What are the names of religious architectural structures? II. The origin of architecture in the era of the primitive communal system. Coral Castle, USA, Florida, Homestead

60 kilometers southeast of the famous Dyatlov Pass, Sverdlovsk researcher Valentin Degterev discovered a gigantic Stone Age monument. The Neolithic geoglyph is about 10 kilometers long and approximately 5 kilometers wide. Images taken from space helped identify them.

“Dozens of drawings are carved into the ground, among the taiga. They have nothing to do with geology or logging,” Degterev explained. - Ancient artists depicted something that can now be interpreted in two ways. However, they resemble what appears to be a comet or meteorite."

The images also evoke associations with a huge bird, and between the two mountains the ancient builders placed a “gate” that may symbolize some kind of transition.

Video: Valentin Degterev

“However, I am not confirming anything. We will never know what was recorded in these drawings made by the hands of an ancient people who have long since sunk into history, the researcher believes. - However, this now proves that the area around the Dyatlov Pass was indeed sacred to the Mansi who inhabit these places. And it became sacred long before the first inhabitant appeared there. So there’s something mystical about it.”

Photo: Valentin Degterev

Degterev also gives the coordinates of the find: 61.588355°, 60.753612°; 61.571104°, 60.753665°; 61.554000°, 60.742642°; 61.547156°, 60.766285°; 61.547156°, 60.766285°; 61.539757°, 60.736381°; 61.552246°, 60.683289°.

Previously, a similar monument was

Origins of architecture

Construction is one of the most ancient types of human activity, which means that many millennia ago the foundations for all further development of architecture were laid.

The prehistoric period, based on the use of various materials and techniques for making tools, is usually divided into the following main stages: stone (Old Stone Age - paleolithic And new stone - Neolithic), bronze And iron century. At the same time, it is very difficult to clearly define their boundaries, since the development of human society has always been uneven.

The surviving remains of human settlements indicate the existence of different ways of life of people in different regions of the globe and at different stages of human history.

The discovered dwellings of the early period of the Upper Paleolithic are roughly oval in plan, with a single hearth. Most often these are dugouts, a large number of which were discovered in different regions of the CIS (left-bank Ukraine, the Dnieper basin, areas of Bryansk, Voronezh, Irkutsk, etc.). Also in the Late Paleolithic era, there were more elongated and larger dwellings, consisting of oval dugouts seemingly attached to each other, with several hearths. At the end of the Late Paleolithic, temporary hunting camps and seasonal camps arose. In addition to dugouts, half-dugouts and above-ground dwellings with a frame made of the bones of large animals, temporary dwellings and huts were built.

In the Neolithic, the so-called During the “stone ax” period, semi-dugouts and dwellings were already built from wood, reeds, twigs and clay. The most developed type of buildings of the Neolithic period is pile buildings- buildings supported on wooden piles, which were usually erected over rivers and lakes in wetlands. The spread of this type of settlement is explained by defensive considerations, as well as the convenience of fishing in reservoirs. Pile buildings were erected in different territories, in Central Europe, in the CIS, also the so-called community houses(until recently, this type of dwelling - “pueblo” existed among the American Indians). Similar types of closed dwellings, inaccessible from the outside, were built in other parts of the world, where they used a polished stone axe. The main building material was wood. It is noteworthy that in large dwellings of a centric plan there were several household hearths and one large one in the center for ritual purposes. Subsequently, free-standing religious buildings were built - altars, and premises - temples. ()

In northern Italy, settlements were discovered (approximately 1800 BC) of a peculiar nature: circular platforms were built on pillars, on which huts were located. A wooden fence was erected around the village and a ditch was dug and filled with water.

Ancient fortified settlements dating back to the seventh-sixth millennium BC have been discovered in Anatolia. e. (Ch'atal Huyzek, Mersin, Hasilar). Only starting from the half of the third millennium BC. e. Neolithic culture from the Aegean region spreads to northern and western Europe along natural routes - the Danube with its basin and the Mediterranean Sea. ()

The beginning of architecture as an art appeared when not only the laws of necessity, but also the laws of beauty began to operate in construction. During the Bronze Age, in the middle of the second millennium BC. e. Almost everywhere in Europe (in the territory of modern Spain, France, northern Europe, Ireland, Scotland, Greece, Belgium), and in China, Korea, India, along the Mediterranean coast, in Tunisia, Egypt and many other countries, monumental stone structures made of huge stone blocks - menhirs, dolmens, cromlechs, Cyclopean fortresses and ancient settlements - the so-called megalithic architecture(Greek medas - big + lithos - stone). The purpose of these buildings was associated mainly with religious rites and memorable events.

Menhirs- these are vertically placed, usually unprocessed stones of considerable height, ritual monuments or monuments; they designated places for public ceremonies. Menhirs were placed alone or in groups, in some cases in long rows (the "alley" of menhirs in Brittany). Sometimes the tops of the menhirs end with an image of a head. Menhirs sometimes reached 20 m in height and 300 tons in weight. Sometimes menhirs are found in combination with dolmens.

Dolmen usually consists of two or four large vertical stones standing side by side supporting a horizontal rough-hewn stone slab (Denmark, Brittany). The dolmens were initially small in size - about 2 m in length and about 1.5 m in height, but later they were given larger sizes and sometimes an approach to them was arranged in the form of a stone gallery. They are often arranged to create long, corridor-like spaces. Dolmens most often served as sarcophagi, burial chambers for clan members, and at the same time as funerary monuments.

Cromlech, the most complex type of megalithic structure, was built from vertically installed stone pillars or slabs arranged in a circle, they were connected to each other by stone blocks also placed on top.

An outstanding building of this kind is Stonehenge near Salisbury in southern England, apparently created in the middle of the second millennium BC. BC are probably a primitive temple or theater. This cromlech consists of massive four- and eight-meter stones, placed vertically and forming a centric composition with a diameter of 30 m. Inside there are two rings of small stones, they are surrounded by stone pillars of Stonehenge, forming several concentric circles: one of small menhirs, the other, central, - from huge boulders, covered in pairs with stone blocks. The center of the architectural composition is a rectangular slab. The stone blocks are carefully processed with stone tools, which indicates the skill and significant level of development of the people of that time, and their sense of spatial composition. The purpose of Stonehenge is not completely clear. Perhaps the middle part was a sanctuary, and the central stone slab was an altar. Mass burials were discovered around the monument. There is an assumption about the use of this cromlech for astronomical purposes; the composition also observed certain laws related to astronomy, which, however, was often found in the architecture of ancient centuries (Egypt, Central America). The two concentric stone circles around the sanctuary are the roads, the paths that flow around the sanctuary. It is believed that they were intended for holding equestrian competitions. ()

Deserves special attention log buildings(became widespread in the second half of the 2nd millennium BC - the beginning of the 1st millennium), in particular - mounds, - a common type of memorial structures. Their prototype was residential log houses. When constructing a mound, a powerful wooden frame with a wooden floor was first built in a pit, inside which a burial chamber was built - a log box. Sometimes the space between the two chambers was filled with stones. The chambers were covered with rolls of logs, which were covered with birch bark and bark. Then they covered it with earth, forming a mound, often of considerable height. A stone was thrown onto the top of the hill.

Log dwellings were the first step towards the creation of above-ground log wooden buildings; they were common among the Baltic, Finnish and Turkic tribes, as well as in the wooded regions of Central and Northern Europe. If stone and adobe houses were usually built round in plan, then from long logs laid horizontally, multifaceted buildings were obtained, which over time were transformed into one-room rectangular houses. There was a fireplace in the middle, with smoke coming out of a hole in the roof above it. A “front” was often set up in front of the entrance. In Northern Europe, only the foundations of such houses were found during excavations. This type of construction was later called "megaron", they formed the basis of Greek architecture, incl. Greek temple .()

Along with memorial and ritual buildings, in the later stages of the development of primitive society, a new type of architectural structures appeared - stone and wooden fortresses. Characteristic are the so-called Cyclopean fortresses, the walls of which are made of huge blocks of stone. In areas poor in stone, but abundant in forests, settlements spread - “fortifications”, fortified with log fences, earthen ramparts and ditches. Initially, the fortresses had one defensive wall; later, a second wall could be built inside the fortress around the citadel - the seat of the leader and the clan nobility. During the Iron Age (first millennium BC) in the Scythian state, the city of Scythian Naples was surrounded by a powerful fortress wall made of torn stone and clay mortar.()

Primitive architecture was the basis of the architecture of the early class states of the Ancient East.

A striking example of the architecture of ancient class societies that arose in Asia, Africa and other countries of the Ancient East, the geographical scope of which is very extensive, is the architecture of Ancient Egypt, which created grandiose monumental structures to the glory of the pharaohs.

The first beginnings of art can, in principle, be seen in the work of primitive man. In those days, people were already trying to find ways to reflect their idea of ​​the world and beauty. According to archaeologists, the first monuments related to the fine arts - graphics, sculpture, painting - arose in the Paleolithic era.

Of course, the first drawings were very primitive: imprints of a person’s hand, “pasta” - wavy lines squeezed out with fingers, contours of animal heads. Manifesting himself in sculpture of later periods, man also depicted animals, reflecting their character and habits.

Middle Stone Age - Mesolithic

During this period of time, images become more colorful, and compositions consisting of several figures begin to be created. As a rule, they depict everyday life, battles or hunting. A person begins to realize his place in the world, trying to uncover the patterns of life.

Neolithic - New Stone Age

Primitive people began to master the art of sculpture. An example of ancient sculptures is the “stone women” found in the northern Black Sea region. Architecture during this period of time was still underdeveloped, but artistic crafts appeared, which became the prototype of the future decorative art.

Bronze Age and architecture

Around 3000 BC, people begin to pay special attention to the architectural features of buildings. The so-called architecture of large stones, or megalithic architecture, appears: dolmens, menhirs, cromlechs. The reason for the construction of such buildings is the development of religious ideas of ancient man.

Dolmens, menhirs, cromlechs

Menhirs were stone pillars whose height reached 20 meters. An example is Zorats-Karer, found in Armenia, or the Karnak stones excavated in French Brittany.

Most of all, architectural art was manifested in dolmens - religious, often funerary, structures consisting of 2-4 slabs arranged vertically, covered with a horizontal slab. This is how the main components of an architectural structure appeared - floors and supports.

The cromlech is a more complex structure, most famously located in Wilshire in England. This is Stonehenge, the construction of which dates back to approximately 2000 BC. It is assumed that this is a cult structure dedicated to the sun.

Cromlech Stonehenge in UK

The word "architecture" translated from Greek means "construction". This is one of the oldest types of human activity. The surviving remains of human settlements indicate the existence of different ways of life of people in different regions of the globe and at different stages of human development.

The oldest monumental structures that have reached us date back to the Stone Age and are called megalithic. The name comes from the Greek words “megas” - large and “litos” - stone, that is, structures made of large stones. They are found in various countries of Europe, North Africa, Asia Minor, India, Japan and other parts of the world. Such buildings are called menhirs, dolmens, and cromlechs.

Isn’t it amazing that the seemingly limitless variety of forms of world architecture, including its most modern achievements, merely reproduces in different ways these eternal principles laid down by the still nameless architects of the Stone Age.

Metal structures acted as public buildings, but people have needed housing since ancient times. It is unlikely that anyone is able to find out where and when a person built his first house. In the Neolithic, in some places, dwellings were built from wood, reeds, twigs and clay. In others, buildings are erected on stilts and so-called communal houses. The settlements found in Northern Italy (approximately 1800 BC) had a peculiar character. Platforms arranged in a circle were arranged on the pillars, on which huts were located. A wooden fence was erected around the village, and a ditch was dug and filled with water. As a result of research in Anatolia (Türkiye), an ancient fortified settlement dating back to the 6th millennium BC was discovered.

But, perhaps, the most ancient human dwelling is described in V. Glazychev’s book “The Origin of Architecture.” The house reconstructed by scientists was built 11 thousand years ago in the Wadi en-Natuf valley (upper reaches of the Jordan River) and looked like this: a round depression in the stone base, flexible poles inserted into pre-dug holes and converging at the top. Then the poles were intertwined with thinner rods and coated with clay. In the middle of the base of this round house is the place of the hearth, with a hole above it. There are still many millennia ahead, discoveries and disappointments, the grandeur of the Egyptian pyramids and the perfection of the Athenian Acropolis, the monumentality of Rome and the frantic impulse of Gothic, but there, in the distant Wadi en-Natuf, a decisive step has already been taken, the great craft of architecture is already counting down the times. A person finds shelter over his head, protection from bad weather and danger, warmth and coolness not under a tree or in a cave, but in a specially built permanent house.

The most important moment in the emerging agricultural civilization was the emergence of a completely new type of art, impossible and unknown to hunters and gatherers. We are talking about architecture. Taking refuge in a randomly discovered cave is one thing, but building artificial structures of arbitrary sizes and shapes from clay, wood or stone, placing them in specially selected places, is a completely different matter.

Architecture refers to the art of designing and constructing buildings in accordance with predetermined goals and a design that meets the technical capabilities and aesthetic criteria of the local community (town, city, country). As an art form, architecture already enters the sphere of spiritual culture, aesthetically shapes the human environment, expresses social ideas in artistic images.

Farmers began to organize, rebuild and develop the environment according to their own standards in two directions at once - with the creation of architecture of small and large forms. Small forms were used for private purposes, primarily residential and commercial buildings, and large ones were used for the construction of public institutions, mainly religious temples and royal palaces. This should also include large engineering projects, such as the large irrigation systems of Ancient Egypt.

The earliest form of human habitation was encampments - temporary unfortified camps of primitive hunters and gatherers. The sites of Stone Age hunters were replaced by settlements (villages) of farmers, which could take the form of a fortress (a structure made of huge rough-hewn stones) or a settlement (a group of residential buildings and outbuildings surrounded by an earthen rampart or wooden fence). Later, the fortress and the fortification, as two different types of settlements, are combined and turned into fortified fortified cities (there were especially many of them in the Middle Ages).

Somewhat later - during the period of ancient Eastern civilizations - the architectural organization of the space of populated areas, the creation of cities and towns, and the regulation of settlement systems became a special area - urban planning.

We fly into space, race to build skyscrapers, clone living organisms and do many things that only recently seemed impossible. And at the same time, they are still unable to solve the mysteries of the builders and thinkers who lived thousands of years ago. An ancient cobblestone weighing a hundred tons surprises us more than a computer half the size of a palm.

Goseck Circle, Germany, Goseck

The ring system of concentric ditches and wooden enclosures was created between 5000 and 4800 BC. The complex has now been reconstructed. Presumably it was used as a solar calendar.

Reptilian statues, French Polynesia, Nuku Hiva island

The statues in a place called Temehea Tohua in the Marquesas Islands depict strange creatures whose appearance in the popular consciousness is associated with aliens. They are different: there are large, large-mouthed “reptilians,” and there are others: with small bodies and disproportionately large elongated helmet heads with huge eyes. They have one thing in common - an angry expression on their faces. Whether these were aliens from other worlds or just masked priests is unknown. The statues date back to around the beginning of the 2nd millennium.

Stonehenge, UK, Salisbury

Altar, observatory, tomb, calendar? Scientists have not come to a consensus. Five thousand years ago, a ring ditch and ramparts around it with a diameter of 115 m appeared. A few centuries later, ancient builders brought here 80 four-ton stones, and a couple of centuries later - 30 megaliths weighing 25 tons. The stones were installed in a circle and in the shape of a horseshoe. The form in which Stonehenge has survived to this day is largely the result of human activity in recent centuries. People continued to work on the stones: peasants chipped away pieces of amulets from them, tourists marked the territory with inscriptions, and restorers figured out for the ancients how things stood correctly here.

Pyramid of Kukulkan, Mexico, Chichen Itza

Every year, on the days of the spring and autumn equinox, thousands of tourists gather at the foot of the sanctuary of the supreme Mayan deity - the Feathered Serpent. They witness the miracle of Kukulkan's "appearance": the Serpent moves down along the balustrade of the main staircase. The illusion is created by the play of triangular shadows cast by the nine platforms of the pyramid at the moment when the setting sun illuminates its northwestern corner for 10 minutes. If the sanctuary had been shifted even a degree, nothing like this would have happened.

Carnac stones, France, Brittany, Carnac

In total, about 4,000 megaliths up to four meters high are arranged in slender alleys near the city of Karnak. The rows run parallel to each other or fan out, forming circles here and there. The complex dates back to the 5th–4th millennium BC. There were legends in Brittany that it was the wizard Merlin who turned the ranks of Roman legionnaires to stone.

Stone balls, Costa Rica

Pre-Columbian artifacts scattered near the Pacific coast of Costa Rica were discovered in the 1930s by banana plantation workers. Hoping to find gold inside, vandals destroyed many of the balls. Now most of the remaining ones are kept in museums. The diameter of some stones reaches 2.5 meters, weight - 15 tons. Their purpose is unknown.

Georgia Tablets, USA, Georgia, Elbert

In 1979, someone under the pseudonym R.C. Christian ordered the construction company to manufacture and install the monument - a structure of six granite monoliths weighing more than 100 tons. The ten commandments to descendants are engraved on the four side plates in eight languages, including Russian. The last point says: “Don’t be a cancer for the Earth, leave room for nature too!”

Nuraghi of Sardinia, Italy, Sardinia

Semiconical structures resembling huge beehives (up to 20 m high) appeared in Sardinia at the end of the 2nd millennium BC, before the arrival of the Romans. The towers were built without a foundation, from stone blocks superimposed on each other, not held together by any mortar and supported only by their own gravity. The purpose of the nuraghes is unclear. It is characteristic that archaeologists have more than once discovered miniature bronze models of these towers during excavations.

Sacsahuaman, Peru, Cusco

The archaeological park at an altitude of 3,700 meters and an area of ​​3,000 hectares is located north of the capital of the Inca Empire. The defensive and at the same time temple complex was built at the turn of the 15th–16th centuries. The zigzag battlements, reaching 400 meters in length and six in height, are made of multi-ton stone blocks, including 200-ton ones. How the Incas installed these blocks, how they adjusted them one after another is unknown. From above, Sacahuaman looks like the toothy head of a Cusco puma (the city was founded in the shape of the sacred animal of the Incas).

Arkaim, Russia, Chelyabinsk region

The Bronze Age settlement (III–II millennium BC) is located at the same latitude as Stonehenge. Coincidence? Scientists don't know. Two rows of circular walls (the diameter of the far one is 170 m), a drainage and sewer system, a well in every house are evidence of a highly developed culture. The monument was discovered by students and schoolchildren from an archaeological expedition in 1987. (The photo shows a reconstruction model.)

Newgrange, Ireland, Dublin

The Celts called it the fairy mound and considered it the home of one of their main gods. The circular structure made of stone, earth and rubble with a diameter of 85 meters was erected more than 5,000 years ago. A corridor leads inside the mound, ending in a ritual chamber. On the days of the winter solstice, this chamber is brightly illuminated for 15–20 minutes by a ray of sun falling through the window above the entrance to the tunnel.

Coral Castle, USA, Florida, Homestead

The bizarre structure was built single-handedly over 28 years (1923–1951) by Latvian emigrant Edward Lindskalnin in honor of a lost love. How a man of modest stature and build moved huge blocks in space remains a mystery.

Pyramids of Yonaguni, Japan, Ryukyu Archipelago

Monuments of huge stone platforms and pillars located underwater at a depth of 5 to 40 meters were discovered in 1986. The main one of these structures has the shape of a pyramid. Not far from it there is a large platform with steps, similar to a stadium with spectator stands. One of the objects resembles a huge head, like the Moai statues on Easter Island. There is debate in the scientific community: many believe that the formations lying on the ocean floor are exclusively of natural origin. But loners like Masaaki Kimura, a professor at the University of the Ryukyu, who has repeatedly dived to the ruins, insist that there was a human presence here.

Great Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe, Masvingo

One of the largest and oldest stone structures in South Africa was built in the 11th century, and was abandoned in the 15th century for an unknown reason. All structures (up to 11 meters in height and 250 in length) were erected using the dry masonry method. Presumably, up to 18,000 people lived in the settlement.

Delhi Column, India, New Delhi

The iron column, over 7 meters high and weighing over 6 tons, is part of the Qutub Minar architectural complex. It was cast in honor of King Chandragupta II in 415. For reasons that are unclear, the column, which is almost 100% iron, is virtually resistant to corrosion. Scientists are trying to explain this fact with various reasons: the special skill and technology of ancient Indian blacksmiths, dry air and specific climatic conditions in the Delhi region, the formation of a protective shell - in particular, as a result of the fact that the Hindus anointed the sacred monument with oils and incense. Ufologists, as usual, see in the column yet another evidence of the intervention of extraterrestrial intelligence. But the secret of “stainless steel” has not yet been solved.

Nazca Lines, Peru, Nazca Plateau

A 47-meter spider, a 93-meter hummingbird, a 134-meter eagle, a lizard, an alligator, a snake, other zoomorphic and humanoid creatures... Giant images from a bird's eye view seem to be scratched on a rock devoid of vegetation, as if with one hand, in the same style . In fact, these are furrows up to 50 cm deep and up to 135 cm wide, made at different times in the 5th-7th centuries.

Nabta Observatory, Nubia, Sahara

In the sands next to a dry lake lies the oldest archaeoastronomical monument on the planet, 1000 years older than Stonehenge. The location of the megaliths makes it possible to determine the day of the summer solstice. Archaeologists believe that people lived here seasonally when there was water in the lake, so they needed a calendar.

Antikythera Mechanism, Greece, Antikythera

A mechanical device with dials, hands and gears was found at the beginning of the 20th century on a sunken ship sailing from Rhodes (100 BC). After lengthy research and reconstruction, scientists found that the device served astronomical purposes - it made it possible to monitor the movement of celestial bodies and make very complex calculations.

Baalbek slabs, Lebanon

The Roman temple complex dates back to the 1st-2nd centuries AD. But the Romans did not build sanctuaries out of nowhere. At the base of the Temple of Jupiter lie more ancient slabs weighing 300 tons. The western retaining wall is made up of a series of "trilithons" - three limestone blocks, each over 19 m long, 4 m high and weighing about 800 tons. Roman technology was not able to lift such weight. By the way, not far from the complex, another block has been lying for more than one thousand years - under 1000 tons.

Gobekli Tepe, Türkiye

The complex on the Armenian Highlands is considered the oldest of the largest megalithic structures (approximately X-IX millennium BC). At that time, people were still hunting and gathering, but someone was able to erect circles of huge steles with images of animals.