Rough Stone Monuments and Their BuildersPeet, T. Eric (Thomas Eric)
History
Rough Stone Monuments and Their Builders
Peet, T. Eric (Thomas Eric)
Megalithic monuments; Prehistoric peoples
An entirely different type of monument is found near Msila, south-west
of Algiers. Here is a long low hill called the Senam, covered with large
numbers of stone circles. These consist of large slabs of natural
limestone set up on edge and not very closely fitted. The height of the
slabs varies from 2 to 3 feet, and the diameters of the three still
perfect circles are 23-1/2, 26-3/4, and 34-1/3 feet respectively. At a
point roughly south-east there is a break in the circumference, filled
by a rectangular niche (Fig. 19) consisting of three large slabs, and
varying in width from 2 ft. 6 in. to 6 feet. There is a possibility that
the niches were originally roofed, but the evidence on this point is far
from conclusive. The interior of the circle is filled with blocks of
stone, apparently heaped up without any definite plan. There seems to be
no clue as to the meaning of these circles, as none have as yet been
explored. MacIver and Wilkin are probably right in classing them as
graves.
[Illustration: FIG 19. Stone circle at the Senam, Algeria.
(After MacIver and Wilkin).]
The most famous, however, of the Algerian sites is unquestionably that
of Roknia. Here the tombs lie on the side of a steep hill. They consist
of dolmens often surrounded by stone circles from 25 to 33 feet in
diameter. The cover-slabs of the dolmens usually rest on single
uprights, and never on built walls. Several of the graves excavated
contained more than one body, one yielding as many as seven. It is
remarkable that three of the skulls showed wounds, the dead having been
apparently killed in battle. Several vases have been found and a few
pieces of bronze.
We have seen that in some of the tombs of Bou Merzoug objects of iron
were found. This makes it clear that some at least of the Algerian tombs
belong to the iron age, i.e. that they are probably later than 1000
B.C., but beyond this we cannot go. The medal of Faustina sometimes
quoted as evidence for a very late date proves nothing, as it is not
stated to have been found in a tomb. There is no evidence to show how
far back the graves go. It may be that, as MacIver and Wilkin suggest,
the parts of the cemeteries excavated chance to be the latest. At Bou
Merzoug the excavators worked chiefly among the graves on the plain and
at the bottom of the hill. The more closely crowded graves which lie on
the hill itself may well be older than these. In fact, all that may be
said of the Algerian graves is that some are of the iron age, while
others may be and probably are earlier.
In Tunis the dolmen is not uncommon, and several groups or cemeteries
have been reported. Near Ellez occurs a type of corridor-tomb in which
three dolmen-like chambers lie on either side of a central passage, and
a seventh at the end opposite to the entrance. The whole is constructed
of upright slabs of stone, and is surrounded by a circle formed in the
same way.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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