Magical stones: Western Europe Megaliths

Since the dawn of mankind, Western Europe was occupied by hunter-gatherers and fishermen. That changed with the invention of agriculture, around 5 000 BC. Due to agricultural progress, towns began to develop in the area called Fertile Crescent, and that resulted in demographic expansion. The agricultural techniques and tools spread north and west into Anatolia, thus promoting livestock farming and the planting of wheat and barley crops. In time, agricultural progress reached the Balkans and followed the course of the great rivers such as the Danube, Elbe, and Rhine, and other corridors of development opened the way to the Italian peninsula and the Rhon valley.

In Western Europe, several megalithic structures of many forms were built during this period, thus defining the earliest archaeological evidence of Europe’s prehistoric religion. These are known as megaliths, literally big stones. Although their original purpose is not known, many of these structures are considered tombs, while others appear to have served as astronomical calendars.

Medieval folklore suggests that certain upright stones and stone circles possessed supernatural powers, and locals describe the springs and wells in the vicinity of megalithic constructions as holy or sacred. According to a 12th-century legend, water sprinkled over Stonehenge, the great stone circle in southern England, thus healing wounds. Medieval scholars also believed that a magical power within these structures helped ancient priests in their mission of casting spells, prophesying, and communicating with natural and divine forces.

Despite the demanding effort needed to build such monumental structures, at least 25,000 megaliths have survived in Western Europe, suggesting their crucial importance for the cultures that built them. These structures served as proof of religious beliefs and were of vital importance to local communities.

Today, many of these structures are protected as archaeological sites and major tourist attractions. These days, megaliths still fascinate and inspire, by offering a glimpse into the distant past and the religious prehistoric beliefs in Western Europe.

The megalithic works in Europe are known to be some of the oldest important constructions in the world. They are considered to be as old as the Egyptian pyramids, dating back to the third millennium BC. The exact age of these constructions is often impossible to estimate.

The Belas Knap tomb in Gloucestershire, England, is one of Europe’s megalithic constructions. Built around 3000 BC, it was about 61 meters long and served as a burial chamber for a long time. Other types of megalithic structures found in Europe include dolmens, made of massive vertical stones with a horizontal slab on top.

Ancient communities in central and northern Europe had a large number of stone-built tombs called tumuli. These were also known as gallery tombs and had individual rooms arranged under long mounds. In Germany, these are called Steinkisten, in Ireland court tombs and in England long barrows.

In the second millennium BC, there were many large communal cemeteries in central and northern Europe, that served as public storage of funerary urns holding cremains of the dead. Wealthy class people were buried with clay vessels, copper figurines, and bronze objects, including precious artifacts from distant lands such as those in the Mediterranean basin. Many vertical stones in these constructions appear to be aligned with each other, and with distant sites and land features, suggesting some importance placed on their positioning to the sun, whose rays penetrate them during solstices.