In the vast expanses of Russia there are many beautiful natural places and interesting man-made historical monuments. Among these witnesses of ancient history are megaliths. Huge structures of stone blocks still remain the unsolved mystery of our planet. Consider the most famous megaliths of Russia, and try to figure out which ancient civilizations could leave them.
The most famous megaliths of Russia:
1
Thunder stone
The search for a pedestal under the monument to Peter I in St. Petersburg, called the Bronze Horseman, was led by Captain Marina Karburi Count Laskari. An enterprising Greek advertised on finding a suitable stone.
Seeing an advertisement in a newspaper, a peasant Semyon Vishnyakov said that the village of Konnaya Lakhta has such a stone block. Locals called it "Thunder-stone." They claimed that an unusual form was given to him by lightning, which struck a stone. On the coast there are still brothers of the famous stone, which was taken to the Northern capital of Russia.
It took almost a year to deliver a huge block to the place of installation of the monument. After long labors on September 27, 1770, the pedestal fell into place. Its dimensions are really impressive. It is 13 meters long, 8 meters high and 6 meters wide.
2
Dolmens of the Western Caucasus
On the vast territory of the Western Caucasus, unique megalithic tombs have been discovered, which scientists attribute to the dolmen culture of the Bronze Age.
Unusual burial grounds were erected around the middle of the 3rd - first half of the 2nd millennium BC. In total, over 3 thousand dolmens were discovered in this part of Russia. All of them have different designs, and the most famous even got their own names.
Archaeologists claim that earlier, at the end of the copper age, in this region, tribes piled stone houses and used them as burials.
By the way, on our site thebiggest.ru there is a fascinating article about the TOP 10 mysterious structures of the ancient world.
3
Labyrinths of Zayatsky Island
Those who watched the film about Mikhail Lomonosov will probably remember that in one of the episodes young Mikhailo is trying to find a way out of such a stone labyrinth.
The unique monument consists of 14 spiral labyrinths. They are stacked in a circle of stones with a diameter of 3 to 20 m. There is a complex on the Big Zayatsky Island, part of the Solovetsky Archipelago. In addition to the mysterious labyrinths, about 850 barrows laid out of stone were found on the island.
They also find stones on which the sign of the Sun is drawn. The exact purpose of the labyrinths and stone buildings is still unknown. Many scholars agree that these are peculiar temples where certain rituals were performed. The editors of thebiggest like the version that it is the border of the worlds, and the mazes helped the souls of the dead to get into the other world.
4
Akhunov menhirs
Near the Bashkir village of Akhunovo archaeologists have studied one of the oldest observatories in Eurasia. The “Russian Stonehenge” consists of 13 granite menhirs of regular quadrangular shape.
The height of the smallest stone is 70 cm, and the highest reaches 2 m. Found artifacts indicate that the complex was built in the IV century BC. e. Astronomers joined the study. They claim that the ancient priests, using established stones, observed the movement of the celestial bodies, and also calculated the days of solstices.
Many associate the observatory with the Country of cities located in the Southern Urals. The remains of the cities were discovered recently, and their study proves the existence of an ancient civilization in this part of the earth. After the completion of archaeological excavations, it is planned to create a protected museum complex here.
5
Megaliths of Faith
On the island of Vera, which is spread on the surface of Lake Turgoyak, in the Chelyabinsk region, a whole complex of stone structures was discovered.
There, dolmens, chamber tombs made of processed stone, stone temples and freestanding menhirs were examined there. The age of the buildings is approximately 6 thousand years. They erected their tribes that inhabited Siberia in the V – III millennium BC. e.
In total, 4 large stone objects were discovered, as well as a quarry in which stone was mined and processed. In addition to megalithic structures, about 40 other archaeological sites are explored on the island. An open-air historical and archaeological museum-reserve is planned to be opened on the island.
6
Seid Vottovaara
Seyd, this is a special sacred place in the mountains, in which they worshiped deities and performed rites of initiation, sacrifice. Such stone structures are found in Karelia and on the Kola Peninsula.
One of the most famous seids of Russia is a lonely lying stone in the rock massif of the West Karelian Upland. Seyd Vottovaara, as it is called, is a large rough boulder, which is mounted on three small stones.
The platform for this design is another large boulder lying on the surface of the earth. Scientists immediately established that this was done by human hands, and the place itself was sacred for the tribes that inhabited these territories in antiquity. A complex similar to this design is located in the Tula region, called the “Horse-stone”.
7
Shepsi
The bearers of the Novobvodnenskaya archaeological culture of the Early Bronze Age left in their memory an amazing megalithic complex, which they found in 2012.
It is located in the channel of the Shepsi River, which flows through the Krasnodar Territory. Spilling, the river washed the soil, and from the earth appeared overlapping stone tombs. It is laid out from thin polished plates. A round hole was made in one slab.
Inside the dolmen, archaeologists found the remains of twenty people. Analysis of the bones showed that the monument is approximately 5,000 years old. Not far from the tomb, the settlement of the same New Liberty culture was investigated.
8
Tarkhatinsky megalithic complex
A unique archaeological site is located among the Chuy Valley of Altai, near the village of Kosh-Agach. The whole world learned about the monument in 1994, when it was discovered and explored by the expedition of Gorno-Altai University.
The complex consists of large, slightly processed stones laid out in a circle. The study of the megalithic building and the analysis of the drawings on the stones made it possible to determine the age of the monument. It was erected in the Bronze Age.
Scientists have hypothesized that this is an observatory. This conclusion was made after it was established that the stones are located strictly on the cardinal points. But researchers do not reject the version that the complex could have a religious purpose.
9
Megaliths of Siberia
For millions of years, nature carefully created amazing stone complexes in Siberia. Of particular interest are the powerful stone walls of the mountain Shoria.
Smooth masonry of huge bricks is associated with the majestic Egyptian pyramids. Interestingly, the blocks are stacked parallel to each other. So what is it? Man-made huge wall or fantasy of nature.
Geologists confirm that rocks during cracking can create such smooth blocks that look like building bricks. After the faults, wind and precipitation complete their work. Looking at the blocks of Shoria, it is difficult to imagine how tall and strong the builder had to be in order to lay them in such a smooth wall.
Do not miss the interesting article on our site thebiggest.ru about ancient technologies that we do not know about.
10
Pyramids of Primorye
We conclude the story with mysterious objects that were discovered near the city of Nakhodka. The 2000 expedition to three heights led by geophysicist Valery Yurkovets and Oleg Gusev established that the hills are of man-made origin.
These pyramids are called Brother, his height is 242 m, Sister, 318 m high. Between them is the Nephew, whose height is 144 m. Researchers are sure that the steps on the mountain hills are made by man. The same pyramids, according to scientists, are in the Andes.
But skeptics assure that mysterious steps are the impact of natural phenomena. Winds and rains carved steps, making the three mountains very similar to man-made pyramids.
Conclusion
Archaeological science refers to megaliths stones whose size exceeds 2 m and weighs more than 500 kg. According to this definition, the Alexandrian column in St. Petersburg is also megalith, because its height is 47 m, and it weighs 700 tons. Historical science does not stand still, and over time the circle of hypotheses and conjectures associated with unique stone structures narrows. But not all questions have yet been answered, and huge boulders carefully keep their secrets. The editors of thebiggest website are very interested in this topic, so we ask you not to stand aside, but write to us what other megaliths of Russia should be on this list! We are sure that our readers will offer many more options.
Article author: Valery Skiba