Megalithic constructions in Europe– religious rituals
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/75/Paulnabrone.jpg/200px-Paulnabrone.jpg


Megalithic constructions
´England, Ireland, France
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´The most common type in Britain – a stone circle
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´Stonehenge
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´Astronomical connections with the sun and the moon
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´Solstice
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Výsledek obrázku pro megalithic constructions in Europe

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https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/35/Stonehenge_on_27.01.08.jpg


Stonehenge
http://www.aboutstonehenge.info/images/education/stonehenge_map2.gif


Structure
https://www.nhn.ou.edu/%7Ejeffery/astro/stonehenge/stonehenge_crude_map.png


History
´Built between 3000 – 2000 BC – various purposes  - civilisation with no written records
´legends
´burial ground
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´solstice and equinox points - rituals
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´a midsummer's morning -  the sun rose and the sun's first rays went directly into the centre of
the monument

Construction
´Transport - prehistoric people  - without the aid of the wheel - river
´ground - creating a track of logs - large stones were rolled
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´a type of sleigh running on a track greased with animal fat
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´experiment  - 1995 - a 40-ton stone– 100 workers
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´the 18-mile journey - from the river transport - successful

Building Stonehenge was a complex and sometimes dangerous process



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Legends
´Stonehenge  - bluestone
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´Legend - King Arthur – sent Merlin – 5th century and 15,000 knights to move the stones from a
distant place
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´not successful
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´Merlin – special skills - stones removed  from Ireland
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´ sent to Britain

Significance
´the purpose – mystery – 1000 years significance
´Hypotheses:
´strong archaeological evidence - a burial site
´ ceremonial site
´a religious pilgrimage destination
´a final resting place for royalty
´ a memorial erected to honor and perhaps spiritually connected with distant ancestors

Astronomical calendar – a new hypothesis
´In the 1960s - the astronomer Gerald Hawkins
´megalithic stones -  an astronomical calendar
´phenomena -solstices, equinoxes and eclipses
´critics -  Stonehenge’s builders – no knowledge
´England’s dense cloud cover – difficult observing
´
´Recent theory – archeologists – signs of illness and injury in the human remains - bones
´a place of healing- bluestones were thought to have curative powers

´https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YNNkVzumhA
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´https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wf7xwHFuH2o

Other megalithic constructions
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/Almendres_cromlech_3.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d7/BrynCelliDdu3.jpg/1024px-BrynCelliDdu3.jp
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https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/83/Dolmen_de_Menga_07.jpg/800px-Dolmen_de_Me
nga_07.jpg