Archaeologists resolved the mystery of the 6,000 -year -old dragon stones

The mystery of the 6,600 -year -old dragon stones was finally unveiled by archaeologists and the answer was: a service.

It is worship probably revolved around the waterwhich is corroborated by the drawings of fish -themed stones and their placement near important water sources.

Second, Armenian’s old plateaus are home to a disconcerting stone harvest -Sculpted prehistoric monuments cut and shaped to resemble fish, cow leather or a distinct mixture from both.

Investigators can finally have The mystery resolved the use of these great rocks, known as “Dragon Stones”.

In a new study by npj Heritage Sciencethe investigators studied the rocks of the dragon – also called esteles vishap – In modern America, finding that the influence of a service will have been the cause of its creation and placement.

“The study of the Estelas Vishap in Armenia, based on their dimensions and altitudinal distribution, provides irrefutable evidence of its deliberate placement and their intensive construction of labor, ”wrote the authors.

The presence of higher dimensions at high altitudes suggests “significant cultural motivations, probably linked to old water cultsince the VISHAPs are predominantly located near springs and are represented by fish forms. ”

Distribution to high altitudes – dense concentrations occurred about 8,800 feet of altitude – suggests a structured standard of placement linked to both practical and symbolic importance of high -altitude places, supported by the possible binding of visapes to ancient irrigation systems.

This fact supports, once again, its function as a significant element of Primitive society worship practices.

“Human history reveals that, usually, services are in fact associated with significant efforts to their societies,” the authors wrote.

Most 115 stones – Typically local stones of Andesite or Basalt – Study vary between 1 and 2 meters long.

Found at rest on the floor, the carved drawing of the stones – the heads and the bodies are carefully built, while the “tail” is not carved – suggests that the stones were given, nailed in the ground and excelled vertically.

Using radiocarbon dating from 46 different samples, the team dated the first Visaps between 4200 and 4000 BCE And he discovered a pattern of deliberate placement, with a concentration at higher altitudes near the water source, and the other in valleys where the water was widely used by people.

A amount of work necessary to obtain the stone, sculpting it and polish it, then transporting up or down on the mountain slope, was intense.

To underline the impressive effortsome of the heaviest ones were, in fact, above the mountains than at the base, including a 4.3 tonne monument over 9000 feet altitude.

“This suggests that builders intentionally dedicated their limited periods of activity in the higher areas to the construction and transport of large monuments that required a lot of labor,” wrote the authors, “despite added logistics difficulties, such as food and fuel supply to workers.”

Prehistoric societies greatly valued the creation and placement of dragon stones. Researchers now believe to know why.

“These findings increase our understanding of high altitude archaeological sites and social structures that shaped prehistoric communities,” the authors wrote. “In this regard, comparative studies of vishaps and high -altitude sacred sacred landscapes around the world provide new interpretative perspectives“.