Expert Stephen Waller examined the famous Stonehenge located in the English county of Wiltshire, built more than five thousand years ago, and found that from an acoustic point of view this place is very difficult - giant stones can create amazing sound illusions or acoustic mirages.
If two musicians are placed in the center of a structure made of giant stones and forced to play a trumpet, then the observer, walking around them, will hear almost silence in certain places - sound waves, reflected from the stones, will suppress each other in these places and the trumpet voices will almost be quiet.
On this basis, Waller put forward a rather controversial hypothesis that, in fact, this was precisely what was conceived by the first builders of Stonehenge, who could design this complex in accordance with their perception of sound.
As a confirmation, he cites the fact that stone circles in ancient Britain were called that way - "stones-pipes".
According to an ancient British legend, Stonehenge arose from girls who were called to dance in a field by two magic pipes, and then turned into stone pillars.
Waller does not claim that the myth is true, but hints that it was not without trumpets tricks from the very beginning. He is confident that from the earliest days of Stonehenge, visitors fell under the influence of its acoustic mirages during their religious ceremonies and considered them the mystical sonic creation of a stone circle.
The expert tested his theory experimentally - he led people blindfolded across a field on which two musicians were playing, and then asked them to draw an image of the place they visited.
Their drawings closely resembled the actual arrangement of stone pillars at Stonehenge. According to Waller, the pattern of acoustic shadows cast by the pillars fairly accurately reflects the pattern of interference of sound waves generated by the two flutes in the center of the complex.
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Stonehenge is known to be the most famous dolmen in Europe. Until now, scientists have not come to a consensus on who and why rolled or brought the hefty stones here and placed them in a certain order. The versions are very different: this is the temple of the ancient Celts, and the astronomical observatory, and the launch pad for aliens, and the ancient GPS navigator.
True, most people tend to think that this is still the work of the Celts, who in ancient times worshiped the Sun here. The Druids believed that on June 22, the day of the summer solstice, the Sun God fertilized Mother Earth, and the action itself took place in the center of the stone circle.
By the way, since Stonehenge is protected by the state and is considered a historical landmark of Great Britain, it is strictly forbidden to touch the mystical stones or at least come close to them on any other day except June 22. They are fenced so that tourists do not take away the monument for souvenirs.
On other days, you can only touch one stone, which is located outside the fence. Therefore, it is polished with countless palms to a shine.
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As for the functions that Stonehenge performed for generations of past millennia, researchers confidently declare that the monument cannot be viewed only from an astronomical point of view.
As shown by the remains of human bodies found during the excavation, the stone structure was used for ritual rituals aimed at healing.
An examination of the remains shows that many of those buried on the territory of the megalithic structure had serious injuries. And the examination of the teeth of the deceased showed that many people were visitors from remote villages, which proves the great popularity of Stonehenge as a magical hospital.
Gennady NIKOLAEV