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I would like to introduce you to a puzzle which has never been solved
up to now. Some seven thousand years ago in Brittany people started to
move stones and to place them in the landscape, stones of up to 180
tons in weight. For what reason we don't know, despite many theories.
The remnants of this culture - spread over thousands of miles mostly
along the sea coasts - don't explain much. The common archaeological
opinion says that the dolmens - artificial caves built of stones and
stone plates - were made for burial purposes. For the standing stones
- the menhirs - there isn't any reasonable explanation.

Perhaps the most famous megalithic site is Stonehenge, near the small
Southern English city of Salisbury. Ironically, this monument,
Stonehenge, with its well-preserved and precisely carved triliths, is
actually quite untypical of megalithic cultures. It is proved that the
Stonehenge we see today was actually built quite late. According to
the latest studies, the current monument stands on the site of an
earlier simple henge, constructed approximately 2200 BC. Today's
Stonehenge is believed to be built in 1500 BC. It is about two
thousand years younger than the earliest Scottish stone circles and
three thousand years younger than the menhirs and dolmens in Brittany!

Despite the fact that we encounter megaliths all over Europe, we can
identify some central spots for the location of these monuments (see
map). A large concentration of megaliths, s.a. menhirs, dolmens, and
stone rows, exist in Bretagne (Brittany), France. As these Breton
megaliths are amongst the oldest currently known, one could speak of
the Bretagne as the cradle of the European megalithic culture.
Nonetheless, we must not jump to the conclusion that the importance of
a megalithic culture can be measured by the number of standing stones
found there today. For example, thousands of dolmens were reported to
exist in Northern Germany. Since these stones were not protected by
local cultural beliefs, as this the case was in Ireland, hardly a
megalith can be found in Northern Germany nowadays.

We know practically nothing about the culture of the megalith
builders, their languages, religion, customs or myths. Until recently,
they were associated with the Beaker people, who inhabited Europe
around 2200 years ago (long before the Celtic culture!) However, more
recent research into the age of the megaliths in Brittany points to a
far older origin. The age of certain megaliths is dated to about 4600
years B.C., in the dim prehistorical ages. Immediately, a discrepancy
is evident between the highly developed understanding of astronomy,
geometry and trigonometry which these megalith builders clearly
possessed, and the relatively "primitive" nature of the archeological
finds from cultures of the equivalent time periods, i.e. the late
Stone Age.

We know today that certain stone circles are truly complex geometric
constructions, a combination of different ellipses, taking into
account a measurement we call today the megalithic yard. This
measurement, 0.829 meters in length, contains a wealth of
possibilities. Studies have shown a mathematical correspondence to two
other ancient measurements: the Egyptian Remen, used in the
construction of the pyramids, and the royal Elle, a measurement often
found in the construction of medival cathedrals. (*) Were these large
stone edifices part of an order of priests, who drew their knowledge
from an unknown source?

From the astronomical viewpoint, many monuments are oriented towards
the solstice-points on the horizon (points of sunrise and sunset at
summer and winter solistice) as well as to points of the rising and
setting moon at the largest distance of the moon from the ecliptic
(called major and minor moonrises and -sets). An orientation towards
certain fix stars appears also possible. It seems as though there were
local differences for the orientation of these monuments. Perhaps each
community had its own alligences with certain stellar bodies...?

There are megaliths which are constructed in such a way that the
rising sun on the day of the winter solstice will send its first rays
into the depths of the chamber. (Examples: New Grange, Ireland; Roche
aux Fees, France; a.o.) So the Sun can merges with an inner of the
Earth at its point of "comming back" in winter. Is this a hint of an
ancient  belief in reincarnation? Spirals and waves, ancient symbols
of the _cyclical nature_ of life, are present in many megalithic
carvings.

Despite all the archeological research and a wide range of theories
about megalithic monuments, finally we are all reduced to guessing
when we try to discover the true meaning behind these large stones -
and, of course, to gathering our own impressions when visiting the
sites. These intuitive inquiries may be more meaningful than
scientific measurements. It is possible that at such locations we
receive a deep insight into the beauty and vivacity of the earth and
its cycles. Our own perception can widen and deepen and we come closer
to a clearer and intenser experience of the world around us, the
coming and going of all things and, finally, the god-likeness in all
of us.

*for those of you interested in mathematics: the relationship among
the Remen (37,1 cm), the Elle (52,4 cm) and the Meg. Yard (82,9 cm) is
1: root 2 : root 5. But what is even more astonishing is the exact
relationship between these three units of measurement and the time
periods of the day, the year and the Platonic year (precise
revolution, 25900 years). See: Cousto, H. Die kosmische Oktave,
Synthesis-Verlag, Essen, 1984 ISBN 3-922026-24-9