CARNAC STONES: MAGNIFICENT & MYSTERIOUS MEGALITH OF BRITTANY, FRANCE
All of us know about the Stonehenge of England, right? Even I have also written a post about it some time ago. What if I told you that there are other ancient pre-historic megalithic structures present in the rest of Europe that are much bigger, magnificent and grand than the Stonehenge of England? Yes, that’s right, according to historians and archaeologists there are ancient megalithic structures which predate Stonehenge by many centuries and are bigger! Today, I am going to talk about one such structure.
This particular megalithic structure is located in one of the oldest arch-rivals of Great Britain for quite a few centuries! The Carnac Stones are an exceptionally huge collection of megalithic sites on the south coast of Brittany, in the north of France. These structures consist of stone alignments, dolmens, tumuli (burial mounds) and single menhirs (standing stones). You would be amazed to know that more than 3,000 stones were hewn from single granite by the local Celtic people of Brittany and they form the largest collection of such sites anywhere in the world!
Another interesting fact is that these sites were constructed around the Neolithic Period, which is probably around 3300 B.C.-4500 B.C.! Now being the largest megalithic site in the world, the Carnac Stones have the biggest mystery surrounding them! Especially, the site of Menec, which is located on the west side of Carnac alignments. There are 11 such rows neatly aligned, comprising 1,050 stones and each one is shrouded in mystery!
We will concentrate on the Menec site for now which has been puzzling archaeologists, scientists and historians how could the people of Neolithic Europe have moved such huge stones over an approximate area of 50 kilometres? This is completely unfathomable!
Another puzzle which is confounding scholars is the purpose of building such a site. There is uncertainty in accurately determining the exact reason for constructing this site. Scientists and scholars were trying to discover the mystery of Carnac Stones till 2004 when they rediscovered an ancient science named Geoglyphology!
The science of Geoglyphology means in simpler terms Geo= Earth, Glyph= writing or symbol, Ology= to study. Without understanding these ancient protocols in the Carnac stones, all attempts to study this site were in vain. It was only after a careful study of this science was done, only then it was deduced that most of the ancient megalithic structures all across the world followed the same pattern! While hundreds of geoglyphs have been located and studied across the world; Carnac Stones, are, however, very unique. The most fascinating information that has come out of studying Carnac stones is that while most Geoglyphs follow a pattern of running lines through, or parallel to tangible objects, in Carnac, however, it is required that these principles be applied to the spaces between the stones rather than the stones themselves!
Furthermore, it has been found during the study of geoglyphs all around the world that pyramids, stone monoliths and other geoglyphological geoglyphs were placed on Earth to map out territories that the builder considered his own! These studies were conducted over 10 years or more to come to this conclusion.
Also, these geoglyphs were constructed, according to an ancient Japanese text, as areas within which ancient scholars would teach man the spirituality and sciences of the cosmos.
The Carnac Stones are simply magnificent in that it comprises both single-standing stones (menhirs), and also clusters of multiple stones (dolmens). The largest stone’s approximate height is around 4 metres, and at the western end, they become smaller along the length of the alignment and are up to 0.6 metres in height.
Interestingly, there have been many myths and legends associated with the Carnac Stones. According to one legend, it has been said that a Roman legion had been on the march when the wizard Merlin turned them into stone by using his magic!
Another researcher, who has studied these stones meticulously, believes that they might have been an early earthquake detector! Still another theory is that these were built by the ancient people to honour their ancestors. While some believe that these were built to study and predict the movement of celestial objects and their effect on the earth.
This last theory is believed to be the most credible by scientists who have been studying the Carnac stones. According to them, it is possible that ancient farmers knew the seasons and also had the knowledge of when to plant and sow crops! So probably these stones acted as a kind of calendar. This is still a theory according to scientists. As research is still going on on the markings carved on the stones and whether they were used for astronomical purposes or not. Alexander Thom, who has surveyed many megaliths in France and England, believes that Carnac was a huge lunar observatory!
So, it is still a mystery for what purpose the Carnac Stones were built. However, they have withstood the travails of time and have been witness to some of the greatest evolutionary changes in the history of human existence! The mystery of the magnificent and grand Carnac Stones continues!