There are interesting buildings in the north-east of Spain. They are called "orreo" and are used to store crops. They write that these structures began to be built hundreds of years ago:
Some are still used for their intended purpose. It is a symbol of the northern part of Spain.
In general, everything looks logical enough. The structure is raised above the ground on stone supports made in the form of mushrooms - this is a protection from birds and heavy rains, floods. There are small cracks in Orreo - they are ventilated and there is no dampness inside. But these structures won't help mice.
Promotional video:
Most are made of primitively cut stone blocks. Their appearance prompted me to think about the purpose of ancient dolmens. But more on that below. There are Orreo and with a fairly high-quality performance: as a masonry from sawn stone blocks and with decorative elements in the exterior. Apparently, there were also standard Orreo projects. A lot of buildings are as alike as two peas.
Can you imagine how long it will take to build such a high-quality barn? Cut blanks in the quarry, bring them, saw them (process), adjust, fold. Apparently, there were masters for whom this occupation was a craft. Like modern carpenters or bricklayers.
Or maybe this is done by casting? It's easier that way. From concrete of that era (based on lime, wood ash or volcanic ash) - similar to Roman concrete. Or maybe they took the then plastic mineral tuff and molded the blocks into formwork like from clay. Ruts in stone, which are found in Spain, may indicate this version.
Galicia. There are also such orreo, as if made of a monolith. Mainly in port villages and towns. These are definitely easier to cast than to carry a huge and heavy lump weighing many tons and then process. I wonder if historians or stone processing technologists have studied these barns?
Maybe dolmens around the world are something similar? Is it like animal protection bins for storing crops and harvested supplies? Although there is dampness inside the dolmens and supplies will deteriorate. Yes, that's right. But this version haunted me. I recently came across this photo:
A continuation of this version appeared: what if, this is not a barn, but a glacier! If you think about it: people live by the sea, a lot of fish are caught. Where to store it? Was it all dried up? All types of fish cannot be dried. There is snow in the mountains in winter. They could lay out the inner walls with slabs of pressed sawdust, fill the dolmen with ice, and lay out fish and other perishable products. And they plugged everything up with a stone plug.
Why exactly a cork and not a door? Perhaps for protection from animals. A wooden door is not reliable. The dolmen was left unattended. They lived below, by the sea, and stored food in the mountains. Dolmens were built there because of the release of plastic masses in the mountains, cold fluidolites - from which they molded dolmen slabs and cut out monolithic dolmens. There are many fossilized rocks near the dolmens.
The second is snow and ice only in the mountains. It practically does not exist on the Black Sea. And the one that falls out will melt in a day. You can't freeze the ice.
Dolmens in the Caucasus. Sealed from all sides. A large animal cannot get inside even if it rips out the plug (for example, a bear).
There are still corks near the dolmens. And part of it is in the museum in Gelendzhik. The plugs are massive, it is possible to open the dolmen only with the use of metal levers.
There are dolmens with false plugs. This is more difficult to explain. Can be done so that smart enough animals would not guess about the true traffic jam. Or is it a cork that is glued to the dolmen slab.
These are preserved glaciers for storing food from the recent past - 19-20 centuries. The last slide is a photograph of the storage of fish in a glacier.
Do you think this version of the purpose of dolmens has a right to exist?
Author: sibved