Pantry - Tuapse scientists came to such a sensational discovery.
Dolmens are just ancient pantries! Such a hypothesis was put forward by Tuapse scientists. They argue that the oldest megaliths are storage facilities for the products of ancient people. Somehow it even became insulting …
A well-known and proven theory recognized by scientists around the world: dolmens are ancient tombs. And now Tuapse scientists put forward another idea - our ancestors built dolmens for storing food! An employee of the West Caucasian Scientific Center, Roman Zemtsov, first presented this theory at a meeting of the Tuapse branch of the Russian Geographical Society. Other scientists tensed - and, frankly, we too
- Roman, why suddenly such an unexpected turn in the history of dolmens?
- He's not unexpected. Researchers, in my opinion, are fixated on "funerary theories." Sergei Sergin and I looked at the problem from a different angle.
- Sergey Yakovlevich, how did you come to this?
- A person should always eat. To do this, he must have a supply of food on hand. Now we are solving this problem with the help of refrigerators, shops. People used to store food in cellars.
Promotional video:
- Could people live by hunting and gathering?
- At first glance, the creators of the dolmens did not have a problem of lack of food. But what about the cold season? In late summer - early autumn, the natural environment “laid out” the main nutritional values of the year. Chestnuts and various nuts and pears ripened. The fruits had to be quickly harvested and preserved. It was a matter of life and death. In cold weather, with rain and snow, hunting was unlikely to reliably meet the needs of people.
- Well, yes, you can't keep all this in houses. It could have deteriorated.
- Moreover, according to archaeologists, the dwellings at that time were the simplest, and separate ground storage facilities did not save from animals and insects. In addition, food deteriorated quickly in humid climates. But the inhabitants knew about the existence of a dense slab stone. We believe that over time, a use was found for it: the construction of sealed stone storage facilities for food.
- But could dolmens save food, Sergey Yakovlevich?
- Consider our stone vault. It should be resistant to rain, mice and raccoons, and it should be durable. Dolmens are ideal for these requirements. The base is raised above the soil, which excludes the influence of moisture. The top slab (roof) is solid, without cracks and through voids. It completely covers the storage chamber and the ends of the wall slabs. By carefully fitting the slabs, including grouting the joints with putty, protection from rodents and insects is achieved.
Many famous groups of dolmens are located in chestnuts. If the chestnut is skillfully stored, it retains all its nutritional qualities. In addition to chestnuts, hazelnuts and beech nuts can still be found near the dolmens. The fruits could be harvested, dried, and the meat, if there was any, could be salted or dried. And store all this in stone "houses". The dwellings of people, presumably, were located near dolmens. Here food was distributed among family members. With a storage facility, families spared food resources in all seasons of the year. Dolmens were the focus of life. Braziers were located near them, family and family meals were arranged, people were communicating. With games and entertainment. It is natural for a person to decorate his life, to depict protective symbols and sacred signs. The rudiments of such creativity are also found in the dolmen culture.
Another important point: the insulating role of the roof and walls. They exclude the entry of solar radiation into the pantry chamber. The temperature is set there, which is lower than that of the surface air. Daily and annual temperature fluctuations are smoothed out. Thus, the dolmen is like a cellar. This effect should be studied in detail in the future with the help of autonomous temperature sensors.
- But how to explain the megalithic culture as a whole? After all, dolmens are not found only here?
- The idea of putting any buildings out of stone is too primitive not to manifest itself independently in any era in any area of the world. With the change in lifestyle, the need for them has disappeared. Stone vaults were transformed into the Neolithic heritage of man.
- Roman, do you think the Bronze Age simply "inherited" them?
- The time of the erection of the dolmens is determined by archaeologists on the basis of radiocarbon analysis of organic remains in objects extracted from the chambers. Estimates of time in the range 3500 - 1400 BC prevail. e. These estimates are not credible, since the period of stone processing is not determined, and after their use, the dolmens were open to the introduction of foreign objects. Examining dozens of buildings, we were convinced of the absence of bronze or iron fastenings and even inclusions. In the areas where dolmens are located, there are stone points, chisels, fragments of stone axes, sandstone slabs for sharpening such products. This applies, for example, to the river valley. Dederkoy. Following the aforementioned information, during the period of the creation of their dolmens, the population of the Western Caucasus was at the stage of the Neolithic culture. In subsequent eras, some of the abandoned stone vaults found some use. In the literature, cases of the placement of large burials of the Bronze Age and Iron Age - burial mounds on sites with dolmens - are described. Archaeologists note that the objects of the burial mounds are located on top of the already existing dolmens.
- Tell me, have you published this idea somewhere?
- Several times made reports in various meetings, including in the regional branch of the Russian Geographical Society. Scientists and local historians took this idea very cautiously, if not to say, "with hostility." But this happens with everything new, especially in science. The idea, if worth it, must be crazy enough. We must continue to explore it. Recently, when we presented a report at the Tuapse Museum of History and Local Lore, someone remembered that even now the inhabitants of the auls keep stocks of corn in old dolmens when its harvest is too large. Here's the answer to the skeptics!
Sergey Sergin, Doctor of Geography, Professor of the branch of the Russian State Medical University in Tuapse
Roman Zemtsov, employee of the West Caucasian Scientific Center
TEXT: SVETLANA SVETLOVA, PHOTO: ANNA BURLAKOVA