Ellès megalithic complexes
Coordinates: 35 ° 56 '47.9 " N , 9 ° 5' 50.1" E
The megalithic systems of Ellès in the Kef Governorate in Tunisia are a North African variant of the construction method with large stones .
location
The small town of Ellès is remote in the north-western mountains of Tunisia, about 30 km (driving distance) from Makthar in the Siliana Governorate , where comparable facilities can be found.
history
The construction time is around or after 2500 BC. When the island of Malta was abandoned by its inhabitants who carried the temple culture . Similar construction methods can also be found in Sicily ( Tomba del Principe ). They are attributed to the Numidians or related peoples and originated before the Phoenicians established trading posts on the coast.
architecture
The stones of the Ellès buildings, some of which are gallery-like and have niche structures, weigh up to 40 tonnes and are mostly carved at right angles and smoothed with great effort. In some cases they are laid out both above and below ground and often have several chambers.
See also
literature
- Gabriel Camps : Aux origines de la Berbérie. Monuments et rites funéraires protohistoriques. Paris 1961.
- Juan A. Belmonte, C. Esteban, JJ Jiménez González: Pre-Roman Tombs of Africa Proconsularis. Archaeoastronomy: Supplement to the Journal for the History of Astronomy, 23, 29, pp. S7-S24, 1998.
- Juan A. Belmonte, MAP Betancort, R. Marrero, AT Gaspar: The dolmens and "Hawanat" of Africa Proconsularis revisited. Journal for the History of Astronomy, 34, 3, 116, pp. 305-320, 2003.
- Michael Hoskin: Tombs, Temples, and Their Orientations: A New Perspective on Mediterranean Prehistory. Ocarina Books, 2001 ISBN 0-9540867-1-6 .
- M. Harbi-Riahi, A. Gragueb, G. Camps, A. M'Timet, J. Zoughlami: Atlas Préhistorique de la Tunisie (8th Maktar). Institut National d'Archéologie et d'Art de Tunis and École Français de Rome, 1985 ISBN 2-7283-0091-7 .
- Raiko Krauss , The prehistoric megalithic tombs of Tunisia. Journal for Archeology of Non-European Cultures 2, 2007, 163–181.
- Raiko Krauss, How old are the North African megaliths? In: H.-J. Beier et al. (Ed.), Neolithic Monuments and Neolithic Societies. Varia neolithica VI. Contributions to the prehistory and early history of Central Europe 56 (Langenweißbach 2009) 153–159.
