Archeologist Jean-Baptiste Piketty (1827–94) wanted to be buried in a dolmen, so – despite some opposition – in 1896 bought the Ker-Han dolmen in the commune of Saint Philibert (Morbihan), Brittany, and arranged for it to be transported to the Cimetière des Longs Réages in Meudon-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, France (*)
Click to enlarge - picture from Glyn Daniel Megalith in History
One can, if so inlcined, regard a dolmen as a Stonehenge trilithon in miniature, designed for archaeoastronomy. In many cases it's aligned to the rising and/or setting of the sun, and even New Scientist asks us regard the dolmen as a miniature astronomical observatory - even to the extent of assisting our Neolithic ancestors in spotting a particular faint star from within the confines of a dark chamber.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.newscientist.com/article/2095597-prehistoric-tombs-may-have-doubled-as-star-gazing-observatories/
To which I say - codswallop.
I say GET REAL! The dolmen, the larger Stonehenge trilithon, were designed for a more down-to-earth purpose. Think commodious bird perch, think sky burial...
.
ReplyDeleteYikes!
Time maybe to turn over a new leaf; attempt to understand real priorities in the Neolithic era. Like how to dispose of the dead, in an era when death of loved ones threw up all kinds of dark imaginings and uncertainties. Sky burial had its attractions...
ReplyDeleteForget the archaeoastronomy. Complete distraction from reality.