Free Republic

Discovered mainly through satellite images, a few of the gates are actually located on the side of a volcanic dome that once spewed basaltic lava, researchers found. The gates "are stone-built, the walls roughly made and low," David Kennedy, a professor at the University of Western Australia, wrote in a paper set to be published in the November issue of the journal Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy. The gates "appear to be the oldest man-made structures in the landscape," Kennedy noted, adding that "no obvious explanation of their purpose can be discerned." The smallest of the gates extends about 43 feet...

In contrast to the prehistoric remains of the Near East, the megalithic monuments of Arabia remain largely unknown. These monumental structures, made of dry stone walls, still hold many secrets in terms of their construction, function and chronology. An international collaboration (1) of scientists from France, Saudi Arabia and Italy (2), led by Olivia Munoz, a researcher at the CNRS, have discovered a 35-metre long triangular platform in the oasis of Dûmat al-Jandal (northern Saudi Arabia). Built in several phases from the 6th millennium BC, this exceptional monument was probably dedicated to ritual practices, some of which were probably funerary...

Researchers have discovered part of the mystery behind the construction of the earliest known temple in human history. The Göbekli Tepe complex in southeastern Anatolia, Turkey, is a 11,500-year-old stone structure that predates Stonehenge, according to a news release. The researchers used a computer algorithm to trace the architectural design, especially three of the complex's monumental round structures, to determine that the pillars were placed in their particular positions on purpose.

Just because Stonehenge is thousands of years old doesn’t mean it can’t adapt to the virtual age. The ancient, mystical site typically hosts one of the world’s most popular summer solstice celebrations, attracting thousands of people, including the druid and pagan community, on the longest day of the year to watch the sun rise behind the Heel Stone. This year, however, the usual celebration won’t be possible. The English Heritage organization, which manages Stonehenge, is asking people not to visit the site, and is instead offering a livestream of the sunrise. Nichola Tasker, the director of Stonehenge, said, “We have...

This is a clip from my film, 'Standing with Stones'. Produced and directed by myself (Michael Bott) and presented by my old friend naturalist and explorer Rupert Soskin, it is a first-hand account from Rupert of a journey through the British Isles and Ireland, starting at the tip of Cornwall and ending on the Scottish Isles, visiting over 100 Neolithic and Bronze age monuments en route... Standing with Stones is a documentary film that takes the viewer on a journey of discovery revealing the wealth and extent of our Neolithic and Bronze Age heritage. If you ever wondered what it...

The Sphinx had a "distinctive astronomical" moment with the sun during the spring equinox when, in a shining flourish, the sun set on the shoulder of the half-man, half-lion statue on March 19, according to the Egypt Ministry of Antiquities. This phenomenon happens only twice a year, during the spring in March and the fall equinox in September, according to the ministry. During the equinox, Earth's axis doesn't point toward or away from the sun, meaning that the Northern and Southern hemispheres receive equal amounts of the sun's light. In other words, the day and the night are equal in...

One rarely-visited site surveyed, known as Site XI or Airigh na Beinne Bige, now consists of a single standing stone on an exposed hillside overlooking the great circle. Geophysics revealed that not only was the stone originally part of a circle of standing stones, but also that there was a massive, star-shaped magnetic anomaly in the centre – either the result of a single, large lighting strike or many smaller strikes on the same spot. Project leader Dr Richard Bates, of the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of St Andrews, said: “Such clear evidence for lightning...

Lecture by Igor Aleksejev, the author of the film "The Living Stones of Sacsayhuaman". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9J_i... Details about archaeological objects and working with the GRP group. (Followup to The Living Stones documentary with total coverage specifically on one site)

A massive lightning strike which hit the Isle of Lewis more than 3,000 years ago may have inspired ancient civilisations to build stone circles, academics believe. Scientists studying a prehistoric stone circle on the Outer Hebrides island discovered evidence of a lightning strike on a nearby site where a circle had been hidden beneath a peat bog. Just one stone remained standing at the site, known as Site XI or Airigh na Beinne Bige, which overlooks the main stone circle, Tursachan Chalanais, at Calanais on the Isle of Lewis. But it is believed that the single stone was once part...

Workers discover ancient 'snake' An aerial view of the 4000 year old 'Rotherwas Ribbon' Diggers constructing a new access road have uncovered a mysterious serpent-shaped feature, dating from the early bronze age. The 197ft (60m) long ribbon of stones, found in Rotherwas, near Hereford, is thought to date from the same period as Stonehenge, roughly 2000 BC. County archaeologist Dr Keith Ray said as far as he is aware the stone feature is unique in Europe. "We can only speculate it may have been used in some kind of ritual," he said. 'International significance' The Rotherwas Ribbon, as it is...

A 5,000-year-old monument has reappeared in Spain after being submerged at the bottom of a reservoir for 50 years. The megalithic site features 144 granite blocks which stand more than six-foot tall and has been dubbed 'Spanish Stonehenge'. Its similarity to the UNESCO World heritage site in Wiltshire is striking, but the Iberian version is made of smaller rocks. It was thought to be condemned to the history books in the 1960s when a Spanish general ordered the construction of a hydroelectric dam in Peraleda de la Mata, near Cáceres in Extremadura.

'Cursus' Is Older Than Stonehenge: Archeologists Step Closer To Solving Ancient Monument Riddle ScienceDaily (Jun. 10, 2008) — A team led by University of Manchester archaeologist Professor Julian Thomas has dated the Greater Stonehenge Cursus at about 3,500 years BC – 500 years older than the circle itself.The recently discovered antler pick used to dig the Cursus. (Credit: Image courtesy of University of Manchester) They were able to pinpoint its age after discovering an antler pick used to dig the Cursus – the most significant find since it was discovered in 1723 by antiquarian William Stukeley. When the pick was...

http://news.aol.com/story/_a/stonehenge-was-domain-of-the-dead/20080529115809990001?icid=1615988631x1203354246x1200308308

WASHINGTON - England's enigmatic Stonehenge served as a burial ground from its earliest beginnings — perhaps for ancient kings or chieftains, researchers reported Thursday. Radiocarbon dating of cremated remains shows that burials took place as early as 3000 B.C., when the first ditches around the monument were being built, said University of Sheffield archaeologist Mike Parker Pearson. Those burials continued for at least 500 years, when the giant stones that mark the mysterious circle were being erected, he said. Parker Pearson heads the Stonehenge Riverside Archaeological Project, which has been excavating sites around the world-famous monument for five years. He...

Six aligned standing stones have been discovered on a building site in Sion, southwest Switzerland, in what local authorities call an important archaeological find. "This discovery is of prime importance to help us understand social rituals at the end of the Neolithic period (around 2,500BC) in central Europe," says a press releaseexternal link from canton Valais's buildings, monuments and archaeology department. The find was made by chance during work for a new residential building in the Petit-Chasseur quarter of the cantonal capital Sion. This is the same area where, in the 1960s, several dolmens (collective tombs) and some 30 standing...

Ancient people may have moved some of the massive megaliths of Stonehenge into place by greasing giant sleds with pig lard, then sliding the giant stones on them across the landscape, a new study suggests. After re-analyzing ceramic pots that earlier researchers believed were used to cook food, archaeologist Lisa-Marie Shillito concluded that many of those pots may have been used to collect fat that dripped off pigs as they were spit-roasted. The grease would have been stored as lard or tallow and used to lubricate the sleds most archaeologists believe were used to move the stones... The pottery fragments...

And although the burial mound is much older than the Druids — who lived about 2,000 years ago, if they existed at all — the excavations have cast new light on the ancient inhabitants of the island of Anglesey. Overlooking the Irish Sea from the northwest corner of Wales, Anglesey is dotted with numerous Neolithic and Bronze Age stone monuments. The most famous is the 5,000-year-old passage tomb of Bryn Celli Ddu (Welsh for "the mound in the dark grove"), which has an entrance passage that aligns with the rising midsummer sun. It was archaeologically excavated in 1928 and 1929,...

Carrowmore in the largest cemetery of megalithic tombs in Ireland, with 5,500-year-old passage tombs dating from 3,600 BC. Archaeologists Dr Marion Dowd and Dr James Bonsall directed the excavation of a site that was formerly known as a barrow. Barrows are circular earthen monuments surrounded by a circular ditch. These sites typically date to the Bronze Age and Iron Age, ranging from between 4,000 and 1,500 years old. The excavation has revealed that some unexpected results – that the monument isn’t a barrow at all... The team found that the circular ditch surrounded a central raised area that consisted of...

Could be. It makes sense.

Even in modern times we are fascinated by crystals – from the diamonds we use as a sacred symbol of partnership, to the plethora of ‘healing’ gems that can be found in a New Age gift shop. So we can only imagine how ancient people viewed these transparent rocks with hidden structure. Evidence of the esteem in which crystals were held can be found in a “remarkable set” of ‘crystal weapons’ found in the megalithic tombs of southwestern Spain. At the site of Valencina de la Concepci
on, archaeologists have uncovered crystal arrowheads, an exquisite dagger blade, and cores used for...