Author : Jan Pohribný
Publisher :
Page : 312 pages
File Size : 12,1 MB
Release : 2007
Category : Art
ISBN :
"A fascinating exploration of our early ancestors' obsession with stone. With more than 250 stunning full-colour illustrations, Magic Stones is the most wide-ranging photographic record ever published on the megalithic monuments of Europe"--Back cover.
Author : Luc Laporte
Publisher : Archaeopress Publishing Ltd
Page : 1436 pages
File Size : 40,88 MB
Release : 2022-08-22
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 1803273216
Bringing together the latest research on megalithic monuments throughout the world, 150 researchers offer 72 articles, providing a region-by region account in their specialist areas, and a summary of the current state of knowledge. Highlighting salient themes, the book is vital to anyone interested in the phenomenon of megalithic monumentality.
Author : Jean-Pierre Mohen
Publisher : Thames & Hudson
Page : 175 pages
File Size : 26,9 MB
Release : 1999
Category : Antiquities, Prehistoric
ISBN : 9780500300909
Who built the megaliths, those massive stone structures ranging from tombs to standing stones that date back to over 4000 BC? Why were they built? How were the enormous stones transported and erected? Were these strange, sacred stones used as temples or tombs, sculptures or houses? Covering the best-known sites - Avebury and Stonehenge in England, Carnac in France and Knowth in Ireland - and also less famous examples in Scandinavia, Malta, Egypt and Spain, this book considers the special significance - architectural, scientific, religious and cultural - of these enigmatic Neolithic stone structures.
Author : Lai Ngan Corio
Publisher : Random House
Page : 182 pages
File Size : 14,15 MB
Release : 2003
Category : England
ISBN : 0224064649
David Corio has systematically photographed the megalithic sites ofEngland and Wales with the eye of a great landscape photographeras well as with the passion of an explorer in the ruins of an ancientculture. These photographs go to the heart of prehistoric Englandand reveal a profound sense of'place'. The sites are revealed withall the beauty that invited Romantic speculation from theseventeenth century onwards as well as the encroaching modemworld of distant urban skylines and protective barriers. Lai Ngan'stext distils the mythical narratives that arose around theseextraordinary structures and places as well as pointing to the recentastronomical and mathematical research which suggests theirremarkable function in the prehistoric calendar. The photographspoint to the beginning of architecture itself in Britain, with thesuggestion of both sacred and secular function, layered in thefabulous tales of popular imagination.
Author : Magdalena Midgley
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 240 pages
File Size : 26,89 MB
Release : 2008-07
Category : History
ISBN : 113426450X
The North European megaliths are among the most enduring structures built in prehistory; they are imbued with symbolic meanings which embody physical and conceptual ideas about the nature of the world inhabited by the first Northern farmers. The Megaliths of Northern Europe provides a much needed up-to-date synthesis of the material available on these monuments, incorporating the results of recent research in Holland, Germany, Denmark and Sweden. This research has brought to light new data on the construction of the megaliths and their role in the cultural landscape, and Magdalena Midgley offers a fascinating interpretation of the symbolism of megalithic tombs within the context of early farming communities. This wealth of new evidence suggests the Northern European megaliths were important foci in the wider north-west European context. The construction of dolmens and passage graves, using huge glacial boulders, demanded both great communal effort and considerable skill. In addition to this technical expertise the master builders also made use of their esoteric knowledge of rituals. This was expressed in the use of exotic building materials and special architectural features, and in the placement of tombs within the natural and cultural landscapes, creating new metaphors and images. Fully illustrated, this book will be of interest to both undergraduate and postgraduate students of European Prehistory, Archaeology and Prehistoric Anthropology, as well as architects who study ancient architecture and social anthropologists who study modern megaliths.
Author : Andis Kaulins
Publisher : Trafford Publishing
Page : 424 pages
File Size : 10,52 MB
Release : 2008-12-12
Category : History
ISBN : 1412217644
The hermetic tradition claims "As above, so below". Did the ancients mean that literally? Stars, Stones and Scholars shows that many ancient megalithic sites are not tombs, but are remnants of ancient local, regional and perhaps even larger Neolithic surveys of the Earth by Stone Age astronomy, with gigantic stones being placed as immovable survey markers. Circa 40 photographs, 240 drawings and 80 maps show how megaliths were carved and "sculpted" with figures and cupmarks (holes in the stones) to represent stars and constellations, long before the modern astrological Zodiac was known. Megalithic sites from England (Stonehenge), Wales (Paviland), Scotland (Clava Cairns), Ireland (Newgrange, Knowth), Germany (Externsteine), Benelux (Weris), France (Carnac), Italy (La Spezia), Malta (Tarxien), Greece, Turkey (Anatolia), Scandinavia (Tanum), the Baltic, Russia, the Near East, the Far East (China and Japan), Africa, Central and South America (Tikal, Maya, Aztecs), Oceania (Hawaii), The USA (Cahokia, Miami Circle, Clovis) and Canada (Peterborough Petroglyphs) are included in this fascinating book.
Author : Maria Wunderlich
Publisher :
Page : pages
File Size : 46,85 MB
Release : 2019
Category : Funnel-beaker culture
ISBN : 9789088907883
Megalith building constitutes not only a past, but also a recent phenomenon, which is still practised today. The documentation and interpretation of recent megalith building traditions is offering potential aid in the interpretation of prehistoric monuments. Fieldwork in Sumba and Nagaland set up a frame to answer questions such as: Who is buried in the megalithic tombs and what kind of commemoration is connected to megalithic monuments? How are socioeconomic characteristics of the associated households and societies reflected in the megaliths?0'Megalithic monuments and social structures' includes various archaeological and ethnoarchaeological case studies on social implications of megalith building activities from a comparative perspective. The case studies presented include recent megalith building traditions in Sumba, Indonesia, Nagaland, North-East India, as well as Neolithic Funnel Beaker communities in today's Northern Germany and Southern Sweden.0This book presents a rich body of new data. By taking into account recent examples of megalithic construction, knowledge on important and influential ways of acting within societal contexts was expanded, whereby above all decentralised and communally-designed mechanisms are important. The case studies presented here clearly demonstrate the importance of cooperative and competitive structures and their effect on feasting activities and megalith building. Additionally, megalithic monuments represent a way of expressing and materialising economic inequality and social prestige. These mechanism and aspects also represent interpretations regarding Funnel Beaker societies, which can supplement the existing ideas of megalithic construction in Neolithic Northern Europe.0.
Author : Christopher Scarre
Publisher :
Page : 164 pages
File Size : 17,45 MB
Release : 2007
Category : History
ISBN :
From Stonehenge to Newgrange, one of the richest arrays of megalithic monuments in Europe is found in Britain and Ireland. Using massive stone blocks, timber posts and mounds of earth or chalk, the people of these islands built great monuments from the beginning of the Neolithic and the arrival of pottery and farming some 6000 years ago down into the Bronze Age. The number and sheer diversity of these structures is astonishing. Stone circles and chambered tombs, burial mounds and earthwork enclosures, henges and cursus monuments, all belong to the same general category of monumental prehistoric architecture. Tombs, sanctuaries, places of cult and of memory: these Neolithic monuments had numerous functions in prehistoric societies. Transforming the lanscape, such grand structures must have represented for their communities a particular way of responding to changing social and symbolic needs, whether processing the dead, gathering for ceremonies, or embellishing locations that were of sacred significance. Organized by geographical area this authoritative overview is ideal for traveller and student alike.
Author : Andy Burnham
Publisher : Watkins Media Limited
Page : 709 pages
File Size : 33,33 MB
Release : 2018-09-18
Category : Travel
ISBN : 1786782030
Winner of Current Archaeology’s Book of the Year Discover the iconic standing stones and prehistoric sites of England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland—this comprehensive, coffee table travel guide features over 750 must-see destinations, with maps and color photographs The ultimate insiders’ guide, The Old Stones gives unparalleled insight into where to find prehistoric sites and how to understand them, by drawing on the knowledge, expertise and passion of the archaeologists, theorists, photographers and stones aficionados who contribute to the world’s biggest megalithic website—the Megalithic Portal. Including over 30 maps and site plans and hundreds of color photographs, it also contains scores of articles by a wide range of contributors—from archaeologists and archaeoastronomers to dowsers and geomancers—that will change the way you see these amazing survivals from our distant past. Locate over 1,000 of Britain and Ireland’s most atmospheric prehistoric places, from recently discovered moorland circles to standing stones hidden in housing estates. Discover which sites could align with celestial bodies or horizon landmarks. Explore acoustic, color, and shadow theory to get inside the minds of the Neolithic and Bronze Age people who created these extraordinary places. Find out which sites have the most spectacular views, which are the best for getting away from it all and which have been immortalized in music. And don't forget to visit the Megalithic Portal website and get involved by posting your discoveries online. All royalties from this book go to support the running of the Megalithic Portal: www.megalithic.com.
Author : John A. Burke
Publisher : Council Oak Books
Page : 290 pages
File Size : 12,43 MB
Release : 2005
Category : Architecture
ISBN : 9781571781840
Burke and Halbert present the scientific evidence behind their startling, original theory: ancient peoples constructed temples, mounds, and megaliths to increase the fertility of crops. These peoples used an ancient technology, only now rediscovered.
