ANCIENT STONE CIRCLES

 
   

In the great deserts of North Africa and the Near East, vast numbers of prehistoric stone circles catch the eye when flying over them with Google Earth. What purpose did these legacies of ancient cultures serve? A professor from Oxford emailed me that there is still too little research to make a clear statement about the function of these structures. For the most part, they were probably tombs, but not always.  At their core, they consist of a central circular structure called a tumulus, in which there is a chamber. According to their external shape, they are divided into different groups, such as the simple tumulus, the platform tumulus or, for example, the bazina.

(Geographical coordinates below the pictures.)
25.28169,10.27936
25.28169,10.27936
25.09895,9.05205
25.09895,9.05205
25.82111,8.92392
25.82111,8.92392
25.06548,9.09411
25.06548,9.09411
24.88081,9.88962
24.88081,9.88962
22.34542,6.00592
22.34542,6.00592
25.2394,9.85228
25.2394,9.85228
24.93003,10.06222
24.93003,10.06222
25.03006,10.02504
25.03006,10.02504
25.25818,9.84524
25.25818,9.84524
25.47412,9.8856
25.47412,9.8856
25.153,9.80394
25.153,9.80394
23.57331,5.16739
23.57331,5.16739
25.17438,9.83017
25.17438,9.83017
23.8311,7.77522
23.8311,7.77522
24.88305,8.36903
24.88305,8.36903
 
25.19048,9.14162
25.19048,9.14162
 
24.90776,8.91613
24.90776,8.91613
26.04225,8.50539
26.04225,8.50539
25.14842,9.84482
25.14842,9.84482
23.55683,8.45441
23.55683,8.45441
23.87166,5.90944
23.87166,5.90944
25.18877,8.97162
25.18877,8.97162
25.00951,9.84851
25.00951,9.84851
23.1344,7.68535
23.1344,7.68535
23.07874,7.6848
23.07874,7.6848
26.49433,7.80738
26.49433,7.80738
25.07931,10.14509
25.07931,10.14509
25.4542,9.99352
25.4542,9.99352
24.10932,6.05847
24.10932,6.05847
24.03015,4.96814
24.03015,4.96814
20.47379,3.41607
20.47379,3.41607
25.28979,9.49028
25.28979,9.49028
24.55144,4.65315
24.55144,4.65315
29.88162,-6.12786
29.88162,-6.12786
23.55173,5.14026
23.55173,5.14026
31.41205,-3.93534
31.41205,-3.93534
22.40615,5.64409
22.40615,5.64409
19.36771,8.90733
19.36771,8.90733
23.53481,8.67607
23.53481,8.67607
24.34178,4.7768
24.34178,4.7768
23.53918,7.97297
23.53918,7.97297
24.30992,4.58115
24.30992,4.58115
24.24765,4.81452
24.24765,4.81452
26.88174,-5.30403
26.88174,-5.30403
23.64575,9.3342
23.64575,9.3342
22.57279,4.98304
22.57279,4.98304
24.18847,4.58692
24.18847,4.58692
21.46678,7.94126
21.46678,7.94126
23.56003,7.82814
23.56003,7.82814
23.5881,7.83531
23.5881,7.83531
23.8337,5.98255
23.8337,5.98255
23.82863,6.01907
23.82863,6.01907
23.80762,5.62492
23.80762,5.62492
25.99612,5.3977
25.99612,5.3977
25.93896,5.46911
25.93896,5.46911
19.65221,8.10788
19.65221,8.10788
19.63145,8.0393
19.63145,8.0393
Images courtesy of Google Earth™



Stone circle with "satellite

A large part of the round shapes has a smaller secondary mound, which appears as if it orbits the main tumulus like a satellite orbits its planet. I have not yet read anything about its significance. However, I find it interesting that such cairns with satellites can be found across North Africa, across to Saudi Arabia, up to Jordan and Syria. Yes even in some of the "Medicine Wheels" of North America this pattern can be found. Because these are basic symbolic patterns, did they all develop independently over the millennia, or were the peoples and cultures connected?

(Geographical coordinates below the pictures.)
25.1159,9.9057
25.1159,9.9057
24.19504,4.66557
24.19504,4.66557
24.93193,8.65932
24.93193,8.65932
25.12037,7.2907
25.12037,7.2907
25.242,7.81195
25.242,7.81195
25.20372,6.08891
25.20372,6.08891
24.94103,8.65531
24.94103,8.65531
25.95711,6.22276
25.95711,6.22276
24.45234,5.76703
24.45234,5.76703
25.17169,8.67419
25.17169,8.67419
25.04863,9.07975
25.04863,9.07975
21.34526,6.50566
21.34526,6.50566
22.68478,4.73308
22.68478,4.73308
23.99033,5.61296
23.99033,5.61296
19.1497,8.55341
19.1497,8.55341
25.0588,8.26033
25.0588,8.26033
25.17856,7.47738
25.17856,7.47738
24.89912,8.03041
24.89912,8.03041
25.08652,8.9323
25.08652,8.9323
22.67613,4.91322
22.67613,4.91322
Images courtesy of Google Earth™

These pictures are only a small selection. All the objects I found are included in the following download (Google Earth required): Download placemarks of about 20,000 Stone circles >




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