The
ancient people of Europe left their legacy in stone scattered across
the Continent, Mediterranean islands and British Isles in the form
of circles, alignments, single standing stones, and dolmens (rooms
formed of standing stones). Several thousand structures were built
between 5000 to 500 BCE. There are many theories as to how and why
they were built, but the evidence is clear that many sites accurately
mark the rising and setting of both sun and moon at the winter and
summer solstices.
In recent years, research indicates that lunar cycles were also
tracked - and not only the 18.61-year cycle, but also the triple
cycles of 55.83 years. While the ability to notice and monitor these
cycles requires great skill, the fact that early people managed
it without the help of calculators or written language is a testimony
to their intelligence and ingenuity. It is thought that the stone
alignments (long rows of standing stones) were some of the tools
used to maintain count of these cycles as well as other astronomical
events such as the prediction of eclipses. In addition to the stones
themselves, their placement in relationship to hills and mountains
suggest that the landscape itself functioned as part of these observatories.
The use of sacred geometry (mathematically determining the relationship
of an object with its surroundings to maintain a harmonious balance)
has been noted when studying the placement of stones. The landscape
seems to envelope many of the sites with at least one side open
for a long-range view of the horizon. This type of harmony with
the earth seems to have been used in later times for the placement
of the palace of Knosses in Crete, and the temples at Delphi in
Greece. On an even wider scale, many of the Neolithic monuments
are in alignment with each other along Ley Lines, earth energy lines.
If you were to draw lines on a map of England to connect the major
sites, you would create a triangle.
Stonehenge and Ireland's Newgrange are the most well-known sites,
but the Brittany coast of France has the greatest concentration
of Neolithic monuments. The Gauls called Brittany the "land
on the sea". A map of the Neolithic sites there reveals that
they are scattered around inlets, rivers, and on a peninsula across
the bay from the Grand Menhir. The word menhir comes from Welsh:
maen (stone) and hir (long). Now broken and lying on the ground,
the Grand Menhir would have been 60 feet tall. Within a five-mile
area there are 3,000 stones. Approximately one-third of them stand
in rows (running east to west) several kilometers long that lead
toward large semi-circles of stones. The height of the alignment
stones gradually increase from two to twelve feet as they near the
semi-circles. Major sight lines for the midwinter and midsummer
moonrises and moonsets intersect at the Grand Menhir.
Material from burials in the chambered mounds at Carnac have been
dated to 4700 BCE. While the area is densely populated with monuments,
archaeological work around the sites reveal that not many people
actually lived in the immediate vicinity which suggests that it
functioned as an observatory and place of ritual. Here as well as
other sites in Europe, level areas of paving stones would suggest
an ideal route for processions and dancing. To the people who built
them, science and religion were probably not separate compartments
for exploration and belief. To observe and honor the natural world
and feel truly connected with it must have made for powerful rituals
and celebrations at Carnac. Even into historical times, people of
Brittany marked the quarter days of the year with festivals and
dancing among the standing stones.
We can only imagine what it was like to move among the menhirs and
ritual bonfires under a sky full of stars or a luminous moon as
the sacred stone circles - meeting point of earthly and heavenly
energies - cast long solid shadows as human shapes flicker between
them. We can try to reach into the past to capture that experience
as we dance in our own rituals, renewing our connection to Mother
Earth and all who dwell here with us.
Copyright
- Sandra Kynes
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