not the size of a particular stone. It is worth considering this cultural phenomenon more deeply. Neolithic stelae with "masks", deer stones of different cultures and eras, Scythian "stone women", Turkic funeral sculpture and, finally, Er Gra and Stonehenge. Ancient stones have stood on the vast territory of the Eurasian steppe for thousands of years. Installing them was not always such a labor-intensive matter, but it required the efforts and intellectual potential of the entire community. So the use of the term "megalith" seems to us quite legitimate in the sense of not "big stone", but "larger than a stone."

The energy invested in the construction of alleys of menhirs or the installation of single stones was more of a spiritual nature than a physical one, and the traces of this spiritual culture left to us by the ancient population of the South Ural steppes are still waiting to be unraveled.

Menhir of the North Caucasus

In various countries of the world and on various continents: in Asia, and in America, and in Europe, you can look at megalithic structures called dolmens. In addition to dolmens on the territory of the Earth, both in the coastal parts of the world and in the depths of the mainland, you can see mysterious and rather strange pillars, which are called menhirs. These are huge pillars that are made of solid stone.
The dimensions and mass of menhirs are unusually large, for example, a stone pillar or menhir, which is located in the French city of Lokmariaker, reaches a height of twenty-three meters, and its weight is three hundred and thirty tons. Sometime in the distant past, it was destroyed, perhaps by human hands, perhaps by a natural phenomenon. And now this menhir is destroyed into 3 parts, each of which weighs several tons. Such megalithic structures as menhirs are among the most common on Earth. So in some areas of Western Europe you can find up to 100 menhirs. In addition, dolmens and cromlechs are often located next to menhirs, which indicates their relationship, which is not clear to modern man.

In Russia, there are dolmens that are located in the Caucasus, and there are quite a lot of them, but there are practically no menhirs, or they are destroyed. Those who built these huge stone structures considered that there was no place for menhirs, which is quite likely. But still, in the North Caucasus there is one menhir, which is considered a classic representative of such structures. This menhir is located in a small settlement called Khamyshki. Menhir, which is a local landmark here, is visited by crowds of tourists from different cities of Russia, and even other countries of the world. This menhir stands on the left bank of the river, which is called Belaya, and next to it stands a trough-shaped dolmen. Petroglyphs are written on this dolmen, and there is a stone bowl nearby. The dolmen was saved from destruction when it was moved one hundred and fifty meters from the construction of the highway connecting Guzeripl and Maykop to the territory of a private park.

The dolmen standing next to the menhir used to look like a flower that rose from the ground, but the rock from which this flower is made split right where the hole is. Part of the dolmen lies on its side, namely the part that was at the very top. Next to this place is a menhir, it is slightly smaller than the other mentioned above. There is also a huge stone bowl, which may have had the function of a vessel for sacrificial blood or sacred water.
A private park, on the territory of which all these stone structures are located, is just beginning to be built. This park can already be visited, and it is quite cozy and pleasant to visit here. In addition, in the village of Goncharka there is a "Museum of Stones", where you can look at megalithic stone menhirs.

Let us turn to some features of the installation of menhirs. These are not stone pillars dug into the ground, but a pillar made of a certain type of stone. The menhir was placed on a flat stone slab, which lay horizontally on the surface of the earth, and a special recess was made in it. This recess was equipped with a special insert, on which the megalithic stone menhir itself was placed. The bottom of the stone was covered with soil, reinforced with stones and turf, so that the menhir could stand for a long time.

Akhunov menhirs: the message of the ancients

The last decades have been marked by the unrelenting growth of mankind's interest in its distant past, the recapitulation of the fundamental foundations of Darwinism, the discovery of archaeological sites that give new ideas about the ancient ways of life of the current human race. Among them are Stonehenge, Arkaim, Ryazan Spassky Luki, the Tibetan pyramid mountain Kailas and ... the Bashkir Stonehenge - Akhunov megaliths of the Uchalinsky district.

Intrigued by the stories about the Bashkir menhirs, we headed towards Akhunovo. We were met by acting head of the local administration, historian by education Amir Kharisov.

In 2003, archaeologists from the Chelyabinsk scientific center "Arkaim" carried out excavations at the site of the installation of menhirs, found artifacts, took them, but on the condition that they return the finds of value to the history of Bashkortostan. They did not keep their word. The latest publications in the newspapers say that many thousands of years ago, representatives of the most ancient civilization lived in our region - the Aryans, who then built Arkaim and went to the east. Our local historian Zhavdat Aitov, the discoverer and keeper of local historical monuments, is well aware of this. He never studied anywhere, comprehends everything himself and can tell you a lot.

Amir Kharisov has no doubts that the Akhunov menhirs are a near-horizontal astronomical observatory. According to the available information, as scientific studies of the leaders of the historical and archaeological center “Arkaim” F.N. Petrova, A.K. Kirillov, with the help of the megalithic complex, the priests observed the starry sky, the movement of the sun and moon, which made it possible to maintain a systematic calendar containing key astronomical dates: the days of the summer and winter solstice - June 22 and December 22, as well as the spring and autumn equinoxes. The data obtained, scientists say, allow us to consider the Akhunovo megalithic monument as one of the largest ancient observatories in Eurasia in terms of the number of observed astronomical events. Based on the totality of archaeological and archaeoastronomical data, it can be assumed that it was built in the 4th millennium BC. Shards of clay pots and animal bones found at the complex date back to the late Paleolithic, that is, they are more than 10 thousand years old.

The only direct analogue of the Akhunovo megalithic complex currently known on the territory of Eurasia is the larger, but having a fundamentally similar structure and reflecting a similar level of astronomical knowledge, the English megalithic monument Stonehenge.

And our Zhavdat, who is now over fifty years old, while still a schoolboy, when virgin lands were being developed, suddenly declared, - continues Amir Iskandarovich, - that there is an ancient burial ground on the barrow and it should not be disturbed and destroyed.
We met Zhavdat Talgatovich riding a bicycle along the street of the village. He has been working as a plumber for a long time, fixing leaks. He moved to the car from his bicycle without any further questions, showing the way to the megaliths, as he did then, in 1996, to the first Chelyabinsk archaeologists.

I went to the place of worship of these shamans as a boy, - first of all, Zhavdat said, getting into the car. “My grandmother had great respect for this place, she went there to pray and considered it an ancient sanctuary, in our opinion: “aulia cabere”. To some extent, even guarded him. Apparently, by inheritance, the mission of the keeper of the secrets of the ages was passed on to me ...
Zhavdat Aitov knows seven of his generations, and as long as he can remember himself, something has always drawn him to the mysterious stones. Information about the religious unusualness of the ancient temple was passed from generation to generation, the villagers bypassed it. Even when in the 1930s the garden of the Krasny Partisan collective farm was being built nearby, the stones were brought from outside, and the ancient “calendar” was not disturbed. Until it's time to reveal it to the world.
“It was I who showed the people of Chelyabinsk the way to the stones,” continues Zhavdat, “and about four years ago I gave them the bronze medallion I found—a shamanic sign—it was worn by those who installed these menhirs. It is a cross enclosed in a circle. I thought that they would explain its meaning, but there is still no information, no cross.
In the meantime, the car drove up to the bank of the Aikreelga river and Zhavdat pointed to several hewn stones (menhirs) set vertically.
- I myself noticed that you can determine from the stones where the sun will rise, where the moon will appear. Especially on a full moon,” says Zhavdat Talgatovich. “But it seems to me that this “calendar” has a completely different purpose. Here began the shamanic road to their holy place, where they prayed to God. It passed between the "northern" and "southern" menhirs to the east, towards the forests.
The "calendar" consists of 10 menhirs, but another one, according to Zhavdat, with mysterious drawings and signs, the priests and sorcerers took with them or hid somewhere.

To the west of the object is Mount Uslutau with a height of 666 meters. Note that the top of the Tibetan Kailash - the world's place of worship, is located at an altitude of 6666 meters. Weird coincidence! Being on Akhunov's "Stonehenge", you can see that in spring and autumn, on the days of the equinox, the sun sets behind Uslutau. And this can no longer be a mere coincidence. Uslutau in translation from the Bashkir means "peak peak", and some visionaries call Akhunovo the navel of the earth. This means that the locations of the menhirs and the sanctuary itself were carefully selected.
- In ancient times, this territory was revered as a great source and was considered sacred, - says Konstantin Bystrushkin from Chelyabinsk, author of the books "The Phenomenon of Arkaim", "The People of the Gods". — The megalithic complex in Akhunovo is more than an observatory, more than Stonehenge. Why did the ancient builders erect a whole megalithic complex here?

The answer to this question was found after careful measurements. It turns out that the line passing through the two central menhirs deviates from the north-south magnetic direction by 13 degrees. In this case, the northern menhir points to the Uslutau peak, which is dominant in this area, located 14 kilometers from the object. And the southern menhir points to the hill that separates Akhunovo from Karagai pine forest. And this hill lies on the same meridian with ... Arkaim.
In addition, Akhunov's "stones" are located almost on the same latitude as the English Stonehenge and the Ryazan "Stonehenge" Spassky Luki.

Zhavdat Aitov believes that there are several such "calendars" in the vicinity of Akhunovo, one of them was destroyed in 1947. All of them together represent some kind of complete ensemble, a sign that can be seen from a height, and maybe even from space. Since, according to the local historian, ancient people studied the movement of stars, for example, Ursa Major, they probably knew the secrets of astrology and knew how the location of heavenly bodies affects earthly processes and people. Everything in space is interconnected.

By the way, the ufologists who came to Akhunovo believe that this megalithic complex is nothing more than a landing strip for UFOs, or a sign for the cosmic mind .. And a couple of tourists who come to bow to the “stones” really saw flying luminous balls over Akhunovo , and Zhavdat saw the "plate" itself, hovering at night 900 meters from him with running lights along its circumference and a diameter of about one hundred meters.

It's a shame that the Arkaimians closed the bronze cross, - Zhavdat continues to be indignant, - they didn't show it, they didn't tell the world, but meanwhile - it is a symbol of the beliefs of the Aryans. After all, the shamanic road leads to the top of the mountain - a place of worship and rituals, where the Aryans built a stone wall 15 meters long. Such huge stones were lifted, in what way is it interesting if the heaviest one weighs one and a half tons? There are two circles there. I just showed the people of Arkaim this place, next year I’ll look - everything has been dug up there ... Well, you can’t treat the sanctuaries like that ... I’m very offended ... Let’s go here.
Zhavdat Talgatovich leads me to a certain point of the sanctuary.

Here stood the chief shaman, the priest and led the ceremony - the rite, and others stood around him. They sang, danced, beat the tambourine - they talked with the gods, the elements of nature. And the gods lived among them...
The ancients knew that God is one and at the same time plural, he has many faces and as natural elements - fire, wind, earth, water. They knew the laws of nature and lived in harmony with them. Being friends with the elements and honoring the pagan God - Rod and deities - Veles, Perun, Mitra, Kryshnya, Zhavdat believes, they grew excellent crops, controlled the weather, ensured peace and spiritual order in the village. The main deity of the Aryan-Slavs was the god of the sun - Ra - the god of fertility, light, Vedic knowledge, peace, prosperity. It was to him that the medallion given to the people of Chelyabinsk was dedicated - a cross in a circle, denoting four solar signs in a year.
“In addition, they deified the third stone that disappeared, probably of alien origin,” Zhavdat surprises. - They drew strength and knowledge from him. Where is this stone?

The latest discoveries of scientists say that the famous teacher and prophet Zarathushtra was born and preached in the Southern Urals, near Mount Iremel. He was a kind of conductor of divine knowledge about nature, the world order, spiritual laws, and one of the founders of the solar religion - Zoroastrianism and Mithraism, to which unprecedented interest has recently flared up in society. And the ancient people who took a fancy to the surroundings of Akhunov are none other than the Zoroastrians, who then went to Iran and India ...

Menhirs cure infertility?
One Ufa woman, who is fond of esotericism and everything unusual, told us that the megalithic complex in Akhunovo is famous as a healer of barren women. With what it is connected, it was not possible to find out. Maybe with the fact that the central menhir has a phallic shape... Or maybe with the fact that the god of fertility was revered here... But
Ufimka assures that women really come to Akhunovo and stand near the menhir for a long time.
- Yes, I heard about it, - confirmed Zhavdat Talgatovich. “Our “calendar” also has healing properties…
... We were leaving, and Zhavdat continued:
- Akhunovo is located between the mountains, as in a plate. Where is its center, the main vantage point of the priests? It would be necessary to excavate all the objects, connect them mentally and try to decipher the information contained in them. But I think that no one will ever succeed ...
And I thought that the megalithic complex carries the message of the ancients of our time. Just what is it? Good or bad?
The question remains open, we will return here ...

Our ancestors left us a colossal cultural heritage, which, like a magic jewelry box, beckons with its brilliance and contains many unsolved mysteries. Undoubtedly, one of these mysteries is a stone menhir. Until recently, while Theodosian menhir, miraculously found, did not take a place of honor near a no less grandiose structure, Saint Constantine towers few people thought about its powerful power and true purpose. Now, after such a triumphant discovery that took place on the day of the city, we simply have to figure out what kind of stone it is, menhir, because another sparkling diamond appeared in the casket of values ​​\u200b\u200bby God Given.

Theodosian menhir at the tower of St. Constantine

Menhir- from Low Breton (France) mean - stone and hir - long. Roughly worked or wild stone set by man. The vertical dimensions are larger than the horizontal ones. They are found both singly and in whole groups. They belong to the era of the Eneolithic, Copper and Bronze Ages (4-2 thousand years BC). Mostly found in coastal areas, with the exception of Australia. Modern monuments are relatives of menhirs.

Menhirs

Menhirs- the first buildings made by human hand, which have survived to this day. Until the 19th century, archaeologists did not have reliable data on their origin. But thanks to the development of scientific methods, such as radiocarbon analysis and dendrochronology, we know that this is the legacy of the Neolithic, Copper and Bronze Ages. We are still wondering what secrets our Theodosian menhir. And this is not accidental, because for many centuries the true purpose of these magic stones remained a mystery. Scientists do not know about religious beliefs or the language of the builders of miracle complexes, although it is known that they were engaged in agriculture, buried their dead, made stone tools, clay utensils, and jewelry. There are opinions that the druids, for example, used when they made a human sacrifice. It is likely that the stones were used for various purposes, which, unfortunately, are not known and may never be identified. The most popular destination hypotheses menhir: cult (symbols of the center, ritual fencing of other structures, determination of the boundaries of possessions, phallic symbols), solar - astronomical, boundary, memorial. It happened that other peoples used it repeatedly, for their own purposes, putting their inscriptions on the stones, drawings, and sometimes changing the general shape, transforming menhirs into idols. Most often found in Western Europe, especially in Ireland, Great Britain and the French province of Brittany. Also, there are menhirs in various parts of Europe, Asia and Africa. More than 1,200 ancient obelisks have been found in northwestern France, dating from various periods of ancient history. The highest menhir in France Cham - Dolen. According to Celtic legend, for the place where Sham Dolen The gods fought, but a stone that fell from the sky stopped the battle.

Sham Dolen

There is still debate about the temporal origin menhirs. Until recently, it was believed that the mysterious stones are a culture of bell-shaped goblets, the carriers of which lived in Europe in the late Neolithic. But recent studies of Breton megaliths testify to a more ancient origin of magic stones. It is believed that the construction of menhirs may date back to the fourth or fifth millennium BC. The tradition of placing stones vertically is one of the oldest traditions, because this position is the most stable. We still erect stone steles in honor of an important event, memory or intention. As for Russia, there are menhirs belonging to different cultures in the south of the country, in the Caucasus, in Altai, in the South Trans-Urals, in Khakassia, in the Sayans, the Baikal region, Skelsky menhirs in the Baidar valley.

Bakhchisaray menhir

Famous Crimean menhir - Bakhchisarai, which was part of an ancient observatory, consists of a grotto with a through hole, the menhir itself and a destroyed weathering arch. Bakhchisaray menhir- this is a single, vertically standing pillar with traces of rough processing. Its height reaches 4 meters, width - 2 meters, thickness -0.6 meters. There was a version that this object of natural origin - broke away from the mountain and slid down. But still, the version of its artificial installation is more convincing, given the active human activity in these parts over the past few tens of thousands of years. Exact age Bakhchisaray menhir is still unknown, because serious archaeological excavations for this purpose have not been carried out. There is reliable information that in the valley, at the foot of the menhir, in the Middle Ages there was a small settlement. But a wave of interest in this miracle rose at the end of the 20th century, after people had an understanding of its astronomical purpose. Crimean engineer of the Astrophysical Observatory Alexander Filippovich Lagutin put forward the idea of ​​the astronomical orientation of the menhir.

“I began to spend the night at the menhir, trying to see the observatory in action. And soon I succeeded, I saw through the top of the menhir how the rising Sun appeared in a distant window. This was around 1990. For several years I spent the night at the menhir, and in the end I determined the reference days of the ancient calendar. From the Equinoxes they are slightly shifted towards summer.

Today it is the only ancient observatory, preserved in the Crimea. There is a similar building in England - stonehenge and possibly in Russia - Arkaim. The place where it stands Bakhchisaray menhir, combines the elegance of a mountain valley and amazing traces of the life of our ancestors. This beautiful duet has its own exciting power. You can come here, for example, in April or September, to feel this powerful power of the ancestors and feel like an ancient people that has gathered in a clearing near a magic stone and awaits the emergence of the New Sun with trepidation.

Bakhchisaray menhir complex

Our Theodosian menhir about 3 thousand years old, it is made of granite and reaches 2.8 meters in length. Previously, this ancient obelisk adorned the entrance to the building of a unique European museum - Feodosia Museum of Antiquities. At the entrance to the museum building, built Aivazovsky There were two menhirs similar to the Greek Parthenon, which, unfortunately, was destroyed during the Great Patriotic War. Both of them mysteriously disappeared. But fate wanted it, and one of the stones was found thanks to the efforts of enthusiasts. The specialists of our Museum of Antiquities, together with their Kuban colleagues, have established the value and authenticity of this Late Bronze Age artifact.

There are many mystical places on our planet where a colossal number of mysteries lurk, exciting the minds of not only scientists, but also ordinary people. Our ancestors left a unique cultural heritage that holds many secrets, and for several centuries, researchers have been studying high boulders rising above the ground. Some of them stand alone, others are built in a closed ring or semicircle, others form whole alleys of massive pillars.

Some are looking up, while others are leaning towards the ground, and it seems that they are about to fall, but this has not happened in five or six thousand years.

Types of megaliths

First of all, it must be said that prehistoric structures made of stone blocks dating back to the preliterate era are divided into several groups: these are dolmens, menhirs, cromlechs. Scientists know stone mounds, boat-shaped graves and covered galleries.

Let's figure out what the ancient megaliths are. A menhir is a single, vertically standing stone, and when there are many such blocks and they form a circular shape, then this is already a whole group called cromlech.

Dolmen is a structure made of one stone, which is placed on other slabs. Most often, it resembles the letter "P", and the most striking representative of the megalith is the English Stonehenge. Such stone houses were erected near mounds, but structures far from burials are also known.

sacred stone

So what is a menhir? Scientists consider it the first man-made structure that has survived to this day. It is a man-installed sacred stone dating back to the Eneolithic (the transitional period from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age). Science does not know the true purpose of these colossi, many of which are well studied by scientists.

It is believed that the menhirs of Brittany are the best studied, but such architectural complexes are scattered all over the earth, but there is no evidence of the people who installed them. We have no material evidence at our disposal, and all we can rely on are ancient legends, as well as unconfirmed hypotheses.

cult building

According to one version, the stone pillars of the earth served as beacons, and their location is very similar to the signal system. According to another, it is believed that these are ancient tombstones, but not all scientists support this theory, because not every menhir found traces of burials.

Whatever their function, one thing is clear - they all served a cult, and the traditions of veneration of stone deities among the ancient peoples known today shed some light on centuries-old secrets. It is known that in Greece the huge tetrahedral pillars that stood at the crossroads were dedicated to Hermes, and in Rome the columns, to which gifts were brought in honor of the god of borders, were rubbed with oils and decorated with flowers. Anyone who accidentally moved such stones was considered forever damned.

Help ancient agronomists?

There is another theory according to which megalithic monuments with healing energy were used to correct soil imperfections. The earth, riddled with currents, needed to balance them, and the menhirs helped the ancient agronomists in this. After balancing energy in ways unknown to us, people achieved high yields, restoring the lost balance.

Here the hypothesis of a living organism was reflected - nature, to which our ancestors respected and tried in their own ways to help her sick body.

Stones at the sites of geological faults

It is possible that the menhirs, the photos of which convey the special power of ancient structures, were boundary stones that did not separate neighboring territories, but something else. Therefore, there is another hypothesis, according to which the stones were placed in places where tectonic fractures of the earth's crust occurred and the energy released from the depths came out to the surface. They stood in and, as our ancestors believed, in such places two worlds met - people and gods.

The revered pillars of the earth have always been considered the focus of energy - the very power that is designed to protect from all adversity and keep the world from death. It happened that the peoples who replaced others took care of the artifacts and reused the stones, put their inscriptions on them and even changed their shape, turning high columns into idols for worship.

Guards of the borders and souls of the dead

And when it comes to talking about what a menhir really is, many are sure of its security purpose. In Brittany, there was a tradition to set up a stone throne, kindle a fire and wait for the souls of deceased relatives to sit on the headboard to warm themselves by the fire. Such ensembles, built by human hands, served as a guarantee that the world would continue to exist, and if they stand, then the end of time is pushed back.

It was believed that the ancient obelisk would work when it was in a special zone, at the point of intersection of force fields, or over the burial places of ancestors. Strongly elongated boulders are found among different peoples. For example, in Palestine, such stones were revered as the dwellings of spirits, and people treated them with respect and tried not to anger their departed predecessors living in the slabs.

Mysteries of megaliths going deep into the earth

Sacred stones are monuments of a bygone era, when an ancient man began to realize himself and his place in the world around him. They are studied by scientists, and the famous traveler, Professor Ernst Muldashev has repeatedly explored the megaliths concealing many mysteries. Menhirs, scattered throughout Europe, are not always high, but go deep into the ground.

Muldashev says that in Central Asia, in places inaccessible to people, he saw stone pillars, more reminiscent of periscopes, and according to the testimony of Tibetan lamas, these are not just sacred plates, but the antennas of Shambhala, with the help of which the underworld observes the living. They allow energy to pass through them in the same way as heat, due to the crystalline structure.

Stone - energy accumulator

For several millennia, a huge boulder has accumulated natural magnetism. The northern peoples believed that the plates absorb energy from the environment and give it to those who worship natural giants. The stones were presented as a kind of accumulator that increases vibration and allows you to enter a person into an altered state, awakening dormant abilities in him.

Menhirs of Akhunovo village

One of the largest groups of menhirs is located in the village of Akhunovo (Bashkiria), which attracts the attention of specialists studying anomalous zones. In a small village, all the religious buildings of the prehistoric era are collected. And the mysterious monuments of nature, near which flying objects appear at night, immediately disappearing into the stones, clearly have a special energy.

Muldashev, who studied dolmens, menhirs, cromlechs, explained that such formations connect the ground and underground worlds, but it is very far from the complete unraveling of the true purpose of sacred artifacts.

Bashkir Stonehenge

What are the famous Akhunov pillars? Thirteen stone giants, which are the world's oldest megalithic complex, are unofficially called "Bashkir Stonehenge". Many researchers are inclined to the version that this is an ancient observatory oriented to the cardinal points. It allowed astronomers who lived in the Neolithic era to determine the dates of the equinox, as well as keep a calendar. Scientists who deciphered the location of the stones stated that the menhirs (a photo of the ancient complex confirms this) are a miniature diagram of the solar system.

In addition, rituals were held here that allowed the priests to change their minds, as a result of which they acquired new knowledge and strength.

Menhirs of Khakassia

In the Askizsky district of Khakassia, local residents themselves can tell what a menhir is, since in this territory there are 50-ton blocks reaching a height of three meters. The mysterious atmosphere of this corner attracts tourists and scientists who have established the age of the pillars - four thousand years. It is curious that human faces were carved on some stones.

After numerous studies, tectonic zones have been identified that have an impact on the human body. In Soviet times, the menhirs were dug up and are now in the museum, and when the question arose of returning them to where they stood before, it turned out that the exact location was lost.

Two stone pillars have been preserved, near which sacrifices were made, and now people believe in the healing properties of megaliths.

Bakhchisaray menhir

A high stone found in the Crimea was once part of a whole complex, the purpose of which is disputed to this day. The Bakhchisaray menhir, about four meters high, was artificially installed several millennia ago, but its exact age is still unknown. A wave of interest in the megalith arose at the end of the 20th century after an observatory worker put forward a version about the astronomical orientation of the stone pillar.

Research continues, and when the question arises of what a menhir is, modern scientists are unlikely to give an unambiguous answer.

A menhir (generally) is a vertically dug stone. In fact, this is the simplest megalith. The tradition of placing stones vertically goes back centuries and has various reasons. It is authentically known that the first menhirs were installed in the Stone Age. The purpose of menhirs was different, among others, the following can be distinguished:
- road sign
- places of sacrifice
- a commemorative sign at the site of a battle or other notable event
- tombstone
- boundary stone marking the border of the land

In the Caucasus, there are different types of menhirs, and in my opinion (although I can’t say for sure), most of them are roadside stones. Here, as in the case of dolmens, it is difficult to say something for sure, because written evidence of that era has not come down to us. Of the well-known menhirs, one can note those standing on the road to Dzhilysu (KBR), near the village of Nizhny Arkhyz, as well as in the Greater Sochi region.

The simplest menhirs have a simple rectangular shape, often eaten away by erosion due to their advanced age. More advanced ones have embossed drawings, often anthropomorphic (human features). This type of menhirs smoothly turns into Polovtsian sculptures, which were quite recently widespread throughout the Middle Kuban, and now are found almost exclusively in museums.

Alas, now the menhirs are in danger. In addition to being easy prey for diggers, some of the megaliths now lie under the foundations of rural houses, as a free building material. Also, the radicalization of Islam leads to the fact that some adherents destroy menhirs as an allegedly pagan symbol. According to some reports, this was the reason for the destruction of the menhir under Mount Tuzluk in the Northern Elbrus region.