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The largest megalith in the World |
Anonymous
User not Registered |  Posted 07-02-2005 at 13:00
Does anyone know what the largest megalith in the World is and where is it? Also which megalith do you think has the best story behind it? - ones with good history or a mystery surrounding it. Thanks.
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Thorgrim
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| Posted 07-02-2005 at 14:00
How do you define a "megalith"? Is it a single "big stone" or a building constructed with big stones? If the latter, I would nominate the Great Pyramid at Giza. The biggest standing stone that I have seen is the obelisk at Karnak, but I have heard that there are bigger ones in Ethiopea
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Anonymous
User not Registered | Posted 07-02-2005 at 15:08
I suppose I would consider the term megalith to include standing stones and large stones that make up structures like stone circles and buriel chambers. I dont know if this is correct however. Thank you for your suggestions though.
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Andy B
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| Posted 09-02-2005 at 23:09
A related question - Silbury Hill is always referred to as 'the largest man-made mound in Europe' - where is there a bigger one?
Are they referring to the Pyramids perhaps - hardly mounds?!
Andy
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howar
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| Posted 09-02-2005 at 23:54
Outside of Europe I immediately think of the animal mounds of Ohio and the temple mounds of Central America.
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Andy B
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| Posted 09-02-2005 at 23:59
Yes. The snake mound is quite long and thin but not tall and bulky like Silbury. Dunno...
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Anonymous
User not Registered | Posted 10-02-2005 at 07:28
On the definition of megalith you also have to define age and culture. There is an unfinished Easter Island head in a quarry that would have stood over 60ft tall.
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templar
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| Posted 10-02-2005 at 08:36
Well if we are going with constructions, I suppose you have to consider Offa's dike?
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enkidu41
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| Posted 10-02-2005 at 15:38
If the term megalith is going to include natural as well as man-made stones then is not Uluru (Ayers Rock as was) the largest? It has the added feature of being sacred.
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Thorgrim
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| Posted 10-02-2005 at 18:35
Ayers Rock a natural megalith? This is getting silly - I guess that Everest is sacred too! I vote for:
Tallest standing stone in the world - Obelisk of Tuthmosis III - it was 36m (118 ft) but is now 33m (108 ft) Taken from Egypt in AD 357 and re-positioned in Rome in 1588. Not surprising Egypt want their goodies returned!!
Tallest standing stone in Europe - the fallen one at
Carnac in Brittany (is there a name connection between Carnac and Karnak, Egypt?)
Largest prehistoric megalithic building - Great Pyramid of Giza
Largest pyramid - Pyramid of Quetzacoatl, Mexico
3.3 million cubic meters (built when? AD surely)
Largest artificial mound in Europe - Silbury Hill
Largest artificial mound in the world??? How to define? cubic meters? length? height? Are the tells of Iraq mud-brick clad mounds or built pyramids?
Gotta getta life - gotta getta life...
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Andy B
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| Posted 10-02-2005 at 19:37
> Gotta getta life - gotta getta life...
Agreed - but it does annoy me when writers rattle off that phrase about Silbury with brains disengaged.
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enkidu41
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| Posted 11-02-2005 at 19:53
Unlike Everest, Uluru is a single rock and thus could, within the possible definition of megalith acknowledged by Thorgrim (a single stone), be considered a megalith. The Portal considers a valid definition of a site to be a Natural Stone/Glacial Erratic, a definition which seems to allow Uluru.For my part I think a "megalith" is a large stone which has had some human intervention (whether shaping, sculpting, erection, transportation) in bringing about it's "use".
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Thorgrim
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| Posted 11-02-2005 at 22:42
Then by your acceptance of the "largest single rock" being a natural megalith - is the entirely natural and unshaped Bowdler boulder Britain's largest megalith?
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enkidu41
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| Posted 12-02-2005 at 01:56
As I said, my personal definition of a megalith requires human "intervention" of some description. This would preclude the Bowdler boulder and, of course, Uluru from being considered megaliths.
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Anonymous
User not Registered | Posted 12-02-2005 at 16:47
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On 2005-02-10 18:35, Thorgrim wrote:
Ayers Rock a natural megalith? This is getting silly - I guess that Everest is sacred too! |
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Funnily enough it is. The local name for Everest is Sagarmatha, which means Great Mother of the Earth.
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Thorgrim
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| Posted 12-02-2005 at 17:26
Great television last night with Michael Wood searching for Shangri-la. At the end of his journey, he came to a Tibetan valley where the locals honour/worship a wonderful snowy mountain peak said to be the axis of the world. Perfectly natural, but it was a symetrical pyramid. Now just supposing that it was the inspiration behind all those man made pyramids across the globe.
Cue spooky music and enter Grahame Hancock!
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expatpete
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| Posted 31-10-2005 at 05:27
Quote:
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On 2005-02-07 14:00, Thorgrim wrote:
How do you define a "megalith"? Is it a single "big stone" or a building constructed with big stones? If the latter, I would nominate the Great Pyramid at Giza. The biggest standing stone that I have seen is the obelisk at Karnak, but I have heard that there are bigger ones in Ethiopea
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There are big standing stones/ monoliths in Ethiopea !
I have seen several- unfortunately the Army in the Danakil destroyed one while I was there using it as a target for their anti tank gun practice!!!!!! (1983)
On the bright side I read recently that the Italians are returning a huge one that Mussolini took to Rome after he annexed Abassynia - as it was then - in the 30"s
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Anonymous
User not Registered | Posted 31-10-2005 at 07:31
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On 2005-02-10 19:37, Andy B wrote:
but it does annoy me when writers rattle off that phrase about Silbury with brains disengaged.
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Well, it does depend on how you define "Mound" I suppose, but David Field did go into this question in some detail in a paper for English Heritage and concluded it was actually the biggest in the world. EH haven't yet caught up with that claim.
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Anonymous
User not Registered | Posted 31-10-2005 at 09:56
Turkey certainly has bigger and older mounds than Silbury.
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Anonymous
User not Registered | Posted 31-10-2005 at 15:36
If you bring in the pyramids then you have to consider the ziggurats: http://www.crystalinks.com/ziggurat.html
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