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The giant “dragon stones” found in the Armenian Highlands were shaped and set by an ancientwater cult“, archaeologists revealed in a new study.
Pillar stones carved with animal figures and dating back more than 6,000 years are found in mountainous areas. armenia And neighboring countries. They predate the Stonehenge megalithic structure in England by about a thousand years.
The pillars, known locally as Vishap, range from 1.1 meters to 5.5 meters high. They are carved from local stones such as andesite or basalt and can be found at altitudes of 1,000 m to 3,000 m. above sea level,
It remains a mystery how the ancient inhabitants of the region pulled the pillars across such harsh terrain and placed them upright.
But the first systematic analysis of the pillars in the Armenian Highlands provides information about the people who installed them.
The researchers analyzed 115 vishapas and their distribution in the highlands using GIS mapping, 3D modeling and statistical tools and found clear patterns in how the monuments were placed.
The pillars were made in the shape of fish or stretched cattle hides or a combination of motifs. This, and the finding that most of the pillars are near water sources such as hot springs, old irrigation systems, snowmelt streams or volcanic craters, suggest that the builders were likely part of a cult focused on water as a life source.
“The findings support the hypothesis that Vishapas were closely associated with an ancient water cult as they are primarily located near water sources such as high-altitude springs and discovered prehistoric irrigation systems,” researchers said in a study published in the journal Nature. NPJ Heritage Science,
Even the heights at which the pillars are found are not random. The researchers found the pillar stones clustered in two altitude bands, one at about 1,900 meters and the other at 2,700 meters above sea level.
He argued that construction and moving the stones would have required additional effort, so the monument would have held a strong cultural or religious meaning to the ancient people.
Scientists suspect that this distribution is a reflection of the seasonal movement of people through the mountains in search of different environmental zones and pastures in the highlands.
For example, near natural springs fed by melting snow, fish-shaped stones dominate at the highest elevations, and skin-shaped stones are seen lower down, where the water is used for farming.
“The unexpected bi-modal distribution of their heights suggests specific placement patterns, potentially linked to seasonal human activities or ritual practices,” the new study says.