3,344 research outputs found
Megaliths, monuments and materiality
Stones, and especially the arrangement of large stones in relation to one another, have long been the focus of attention in megalith studies, a concern reflected in the name itself. It is, however, a blinkered view. Many so-called megalithic monuments embody other carefully selected materials in their construction, including turf, soil, rubble, and timber. In considering long barrows, Paul Ashbee noted that it was a false distinction to separate earthen long barrows from stone-chambered long barrows as the builders of long barrows inevitably used materials available within their local environments. Alternatively, writing mainly about the Irish material, Arthur ApSimon suggested a development from timber to stone implying an onological progression in the preferred use of materials. Whether environmental or evolutionary, it is certain that many monuments interchangeably combine stone and wood in their construction in a way that forces us to consider what these and other materials meant to the megalith builders. Was it simply about what was available? Or what was fashionable? Or were there deeper sets of meanings relating to how different materials were perceived and understood within the cosmological systems that lie behind the design, construction,and use of long barrows, passage graves, dolmens and other related monuments? Focusing upon wood and stone, it is argued here that both were components of a cyclical world view of life and death that was embedded in the fabric and structure of monuments
Cornelius J. Holtorf: Monumental Past: The Life-histories of Megalithic Monuments in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (Germany)
A fresh look at Ħaġar Qim and Mnajdra temples
Our megalithic temples relate many stories. The
stories that intrigue us most are those that tell us
about their beginnings, their construction, use
and development in prehistory. However, they
do provide evidence for a different story, that
which starts with their discovery by modem
society. During this part of their lifespan these
monuments are not only studied and analysed
by scholars trying to identify their origins,
but are also restored and reconstructed, thus
undergoing physical changes which are not
always immediately evident.
Numerous restoration and conservation
interventions have taken place at both Magar
Qim and Mnajdra. Records of only a few of
these interventions have been kept, and in
some cases even this documentation is missing
from our archives. It is in fact the actual visual
examination of the remains, as well as the
examination of photographic and pictorial
evidence, that allows for their identification.
This factor often makes it difficult to attribute
a date to these interventions and to identify the
methods and materials that were used.peer-reviewe
Geo-material provenance and technological properties investigation in Copper Age menhirs production at Allai (central-western Sardinia, Italy)
During the 2nd millennium BC anthropomorphic menhirs belonging to a 3rd millennium BC
sanctuary were reused as building material in the Arasseda Nuraghe (Sardinia, Italy). To
analyse the Arasseda menhirs and the local Monte Ironi geological samples (presenting
similar visual features), chemical (pXRF, ICP-OES, ICP-MS), mineralogical-chemical (PXRD) and physical (Mohs hardness) measurements were performed. Through the experimental data,
the menhirs source provenance and the technological properties (workability, durability) of
the raw material chosen for sculptural purposes during Copper Age were investigated. To the
authors’ knowledge this is the first archaeometric study on the Arasseda menhirs (the third
on Sardinian menhirs) and one between the few recently developed on European megaliths
Testigos de piedra: estelas armadas entre el Tajo internacional y el Duero, Península Ibérica
Pocos territorios en Europa reúnen la concentración
de estelas en piedra que se documentan entre el Tajo y el
Duero. La arqueología asegura amplias posibilidades extractivas,
con un claro centro neurálgico en el actual distrito de
Castelo Branco. Desde los primeros descubrimientos de piezas
tan singulares como las de São Martinho, hasta el registro
actual, la variedad y diacronía de estelas y menhires en piedra
resulta excepcional en el contexto ibérico y europeo. La tradicional
lectura, que alejaba los viejos menhires de las estelas
del Bronce Final, queda muy matizada ante el uso de referencias
temáticas y técnicas semejantes. En este texto aportamos
otro argumento a sumar a esas similitudes, con la reutilización
de los antiguos soportes como base material para la generación
de las estelas del Bronce Final. Las imágenes humanas
que se grabaron en estas memorias en piedra expresan
narrativas sociales elaboradas. Las secuencias gráficas que argumentamos
aseguran el papel político de estas piezas como
justificaciones materiales de pasados ancestrales. Indudablemente
albergan relatos orales sobre la relación entre los viejos
ancestros y los nuevos líderes, justificando el orden del
entramado económico asociado al control de la extracción y
comercio del metal.Few places in Europe concentrate as many stone
stelae as the area between the Tagus and the Douro. Archaeology
has shown the ample possibilities for metal mining,
the modern region of Castelo Branco being the epicentre in
the area. From the first discoveries of such unique objects
as the São Martinho stelae to the current record, the variety
and diachronicity of stone stelae and menhirs is exceptional
on the Iberian and European scales. The traditional interpretation
that differentiated between the old menhirs and Late
Bronze Age stelae has been nuanced by the evidence of similar
themes and techniques. Another argument presented here
is the use of the old stones as the basic material to produce the
Late Bronze Age stelae. Human images carved on these memorial
stones express elaborate social narratives. The graphic
sequences described here demonstrate the ‘political’ role of
these stones and material justification of ancestral pasts. They
were undoubtedly imbued with oral tales about old ancestors
and new leaders, to justify the order of the economic system
associated with mining and metal trade.Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades 2018-099405-BI0
El sitio de los dólmenes de Antequera en la obra de Georg y Vera Leisner: una revisión
The Antequera dolmens site (Malaga, Spain), included
in the UNESCO World Heritage List since July 2016,
has a research history of almost 200 years that goes back to
the work of Rafael Mitjana y Ardison in the 1840s. After the
discovery of the Viera dolmen and El Romeral tholos, in 1903
and 1904 respectively, the research of the great megalithic
site received a renewed impulse. Published in 1943, the first
volume of the corpus of Iberian megalithic monuments by
Georg and Vera Leisner (Die Megalithgräber der Iberischen
Halbinsel, Erster Teil: Der Süden) was to become the most
detailed study of the Antequera site during the second half
of the 20th century, despite the fact that being published in
German limited its penetration among the Spanish scholarship.
Here, we review the importance of the work of the Leisners
to understand the Antequera megaliths in light of the results
of the research that has been undertaken in the last 15
years. Many of the issues raised by the German couple continue
to be fully pertinent within the context of today’s research
on these monuments. In addition, to facilitate future
access to their work, this paper is accompanied by full translations
into English and Spanish of the Leisners’s text on the
Antequera megaliths.El sitio de los dólmenes de Antequera (Málaga, España),
inscrito en la Lista del Patrimonio Mundial de UNESCO
desde julio de 2016, cuenta con una historia de investigación de
casi 200 años que se remonta al trabajo de Rafael Mitjana y Ardison
en la década de 1840. Tras el descubrimiento del dolmen
de Viera y el tholos de El Romeral, en 1903 y 1904 respectivamente,
la investigación del gran sitio megalítico antequerano
experimentó un fuerte impulso. Publicado en 1943, el primer
volumen del gran corpus de monumentos megalíticos ibéricos
de Georg y Vera Leisner (Die Megalithgräber der Iberischen
Halbinsel. Erster Teil: Der Süden) habría de convertirse en el
estudio más detallado del sitio antequerano durante toda la segunda
mitad del siglo XX, a pesar de que el hecho de estar publicado
en alemán lo hacía de difícil acceso para muchos estudiosos
españoles. En este artículo revisamos la importancia de
la obra de los Leisners para entender los megalitos antequeranos
a la luz de los resultados de las investigaciones que se vienen
desarrollando desde hace 15 años. Son muchas las cuestiones
planteadas en la obra del matrimonio alemán que siguen
teniendo plena vigencia en la investigación actual de estos monumentos.
Además, para facilitar el futuro acceso a su obra, el
texto se acompaña de sendas traducciones al inglés y al español
World Heritage site management : protecting a site in its landscape, a Maltese case-study
A seminar presented at the Forum UNESCO University and Heritage on protecting the megalithic temple site of Mnajdra on Malta. The seminar was held due to a violent vandalistic attack on the temple site which shocked and angered the wider community. This incident served to highlight some potentially serious shortcomings in implementation of the World Heritage Convention (WHC) on a local level, with particular reference to its intention to protect sites and landscapes of 'outstanding universal value'. This paper examines the response of the Maltese community and WHS management team to the incident.peer-reviewe
Wind funnelling underneath the Hagar Qim protective shelter
It is often said that wind and associated processes induced by it have caused damage to the megalithic
temples at Hagar Qim over the years. The aim of this paper is to explore whether wind funnelling is
taking place beneath the protective shelter that now covers the Hagar Qim temple complex. A project
was set up to test the extent to which the wind speeds beneath the new protective shelter differ from
those outside it. Wind speeds were measured inside and outside the shelter in 25 different places and in
four directions over a period of four months. The results were mapped using a Geographic Information
System facility. It was concluded that wind speed does not increase beneath the protective shelter except
at certain points within the temple structure itself.peer-reviewe
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