Stonehenge is not alone, Thracian dolmens show similarity, professor says

EDİRNE

As enchanting as they are mysterious, U.K.’s landmark Stonehenge is not the only one of its kind in the world.

According to an art history professor, the dolmens in Turkey’s Thracian provinces have a lot of functional similarities with the Stonehenge.

Speaking to state-run Anadolu Agency, Prof. Dr. Engin Beksaç said researches show that the Thracian dolmens’ history dates back nearly 3,500 years.

“Thracian dolmens have functional similarities with Stonehenge. Both monuments have similar principles. With Stonehenge, an archeoastronomical connection can be made, but it is a different temple. [Dolmens] have the same principles as well,” said Beksaç.

He also added that even though both monuments have functional similarities, they have differences in their qualifications and purpose.

There are almost 160 dolmens in Thracians Edirne and Kırklareli provinces, yet Turkey is not the only country these megalithic monuments exist, Beksaç said. He added that these dolmens exist within Bulgaria and Greece, both sharing borders with Turkey.

“Dolmens are generally known as graveyard monuments,” the professor said, adding that the structures are much more functional.

“It is a type of monument that is connected with the mother goddess cult,” he said.

Beksaç also said that the monuments’ locations should be taken into considerations since these have a “close” connection with rituals and is known to be related with the December solstice, where the North Pole is tilted furthest away from the Sun.

Dolmens are structures where rituals of life and death take place, according to the professor.

“There is a belief system where the old year dies and the new year is born again, and about the life and death process of the sun,” he said.