In the great deserts of North Africa and the Near East, vast numbers of prehistoric stone circles catch the eye when flying over them with Google Earth. What purpose did these legacies of ancient cultures serve? A professor from Oxford emailed me that there is still too little research to make a clear statement about the function of these structures. For the most part, they were probably tombs, but not always. At their core, they consist of a central circular structure called a tumulus, in which there is a chamber. According to their external shape, they are divided into different groups, such as the simple tumulus, the platform tumulus or, for example, the bazina.
Images courtesy of Google Earth™
Stone tomb with "satellite"
A large part of the round shapes has a smaller secondary mound, which appears as if it orbits the main tumulus like a satellite orbits its planet. I have not yet read anything about its significance. However, I find it interesting that such cairns with satellites can be found across North Africa, across to Saudi Arabia, up to Jordan and Syria. Yes even in some of the "Medicine Wheels" of North America this pattern can be found. Because these are basic symbolic patterns, did they all develop independently over the millennia, or were the peoples and cultures connected?
Images courtesy of Google Earth™
