Essay About Carnac Stones And Similar Myths

Megalithic Carnac Stones
ATH 145Carnac Stones        The Carnac Stones are a grouping of many different megalithic sites in Brittany, France, in a village called Carnac.  The stones comprise the largest collection of megalithic stones and structures of their kind in the world.  The main part of the collection comes in the form of 3 different sets of stone rows called alignments, known as the Menec alignment, the Kerlascan alignment, and the Kermario alignment, which is what this paper will focus on, as these groupings have the most mythology.  These three alignments are believed to have been all part of the same grouping, but as stones were moved for various reasons they became separated.  These alignments are all very similar in structure, as they are all comprised of very straight lines of stones formed into rows.Because of these perfectly straight lines, two similar myths exist for the site.  The first is a Christian myth that claims that Saint Cornelius, the first Gentile that converted to Christianity, was being pursued by Roman troops.  Cornelius then called on the power of Christ to turn the Roman legion into stone, right in the lines in which they were marching.  The second myth is very similar, but states that it was the famous Arthurian magician Merlin that turned the marching troops to stone.In reality, it is still unknown the exact reason for the building of these structures, nor is it known the exact ages of the structures, as very little has been found beneath the stones for dating.  They are, however, believed to have been built in the Neolithic period.  The rows of stones are arranged in order by height, with the tallest stones at the far-west and the shortest at the far-east.  It is for this reason that the most widely accepted theory behind the stones is that they were used for astronomical purposes, serving as calendars for farmers, predictions of lunar and solar eclipses, and lunar observatories (proposed by Alexander Thom).  But for the time being, the origins and purposes of these stones are largely theoretical.