When it comes to the ancient beliefs and rituals of our earliest ancestors, nothing can be more captivating than standing stones and similar megalithic structures. Dating far back in time to the Neolithic, Chalcolithic, and Bronze Age, standing stones continue to mystify scholars and researchers, and will simply leave any onlooker awestruck and inspired.
All megalithic structures of the past were considerable feats to accomplish for the peoples of that era and were reserved for highly important individuals, fertility rites, and/or as complex astronomical observatories . Today we are taking a deeper look into some of the best lone standing stones all around the world. Solitary and picturesque, these stones are a fantastic inspiration for anyone who might chance upon them. If you ever happen to observe one of these mute witnesses of the bygone centuries, you will surely draw from that deep well of inspiration and reconnect with the most distant past that is etched in your very DNA.
The Deep Meaning of Lone Standing Stones
Standing stones have several different official names. They are most widely known as menhirs, a term that originates in the Welsh name Maen Hîr , meaning “long stone”. And wherever they might be, these menhirs often withstood the test of time, standing tall and proud for several millennia – untouched, unblemished, and undisturbed.
But their origins became gradually shrouded in the mists of memory. Their builders long gone, their name, language, and history all forgotten for eternity – known only by the mute stone. Their original purpose is also forgotten.
Many of them were erected above the graves of important people – presumably chieftains or legendary warriors. Some of them were erected in specially chosen spots – where they would be used in complex rituals to commemorate the changing of the seasons. These stones would perfectly connect with the midwinter sun, for example, and cast long shadows with ritual purposes.
We often underestimate our distant ancestors and the peoples of the Neolithic and the Bronze Age, thinking they were in a way primitive and heathenish in their practices. But what the archaeological evidence all around us shows is the fact that they were far more than that - blooming tribes that had a sophisticated and complex view of the natural world and all that unfolded around them. Ancient megalith builders were finely attuned to the nature around them and knew intricate ways of the changing seasons and the celestial bodies. Their ritual cults of fertility, war, and sun were all facets of the nature in which they lived – in perfect symbiosis with...
