CoveredavenuenearAntequera。
AtGavr’innis,thelengthofthepassageleadingtothecryptexceedsforty-twofeetFig。62,andtheLongBarrowofWestKennetismorethanseventy-threefeetlongbyawidthinsomepartsexceedingthirty-twofeet。IntheLongBarrowsofLittleton,Nempnitt,andUley,thecryptisreachedbyanavenue,theentranceofwhichisclosedbyatrilithon,andasimilararrangementismetwithinmanymegalithicmonumentsofScania。Thesepulchralchambersofovalshape,suchasthatmetwithintheislandofMoen,weresurmountedbyatumulussome100yds。incircumference;twelveunhewnstonesformedthewalls,andfivelargeblockstheroof。InremovingtheearthfromtheMoentomb,thebonesofseveralhumanindividualswerefound;andaskeleton,doubtlessthatofthechief,laystretchedoutinthemiddleofthechamber,whilstthebonesoftheothershadevidentlybeenrangedagainstthewallseitherinasittingorcrouchingposition。Withtheboneswerefoundaflinthatchet,whichappearednevertohavebeenused,anumberofballsofamber,andseveralvasesofdifferentshapes。
GroundplanoftheGavr’innismonument。
ThemegalithicmonumentsofMecklenburgaresupposedtodatefromNeolithictimes,andareconstructedintwoverydifferentways。TheHUNENGRABER,formedofhugeblocksofgranitesetupatrightanglestoeachother,resemblethecoveredavenuesofFranceandelsewhere;
intheso-calledRIESENBETTEN,orgiant’sbeds,onthecontrary,thesepulchralchamberismerelysunkintheground。
Wemustalsomentiontheso-calledGROTTEDESFEES,orfairygrotto,formingpartofsomanyofthemegalithicmonumentsofProvence。Thisfairygrottoincludesanopen-airgallerycutinthemountainlimestoneandroofedinwithhugeflatstones。Thisgalleryleadstoasepulchralchambernotlessthanseventy-ninefeetlong。
ThestonesusedforthecoveredavenueofMureauxSeineetOise
carnefromtheothersideoftheSeine,sothatthebuildersmusthavecrossedtheriverinaraft。Excavationshavebroughttolightseveralskeletonsthathadbeenburiedwithoutanyattemptatorientation,theboresofwhichwerestillintheirnaturalposition。TheobjectsfoundinthistombwereverynumerousmidbelongedtotheNeolithicperiod。[153]
Wehavenowspecifiedthechiefformsandmodesofarrangementofmegalithicmonuments,andmustaddthattheyareoftenfoundinjuxtaposition。AtMane-Lud,forinstance,onarockyplatformwhichhadbeenartificiallysmoothed,andwhichissome246feetlongby162inarea,wefindattheeasternextremityanavenueofuprightstones,onthewestadolmen,andinthecentreacryptsurmountedbyaconicalpileofstones。Betweentheconeandtheavenuethegroundiscoveredwithanartificialpavingofsmallstonescementedtogether,andknowninFranceasaNAPPEPIERREUSE,andamongstthestonesformingthispavingwerefoundquantitiesofcharcoalandbonesofanimals。Themegalithwascompletelyburiedbeneathamoundofearth,orratherofdriedmud,theamountofwhichwasestimatedatmorethan37,986cubicfeet。AtLestridiouFinistere,acromlechformsthestarting-pointofanalignmentformedofsevenrowsofsmallmenhirs,themeanheightofwhichabovethegrounddoesnotexceedthreefeet;
andthesealignmentsleaduptotwocoveredavenuesandacentraldolmen。Inothercases,inEnglandandthelandofMoabforinstance,alignmentssimplyleadtocromlechs;whilstinsomefewcases,asatStennisFig。63,themenhirsarescatteredaboutaplainingreatnumbers,withnothingeitherintheirformortheirposition,orinthetraditionsrelatingtothem,tothrowtheslightestlightontheirorigin。
MonolithsatStennis,intheOrkney,Islands。
OneofthemostimportantmonumentsthathavecomedowntousisthatofCarnac。ThealignmentsofMenec,Kermario,andKerlescantinclude1,771menhirs,ofwhich675arestillstanding。ThealignmentsofErdeven,whichsucceedthoseofCarnac,extendforalengthofmorethanamileandahalf。Theyoriginallyincluded1,030menhirs,ofwhich288arestillextant。
ThearchaeologistsofBrittany,carriedawayperhapsbytheirpatrioticenthusiasm,claimthatwhenthesemonumentswereintacttheyincludedtwothousandmenhirs。Whatisreallycertain,however,isthatadefiniteplanwasevidentlyfollowed,thedistancesbetweenthealignmentstallyingexactly;themenhirsbeingsetupinstraightparallellinesgraduallydecreasinginsizetowardstheeast。Excavationsnearthemhavebroughttolightfragmentsofcharcoal,massesofcinders,chipsofsilicateofflint,withnumerousfragmentsofpottery,andtoolsmadeofquartzite,granite,schist,anddiorite,similartothosemetwithunderalltheothermegalithsofMorbihan。Thisisyetanotherproof,ifsuchwereneeded,thattheywerealltheworkofthesameraceandallprobablydatefromthesameperiod。
Thenumberofmegalithicmonumentsintheworldissimplyincalculable。M。A。BertrandestimatesthetotalnumberinFranceas2,582,distributedin66departmentsand1,200communes。TheyaremostnumerousofallinBrittany;thereare491intheCotes-du-Nord,530inIlle-et-Vilaine。IamnotsureofthenumberinMorbihan,butIknowitisveryconsiderable。ThecommissionappointedattheinstigationofHenryMartindecidedthattherewereasmanyas6,310megalithsinFrance,butthenamongstthesewereincludedpolishingstonesandcup-shapedstones,withothersimilarrelicsoftheremotepast。Lastly,areportrecentlypresentedtotheChamberofDeputiesbyM。A。Proustestimatesat419thenumberofgroupsclassedbygovernment。Inothercountriesthesenumbersaregreatlyexceeded。Thereare2,000megalithsintheOrkneyIslandsandagreatmanyintheextremenorthofScania,andinOtrantointhesouthernextremityofEurope,wheretheyresemblethePEDRASFITTAS
ofSardinia。Pallas,andafterhim,Haxthausen,tellsusthattherearethousandsofkurganesinthesteppesofCentralandSouthernRussia。[154]Thesekurganesarecromlechs,tombssurmountedbyuprightstones,squareorconicalhypogea,allscatteredaboutwithoutanyapparentsystem,surmountedbyroughlysculpturedfemalebusts,knownamongstthecommonpeopleasKAMENABABA,orstonewomen。Tumuli,too,aboundontheshoresoftheIrtischandoftheYenisei,mutewitnessestotheformerpresenceofavanishedraceofwhichweknowneithertheancestorsnorthedescendants。Thesemonumentsare,however,bysomeattributedtotheTchoudes,apeoplewhocamefromtheAltaiMountains。TheEsthonians,theOgrisorUlgres,theFinns,andperhapseventheCelts,aresupposedtobebranchesofthesameethnologicaltree。Thisishoweverquitearecentidea,andatbestbutamerehypothesis。[155]
Algeriapresentsavastfieldforresearch,anditiseasytofinddolmensandcromlechs,suchasthatshowninFig。64,whicharesepulchreswithacentraldolmensurroundedbyadoubleortripleenceinteofmonolithsdrivenintotheground。Thesemonuments,muchastheydifferinformandarrangement,areundoubtedlytheworkofonestrongandpowerfulracethatdominatedthewholeofthenorthofAfrica;andarerepresentedinhistorictimesbytheBerbers,andatthepresentclaybytheKabyles。
CromlechnearBoneAlgeria。
Althoughaverygreatmanyofthemhavebeendestroyed,theFrenchpossessionsinAlgeriaarestillasrichinmonumentsofthiskindasanyofthecountriesofEurope。OnMountRedgel-Safiasixhundreddolmenshavebeenmadeout,withstonetablesrestingonwallsofdrystonesandfrequentlysurroundedbycromlechs。Dr。WeisgerberhasrecentlyannouncedthediscoveryinthevalleyofAin-Massin,onthevestofMzab,ofacromlechconsistingofanumberofconcentriccirclesoflargestonessetuponanellipticaltumulus,morethanfifty-foursquareyardsinarea。Quitecloseisaworkshopofflintweapons,probablyinuseatthetimeoftheerectionofthemegaliths。[156]InMidjana,thenumberofmegalithsexceeds10,000,andGeneralFaidherbecountedmorethan2,000inthenecropolisofMazela,andayetlargernumberinthatofRoknia。“AtBou-Merzoug,“
saysM。Feraud,[157]“inaradiusofthreeleagues,onthemountainaswellasontheplain,thewholecountryaboutthespringsiscoveredwithmonumentsoftheCelticform,suchasdolmens,demi-dolmens,menhirs,avenues,andtumuli。Inaword,therearetobefoundexamplesofnearlyeverytypeknowninEurope。Forfearofbeingtaxedwithexaggeration,Iwillnotfixthenumber,butIcancertifythatIsawandexaminedmorethanathousandinthethreedaysofexploration,onthemountainitself,andonthedeclivitieswhereveritwaspossibletoplacethem。Allthemonumentsaresurroundedwithamoreorlesscompleteenceinteoflargestones。sometimessetupinacircle,sometimesinasquare,Insomecasesthelivingrockformshartoftheenceinte,whichhasbeencompletedwiththehelpofotherblocksfrolicelsewhere。Itisoftendifficulttodecidewherethemonumentend,andtherockbegins。Whentheescarpmentwastooabrupt,itwaslevelledwiththeaidofakindofretainingwall,whichformsaterraceroundthedolmen。Thedolmensintheplainseemtohavebeenconstructedwithevengreatercare。Theenceintesarewiderandtheslabsofthetableslarger。“Megalithicmonumentsaremetwitheveninthedesert。ApyramidbuiltofstoneswithoutmortarrisesupinthedistrictsinhabitedbytheTouaregs;andquiteneartoitarefourorfivetombssurroundedbystandingstones。
InAlgeria,wealsomeetwithquadrangularpyramidscalledDJEDAS,whichmeasureasmuchasninetyfeetoneachface,butdonotrisemorethanthreefeetabovetheground。Theleadwereburiedbeneaththeminacrouchingposition。Weknownothingeitheroftheoriginofthesedjedasorofthedatetowhichtheybelong。
ThemonumentsofTunisiawereprobablyasnumerousasthoseofAlgeria。WemaynoteespeciallythevastareainEnfida,completelycoveredwithdolmens,onehundredofwhicharestillstanding,andinexcellentpreservation,whilsttheruinsofothersstrewthesoil,bringinguptheiroriginalnumbertoatleastthreethousand。ThosedescribedbyM。GirarddeRialle[158]areyetmoreinteresting。NearthevillageofEllez,ontheroadfromKeftoKerouan,aresomefifteencoveredavenuesdistributedwithoutapparentorder,andrisingfromthemidstofRomanruins。Theuprightstonesvaryfromabouttentothirteenfeet,andaresurmountedbyhugeslabs。Thechiefdolmenhaswithinitasmanyastenchambers。
TherearealsonumeroustumuliinSyria。WehavealreadyalludedtothatofSarepta;andthereareothersnearAntiochandintheplainofBeka,betweenLebanonandAnti-Lebanon。MajorConder,whoascaptainconductedtheinterestingcampaignorganizedbythePalestineExplorationSocietyin1881and1882,speaksoftheexplorationoftherudestonemonumentsasoneofthemostinterestingfeaturesofthesurveys,andsays:“ThedistributionofthecentreswherethesemonumentsoccurinSyria,isamatterofnolittleimportance……nodolmens,menhirs,orancientcircleshavebeendiscoveredinJudaea,andonlyonedoubtfulcircleinSamaria。InLowerGalileeasingledolmenhasbeenfound;inUpperGalileefourofmoderatedimensionsareknown。WestofTiberiasisacircle,andbetweenTyreandSidonanenclosureofmenhirs。AtTellelKady,oneoftheJordansources,acentreofbasaltdolmensexists,andatKefrWal……thereisanotherlargecentre。AtAmmanseveralfinedolmensandlargemenhirsareknowntoexist……itisdoubtful,however,ifalltheseexamplesaddedtogetherwouldequalthegreatfieldsofrudestonemonumentstobefoundinMoab,foritiscalculatedthatsevenhundredexampleswerefoundbythesurveyorsin1881。[159]ThereisonegroupofdolmensatAliSafat,inPalestine,inwhichthesupportsofthetablearepiercedwithanopening。Thisisaveryinterestingfact,towhichIhavealreadyalluded,andtowhichIshallhavetoreferagain。AnothergroupofsometwentydolmenswasdiscoveredbyM。deSaulcyontheplateauofElAzemieh,oneofwhichrisesinthecentreofabeltofroughlysculptureduprightstones;andyetathirdgroupistobeseennearMountNebo,whichMajorConderthusdescribes:
“Hereawell-defineddolmenwasfoundnorthwestoftheflat,ruinedcairn,whichharksthesummitoftheride。Thecap-stonewasverythick,anditstopissomefivefeetfromtheground。Theside-stoneswererudelypiled,andnoneoftheblockswerecutorshaped……Insubsequentvisitsitwasascertainedthatonthesouthslopeofthemountainthereisacircleabout250feetindiameter,withawalloftwelvefeetthick,consistingofsmallstonespiledupinasortofvellum。“[160]