Ancient World Review

Almendres Cromlech, Portugal: The Oldest Stone Circle in Europe?

"The Cromlech of the Almendres ... is a megalithic complex (commonly known as the Almendres Cromlech), located ... in the municipality of Évora, in the Portuguese Alentejo. The largest existing group of structured menhirs [standing stones] in the Iberian Peninsula (and one of the largest in Europe), this archaeological site consists of several megalithic structures: cromlechs and menhir stones, that belong to the so-called 'megalithic universe of Évora', with clear parallels to other cromlechs in Evora District, such as Portela Mogos and the Vale Maria do Meio Cromlech. [see below]" (Wikipedia)

Note: This site dates back to the 6th millennium BC.

Beautiful views of the cromlech. No English version available, unfortunately.

According to Visit Evora, "The Almendres Megalithic settlement (or cromlech) is the biggest megalithic monument in the Iberian Peninsula and one of the oldest in the world. Everybody has heard about the grand Stonehenge, in Britain… The Almendres monument is 2000 years older! It was built about 7000 years ago, when mankind in Western Europe was making the transition from hunter-gatherers to herders and farmers."

Next video shows the Vale Maria do Meio Cromlech, another megalithic stone circle located in the same area of Portugal. Thought to date back to the 5th millennium BC or earlier, "The Vale Maria do Meio cromlech is located in an area with a significant number of megalithic monuments. It is about one kilometer south of the Antas da Valeira, two neolithic dolmen or megalithic tombs, and 1.5km to the northeast of the Portela de Modos cromlech. The Almendres Cromlech, a major megalithic site, is about ten kilometers to the southwest." (Wikipedia)

The similarities with the Almendres Cromlech are obvious.

I hadn't realized that Portugal had so many megalithic sites. They seem to be concentrated in this one region, more or less, and show evidence of skilled stoneworking.

These megaliths are also surrounded by ancient legends:

According to Ancient Origins, "Prehistoric Europeans told legends about powerful, mysterious female makers of European stone tombs called dolmens and cromlechs. On the one hand, they were said to bestow riches and fertility on individuals, and fantastic gifts like brewing beer and farming; all they wanted in return was a little milk.

"On the other hand, they were described as angry snakes guarded by bulls, cursing people and hoarding the very gold of the sun. They were imagined as beautiful cloven-hoofed snake- or bull-women, who guarded the dolmens and could speak with the dead, spin the rays of the sun, and even create the world."

The similarity of the megaliths found all over Europe suggests that they were built by a single prehistoric culture with a religion centered around these mysterious stone circles. If the Almendres Cromlech really is older than Stonehenge, this could reflect the migratory history of these ancient people as they spread west into Europe and then north into the British Isles.

I've always thought that there was a widespread Eurasian culture of megalith-builders back in the Stone Age. There's some evidence for this. For instance, stone circles have been found as far away as Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and the Gobi Desert in China. This is all speculation, naturally, but the idea of a unified megalith culture fits in with the theory that Europeans originated somewhere in Asia around the Black Sea and then spread west into Europe and east into parts of Asia.

The Stone Circles Of Senegambia

Video from 2013.

Senegambia, also known as the Western Region in some sources, is an area in west Africa located between the Senegal River in the north and the Gambia River in the south. Early humans are thought to have first appeared in the region around 350,000 years ago.

The Senegambian stone circles are located in the Thies Region in western Senegal, the home of the ancient Serer people. According to Wikipedia, "Numerous tumuli, burial mounds, some of which have been excavated, revealed materials that date between the 3rd century BC and the 16th century AD."

Video from 2009.

Senegambia doesn't just have a small, isolated collection of megaliths:

"The site consists of four large groups of stone circles that represent an extraordinary concentration of over 1,000 monuments in a band 100 km wide along some 350 km of the River Gambia. The four groups ... cover 93 stone circles and numerous tumuli, burial mounds, some of which have been excavated to reveal material that suggest dates between 3rd century BC and 16th century AD. Together the stone circles of laterite pillars and their associated burial mounds present a vast sacred landscape created over more than 1,500 years. It reflects a prosperous, highly organized and lasting society." Source: UNESCO.

Comment: Stone circles and other megaliths have been discovered all around the world from England to Brazil to Japan, Africa and the Middle East. This suggests that there was once a global culture of prehistoric megalith builders, a theory known as the Megalithic Civilization Hypothesis.

The Megalithic Civilization Hypothesis is usually dismissed as pseudoscience. That could be true -- in fact, it probably is -- but when it comes to these stone circles it's hard to believe that their similar design all around the world is just a coincidence. Maybe there's something universal about the concept of standing stone rings, some mental archetype that would recur naturally in so many different cultures separated by so much time and distance. Who knows? It's also possible that ancient astronomers around the world independently invented the stone circle as a method for observing the procession of the stars and planets. That seems more likely, but in the absence of written records we'll probably never know the truth. This whole subject truly qualifies as hidden history.

Megalith Culture Originated In Europe? (2019)

"The mystery of Stonehenge may be solved, thanks to a new study that reveals the iconic rock structure may have originated from a single hunter gatherer society in France 7000 years ago." Source: Russia Today (2019).

"...A new study [2019]suggests the impressive ring of stones was created thanks to a hunter gatherer society in Brittany in northwest France, which first started building the impressive structures and monuments 7,000 years ago."

Note: The RT article is kind of misleading. This study doesn't actually "solve the mystery" of Stonehenge since it doesn't explain why the monument was built. If you check the study itself, it's mostly concerned with the origin of the megalith culture characterized by "such phenomena as mounds with interior stone structures, cairns, dolmens, standing stones, passage monuments, and similar structures" (NewGrange).

According to this research, the monuments in Britain were probably built by Stone Age sailors who crossed over from the area of modern Britanny on the northwestern coast of France. In other words, this is a maritime diffusion model. If accurate, the study provides evidence that megaliths were first constructed on the European mainland:

According to the study, "a Bayesian statistical approach to 2,410 currently available radiocarbon results from megalithic, partly premegalithic, and contemporaneous nonmegalithic contexts in Europe" suggests that "megalithic graves emerged within a brief time interval of 200 y to 300 y in the second half of the fifth millennium calibrated years BC in northwest France, the Mediterranean, and the Atlantic coast of Iberia."

Neolithic Graves Discovered At Stonehenge Tunnel Site

Computerized voices are an abomination. Closed captions useful.

"A Neolithic burial site, a mysterious Bronze Age C-shaped enclosure and ancient tools and pottery have been found by archaeologists carrying out work at the proposed new road tunnel at Stonehenge." Source: Archaeology News Network.

"Wessex Archaeology’s investigations uncovered evidence of human activity dating back more than 7,000 years at the planned A303 Amesbury to Berwick Down Scheme sites."

Note: Stonehenge is thought to have been constructed sometime between 3000 and 2000 BC. If the date ranges for these burials are correct, that suggests that Salisbury Plain was used as a burial ground long before the megalith was built on the site.

Stonehenge Stones Could Have Been Taken From Stone Circle In Wales

"Researchers studying an ancient monument in west Wales believe it may have had some of its standing stones taken and repurposed to construct Stonehenge some 280 kilometres away." Source: RT.

"The team from University College London (UCL) made the bold claim about the ancient smash-and-grab while studying the Welsh stone circle named Waun Mawn, which predates Stonehenge by about 400 years, according to carbon and other dating from charcoal and sediment samples analysed.

"The world famous Stonehenge, built sometime around 3000 BC, is located near Salisbury in southwest England but has been found to contain several rather cumbersome bluestones allegedly taken from the site in Wales."

"Following soil dating of the sediments within the revealed stone holes, via optically stimulated luminescence (OSL), it has been argued, by Parker Pearson, that the circle of stones was built c. 3400–3200 BC and then, before 2120 BC, was disassembled, moved and reassembled at Stonehenge in Wiltshire, some 140 miles (230 km) distant. Parker Pearson's discoveries have been published in the journal Antiquity." (Wikipedia)

"The site and its connection with Stonehenge was the subject of the BBC Two programme, Stonehenge: The Lost Circle Revealed [next video], with Parker Pearson and Professor Alice Roberts, broadcast on 12 February 2021."

Note: Pearson's theory that the Stonehenge stones came from Waun Mawn rises or falls on how old Waun Mawn is and considering the fact that only around 400 years separates the two sites that doesn't leave a lot of room for error. Dating these stone circles is notoriously difficult for a variety of reasons:

"Prehistoric artefacts recovered from Waun Mawn include a flint scraper, a flint chip and a trimmed, circular mudstone disc. Although none of these is closely datable, the disc is of a type found within Neolithic levels at the Carn Goedog megalith quarry, 5km to the east. Prehistoric stone circles are difficult to date, not only because of the paucity of associated material culture, but also because of the lack of materials suitable for radiometric dating from within the stoneholes. This problem is exacerbated by the acidic soils at Waun Mawn, which preclude the survival of antler picks or animal bones." -- The original Stonehenge? A dismantled stone circle in the Preseli Hills of west Wales, Pearson, et all, Cambridge University Press.

As mentioned above, Pearson and his team used various methods, including optically stimulated luminescence [next video], to date Waun Maun. If these dates are inaccurate, then his theory falls apart; but if they're accurate then it's very possible that the Stonehenge builders plundered Waun Maun to build their megalith. How they moved these stones 140 miles is another question.

A Brief History Of Astronomy: Predicting The Seasons

Video from 2013. Part two can be found here.

Note: The theory that Stonehenge was an ancient calendar is interesting and might even be true, but the reason why the megalith was built is still just a matter of speculation.

"In early historic times, astronomy only consisted of the observation and predictions of the motions of objects visible to the naked eye. In some locations, early cultures assembled massive artifacts that possibly [emphasis added] had some astronomical purpose. In addition to their ceremonial uses, these observatories could be employed to determine the seasons, an important factor in knowing when to plant crops and in understanding the length of the year." (Wikipedia)

The history of astronomy is such a massive, technical and complex subject that I'm not even going to try to summarize it here. It's also one of the oldest, if not the oldest, natural sciences in history. According to the Oxford Classical Dictionary, "the use of the heliacal rising and setting of prominent stars or star groups to mark points in the year is found in the earliest literature of the Greeks (Homer and Hesiod) and no doubt goes back to prehistoric times."

Video from 2016.

Living in an age before light pollution obscured the night sky, early humans must have been acutely conscious of the stars and may have represented the constellations in their cave paintings. It's possible that they were already using the stars to keep time:

"Some of the world's oldest cave paintings have revealed how ancient people had relatively advanced knowledge of astronomy." (Science Daily, 2018)

"The artworks, at sites across Europe, are not simply depictions of wild animals, as was previously thought. Instead, the animal symbols represent star constellations in the night sky, and are used to represent dates and mark events such as comet strikes, analysis suggests.

"They reveal that, perhaps as far back as 40,000 years ago, humans kept track of time using knowledge of how the position of the stars slowly changes over thousands of years."

They may have also used the stars for navigation.

Unearthing A 2000-Yr-Old Saxon Burial Site At Salisbury Plain

Video from May, 2020.

Note: "Salisbury Plain is famous for its history and archaeology. In the Neolithic period, Stone Age people began to settle on the plain, most likely centred around the causewayed enclosure of Robin Hood's Ball. Large long barrows such as White Barrow and other earthworks were built across the plain. By 2500 BC areas around Durrington Walls and Stonehenge had become a focus for building, and the southern part of the plain continued to be settled into the Bronze Age." (Wikipedia)

Video from 2013.

Salisbury Plain has been used as a cemetery for a very long time. According to a 2008 NY Times story, "New radiocarbon dates from human cremation burials among and around the brooding stones on Salisbury Plain in England indicate that the site was used as a cemetery from 3000 B.C. until after the monuments [Stonehenge, etc] were erected around 2500 B.C. ..."

Origin Of Stonehenge Sarsen Stones Discovered

"More than 60 years ago, a worker at Stonehenge kept a drilled-out cylinder from one of the monument's massive upright stones during a restoration project, and last year, on the eve of his 90th birthday, returned the stone. A new analysis of it has now helped solve the mystery of where the giant stones were quarried." Source: Live Science.

"Chemical analysis has shown that the drilled-out stone — along with almost all of Stonehenge's most massive stones — came from West Woods in Wiltshire, just 15 miles (25 kilometers) from the Neolithic monument, said University of Brighton geoscientist David Nash, who led the study."

"While many of the smaller 'bluestones' that surround Stonehenge were cut in the Preseli Hills in the west of Wales, more than 140 miles (230 km) away, little was known before about the large sandstone boulders at Stonehenge, which are known as 'sarsens.'"

Note: The Stonehenge heel stone, a single block of sarsen stone, weighs about 35 tons. If it came from West Wood the megalith builders had to raise and transport this gigantic mass for 15 miles, an impressive feat to say the least.

Comment: This doesn't have anything to do with the story here, but the next video shows a bunch of grubby stoners and "neopagans" trashing out Stonehenge and blathering New Age mumbo-jumbo around the heel stone back in 2016.  One of these days, with any luck, the heel stone will collapse at just the right moment and squash a bunch of these morons while they're pressing their THC-stained hands against the megalith to receive its "blessing."

Photographing Comet Neowise Over Stonehenge

The Stonehenge Stone-Transport "Conspiracy"

Comment: Never mind all the sensationalism about "conspiracies." This is a good overview of the glacial-transport theory describing where the stones used in the construction of Stonehenge may have come from.