megalithic architecture
Introduction
The term megalitism comes from the Greek words mega (μεγας) 'large', and lithos (λιθος), 'stone'. Although in a literal sense megalithic constructions can be found all over the world, from Japan to the giants of Easter Island, in the strict sense many authors only call megalithism the cultural phenomenon whose focus is located in the western Mediterranean and Atlantic Europe, which begins at the end of the Neolithic and lasts until the Bronze Age and which is characterized by the creation of various constructions made with large blocks of stone that were barely roughed and called megaliths. Thus, according to these researchers, when talking about megalithism one should not include the cyclopean constructions corresponding to other cultural dynamics such as those of the Aegean Bronze, the Balearic or the Sardinian, much less those of Egypt or Polynesia.[1].
Large megalithic monuments are found scattered throughout much of Western Europe, but the most important centers are in Brittany, southern England and Ireland, and southern Spain and Portugal.
This phenomenon is essentially identified with the construction of monumental tombs of the dolmen type (in Breton stone table), inside which the deceased of a human group were successively buried, carefully separating the bones of the previous deceased (collective burials). Dolmens can be simple or corridor, gallery, or cist, and most were initially covered by a mound of earth or stones, which has now largely disappeared. In addition to the dolmens, within the megalithic context, you can find another non-funerary construction typology called menhir, a monolith driven into the ground that can appear isolated or forming alignments (in Carnac) or circles (henges, as in Stonehenge). There are also many cromlechs, circles of more or less large stones that surrounded the mound of a dolmen, tholoi, false dolmens and artificial caves.
Construction process
The construction process of a megalith began in the quarry where the large blocks of stone were extracted. From there they were transported (1) on trunks and branches to the place chosen for the erection of the monument. Here the vertical blocks were dropped into a narrow previously dug hole (2) and then adjusted until they were in a vertical position, after which the hole was filled to secure them firmly. In the case of the menhirs, the process was completed, but for the erection of a dolmen, the most difficult task continued, consisting of placing the horizontal block or blocks. To do this, embankments were made on both sides of the orthostats, until they reached the same height as these (and most likely the space between both walls was also filled with earth, which was then emptied). The horizontal block (3) was transported along these embankments until it was placed correctly, after which everything was covered with earth, giving rise to the mound (4). This construction hypothesis has been verified in practice by several research teams, including that of J.P. Mohen, who in 1979 built a dolmen in France using two hundred men and whose upper slab weighed 32 tons.