Rock Steady Remnants: Megalith Pictures
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You're outside mowing the lawn one bright, dewy morning, enjoying the solitude and the smell of freshly cut grass, when suddenly -- CLANG! Your lawnmower blade comes into harsh disagreement with a sizeable chunk of mineral. You cut off the machine, wiggle it over to one side and pick up the offender: a baseball-sized hunk of quartzite. You say to yourself, "Man, that was a BIG rock," before hurling it into the neighbor's yard. Listen: Until you've met a megalith, you probably don't know much about "big rocks." The small village of Avebury in Southwestern England, on the other hand, has no choice but to be rather familiar with some giant stone residents. Check out the next image to learn more …
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These sheep can graze the summery pasture until they're quite plump, but no matter how plump they become, they'll still fit comfortably within the shadow of one of Avebury's massive, ancient megaliths. Avebury is situated right in the middle of a huge tangle of prehistoric ceremonial sites. Its central "stone circle" has a diameter almost as long as four (American) football fields, and it was laid out not only before the advent of modern technology, but before the advent of Iron Age technology, sometime more than 4,000 years ago. You may be thinking, "Surely ancient wonders like these can't be very common." Read on to see exactly how wrong that thought would be …
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According to the good folks at Merriam-Webster, a megalith is "a very large usually rough stone used in prehistoric cultures as a monument or building block." Whether once used as buildings, religious icons, burial markers or tools for primitive astronomy, megalithic boulders can be found in every inhabited corner of the Earth. In Skane, Sweden, this large ellipse of standing stones -- commonly known as the Stones of Ale -- marks the probable burial site of a legendary king. The pointed, elliptical shape of the arrangement is believed to mimic that of a 220-foot (67-meter) sailboat. In other news, that is one seriously mystical cow.
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Megalithic monuments go way, way back. At the ancient site of Jericho, which many experts believe to be one of the oldest still-inhabited cities in the entire world, megalithic masterworks are now well-known. The British archaeologist Kathleen Kenyon and her team began excavating this Neolithic stone tower at Jericho in the 1950s. Built perhaps as early as 11,000 years ago, this megalithic structure is one of the most haunting archaeological discoveries from this storied oasis in the West Bank; it measures 30 feet tall and 30 feet wide (9.1 meters tall and 9.1 meters wide). Check out another view of this ancient wonder in the next image.
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Near the shores of the Dead Sea, the unearthed stone tower of Jericho is a reminder of a time when civilization was brand new. According to an interpretation given by the Israeli archaeologist Ran Barkai to the Jerusalem Post, the tower was built during a period when the ancient hunter-gatherers of the Levant were in the midst of making the painful transition from the nomadic lifestyle to the sedentary world of agriculture. Researchers believe the purpose of the stone tower was more symbolic than functional: to impress the local farmers and to unite them as an agrarian community.
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The sweeping, arid steppes of Mongolia are littered with ancient megaliths known as deer stones, earning their name from the fact that many of these chiseled towers of rock depict motifs based on magically imbued reindeer with large, powerful antlers, as well as other powered-up wildlife. These particular megaliths date back to the Bronze Age. See another deer stone in the next photo.
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A single finger of stone reaches for the sky in Ehbulag, Mongolia. Next, you'll see the haunting silhouette of a megalithic tomb.
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Pyramids, obelisks, headstones -- for some reason, the human psyche seems to make a natural connection between large rocks and the storage of dead bodies. Whatever the reason, megalithic tombs and grave-markers are some of the most common remnants of ancient civilization still found today. This is the Poulnabrone Dolmen -- one of these chilling necropolitan monuments -- in County Clare, Ireland. Check out another Irish dolmen in the following image.
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The Legananny Dolmen of County Down is one of Northern Ireland's most elegant megalithic tombs. A dolmen is a particular type of Neolithic funerary monument, usually consisting of one large stone suspended horizontally in the air, supported by a group of smaller, vertical megaliths. A "portal tomb" like this is often believed to mark the resting place of a prehistoric tribal chieftain. Though carefully balanced monuments like this have stood strong against the elements for centuries, it still seems it would be a brave soul who would choose to take a nap under this many-ton casket rock. Check out the next page to see one of the largest quarried megaliths on Earth.
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This is the famous "unfinished obelisk" at Aswan, Egypt. Though the ancient craftsmen who worked to free the 138-foot (42-meter) monolith from this quarry never finished the job, it remains one of the most astounding monuments in world history. If it had been successfully extracted from the Earth, it would have weighed 1,168 tons (1,060 metric tons), and if it had been successfully raised to its intended pedestal, it would have been the tallest, most massive obelisk in the ancient world. It may be a failure, but it's one of the most dauntless and unforgettable failures in the history of humanity. Check out the next page to see an Egyptian obelisk that did manage to make the long journey to verticality.
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In the ancient city of Thebes, Egypt, the Temple of Luxor still bears witness of the chilling, obsessive and absolutist character of pharaonic power. The obelisk you can see at the temple's entrance is an obelisk of Ramses II. Next, you'll see another ancient megalithic marvel from near the Luxor complex.
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These two faceless megaliths depict the 14th-century B.C. pharaoh Amenhotep III of Egypt. Once the guardians of an opulent memorial temple for the bones of dead kings, the Colossi of Memnon now stand blankly in a lonely field near Luxor. Each was originally carved from a single, gigantic piece of stone. Next, you'll see one of the oldest megalithic structures on the planet.
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A priceless archaeological discovery -- or the world's most tempting arrangement of dominoes? The megalithic temples of Malta are some of the best-preserved megalithic masterpieces in Europe. In fact, according to the UNESCO World Heritage project, Professor Lord Renfrew of Cambridge University's archaeology faculty attests that the temples of Malta are "the oldest free-standing monuments in the world." Get an up-close look at the stones used to assemble this age-old edifice in the next photo.
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How old is old? This ruined holy site at the ancient Maltese temple complex of Hagar Qim was erected during the Ggantija phase of the island's architectural history, which took place between 3600 and 3200 B.C. Hagar Qim shows extensive use of the local Maltese mineral strain known as Globigerina limestone. Globigerina is a "soft" limestone, and the site is now considered vulnerable to erosion. Check out the next image to see measures put in place to protect this ancient wonder.
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In the late 2000s, a group called Heritage Malta undertook a project of preservation on behalf of the megalithic temples of Malta. In 2008, the group installed this protective canopy to shield the site's vulnerable stones from the inevitable damage that would be dealt by harsh weather if the temples were left exposed. Both Hagar Qim and the temple of Mnajdra received this treatment. Next, you'll get a look at some famous megalithic figures from the South Pacific.
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Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island, is home to hundreds of megalithic humanoid figurines called mo'ai. This particular group of mo'ai is known as Ahu Tongariki. In 1960, a massive tidal wave smashed into the coast of Rapa Nui, ripping these 15 mo'ai -- the largest of which weigh as much as 30 tons (27.2 metric tons) -- out of their original arrangement and washing them far from the shore. It wasn't until the 1990s that the stone guardians of Ahu Tongariki were restored to their original formation, as impassive as ever.
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Legends tell that the Maen Llia standing stone periodically wanders from its well-rooted perch to take a drink from the nearby river. No one has yet caught the stone in action, and if for no other reason than its remote location, it seems probable that no one ever will. The Maen Llia is a 12-foot (3.7-meter) solitary megalith in the isolated southern moor of Brecon Beacon National Park in Wales. Like many of the looming menhirs of Northern and Western Europe, the Maen Llia remains without a known origin story.
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Here we come to Stonehenge, which is without a doubt, as British comedian Eddie Izzard once put it, "one of the biggest henges in the world." If you've found yourself pondering at one time or another whether, in fact, there really are any other "henges," rest assured: A "henge" is a real thing. The word refers to a particular type of Neolithic landmark found throughout the British Isles, which includes a circular yard surrounded by a ditch, bearing internal features such as stone columns or wooden posts. In the next photo, you'll see record of a time when Stonehenge had to undergo a bit of a touch-up.
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Workers called in the aid of a crane to help put Stonehenge's stone #23 back in place, after it was toppled in 1963. In its original finalized form, Stonehenge contained 30 of the hulking vertical stones you see here, though the site has suffered dismantling, weather damage, and the inevitable creep of nature over the past 4,000 years. Its origins are still a relative mystery. Not only is the exact purpose of the original project unknown, but the identity of its architects and builders is still uncertain.
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The structures at Stonehenge featuring two vertical stones topped by a flat, horizontal stone are known as "trilithons." Archaeologists and other observers have speculated on the purposes Stonehenge might have served for the illiterate Neolithic tribes who built it. Ashes of human remains buried at the site have led some to suggest it was primarily a ceremonial complex designed to memorialize the dead. Others believe that Stonehenge was a local ground zero for mystical healings, or that it was designed as a crude astronomical observatory, helping the primitive tool-wielders of the British Isles keep track of the cycling seasons for religious or agricultural purposes.
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The Isle of Lewis, off the western coast of Scotland, is home to the stunning marvel of the Callanish Standing Stones -- shown here, again with sheep. (Somehow, it seems that prehistoric stone monuments and ruminant livestock go hand in hand.) The Callanish arrangement is an example of what was traditionally called a "cromlech," which is another name for a Neolithic pattern of vertical megaliths, sometimes surrounding a tomb or burial site.
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The hollow, needle's-eye design of the famous Men-an-Tol makes this strange monument one of the most interesting and persistently popular in England. The central stone of the Men-an-Tol features a gap large enough for a human to squeeze through, and folkloric rumors have persisted that the pendant-like megalith bestows good magic upon those who traverse its inner passage. Check out another view of this ancient wonderwork on the next page.
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The blessings that can be obtained by passing through the stone's eye vary from story to story. For just one example, a woman who is unable to conceive may soon find herself with child if she is able to perform the right ritual with the stone and its weather-smoothed gateway on a proper full moon. In terms of the stone's real, original purpose, we can observe that "holed" stones are sometimes found as ceremonial portals to Neolithic burial mounds, so it is believed that the Men-an-Tol may be a marker for an ancient grave.
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Now that's a slab worthy of the Phoenician god Baal himself. Some of the greatest quarried monoliths in the history of the world can be found at the Iron Age Roman ruins of Baalbek, Lebanon. Baalbek, as one might guess from its name, was once a place of worship for Baal, among other ancient gods of the Levant and the deities of the Roman pantheon. In this photo from around 1870, the dauntingly massive "Stone of the Pregnant Woman" is evidence of just how huge the Roman building project in Baalbek once fancied itself. Next, you'll see a snow-laden stone circle in Northern England.
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In the county of Cumbria in Northwestern England, on an elegant, rolling plain, in view of the mountains Helvellyn and High Seat, lies the Castlerigg Stone Circle. Set into the land around 5,000 years ago, during the mysterious eon of the British Neolithic, Castlerigg is often considered one of the most gorgeous and graceful of all the ancient megalithic sites in the United Kingdom. Many of the world's most famous megaliths are to be found in the United Kingdom, but next, you'll see a group of stone shapes from the other side of the Earth.
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The Xieng Khouang plateau in Laos is known throughout the world as the "Plain of Jars" -- you can see why. Literally thousands of prehistoric stone pots like these, most between 3.3 and 9.8 feet (1 and 3 meters) in height, lie strewn about, in clusters of up to a hundred. Each jar appears to have been chiseled from a single, giant piece of rock -- which, of course, means that we've got megaliths on our hands. Though some archaeological work has been done on the Xieng Khouang plateau, the question of who built the jars remains unsettled, and much more research is in order.
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These titanic stone jars are not the remnants of an ancient people who favored dill pickles and strawberry jam. In fact, the pebbly jugs found throughout the Xieng Khouang plateau are believed to be more ceremonial than functional, marking sacred burials that date back to the fifth century B.C. In the next photo, you'll catch a glimpse of Megalith Island!
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You probably thought you'd never see standing stones doing their standing under water. Er Lannic is a small island in the Gulf of Morbihan, on the southern coast of Brittany. Er Lannic's two ancient stone circles once stood on dry land, but over the course of the last 5,000 years or so, more than half of the eerie complex has been dragged down into the sea. Some of the stones claimed by the ocean remain in place, but are covered partially or entirely by the waves. Today, the island is a wildlife sanctuary that is not open to the public.
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The Latte Stones of Guam are a megalithic archaeological treasure of the highest order. Unlike the majority of the megaliths we've seen, which are believed to be primarily of ceremonial or religious significance, the sturdy, chalice-shaped Latte Stones of Guam were of paramount functionality, forming the structural basis for traditional houses on the Mariana Islands. Typical Latte Stones are formed by placing one megalithic pillar on the bottom as a foundation, and topping it with a blooming capstone to cradle the beams that will form the roof of the structure. Next, you'll see an ancient stone city in Scotland.
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This type of structure is known as a broch. Found exclusively in Scotland, brochs are "dry-stone" buildings, meaning they are made not with mortar or structural adhesive, but instead with powerful interlocking patterns of ordinary stone. This particular complex, put together within the Iron Age context of the second century B.C., is the Broch of Orkney, which was probably inhabited by several different cultures over the centuries, including the Vikings.
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