All language subtitles for Earth Signs from Above Series 1 2of3 Megaliths The Spirit of Stones 810p

>> Close to a clearing in the
middle of a field at the peak

of a hill or on the slopes of a
health stand stone giants which

have stood for
thousands of years.

They mark the landscape
with a mysterious trace.

Grazing giant stones has
been a part of many cultures

around the world.

However, the most spectacular
and the most ancient forms

are found on the
French Atlantic coast

and in the United Kingdom.

These imposing
stone blocks called

megaliths, from
Greek megas meaning

great and lithos meaning
stone, raise many questions.

Some people think
they are monuments.

>> If this stone was
raised for someone,

they must have been important.

>> Others ask what force
can have raised them.

>> Could it be that our
ancient ancestors somehow knew

and manipulated
frequency of levitation?

>> Are these constructions the
work of architects or artists?

>> We ask if it was the same
hand that carved all these

rocks.

In which case, the
artist would be

the Michelangelo of their time.

>> Are the megaliths
vestiges of ancient beliefs?

>> It's obvious that the stones
are laid out in some form

of astrological, cosmic
thinking behind them.

>> Surrounded by
mystery and legend,

the megaliths attract
scientists, artists,

adventurers, and
followers from everywhere.

For centuries,
mankind has wondered

about the origins
and significance

of these strange monuments.

In the Middle Ages, they were
seen as the work of the devil

or of giants who lived on the
earth before the Great Flood.

Later, they were attributed to
the druids, Celtic priests who

raised them in order to
celebrate their rituals.

Those with a fertile
imagination connect them

with supernatural forces or
extraterrestrial visitors.

Whatever the
theories put forward,

they always raise
the same questions--

who raised these monuments,
when, how, and why?

These questions will
come up during our voyage

to some iconic signs
from the west of France

to the far north of Scotland.

Carnac is our first stop.

The menhir, long
stones in Celtic,

are arranged in
impressive lines.

The site is unique in
the world, for there

are more than 3,000
stones aligned

over nearly 4 kilometers.

The age of the site
has been estimated

to be 4,000 years BC, thanks
to carbon-14 dating of charcoal

found at the base
of some menhir.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

At first site, the
groups are just

alignments of uncut stones,
but to a careful observer,

the arrangement is a lot
more complex than it seems.

>> When you progress
along these alignments,

there's a surprising
effect of perspective.

There's this gentle slope,
and at the same time,

the small hill, which
is really emphasized

by the size of the monoliths,
which get bigger and bigger.

But there's more
to it than that.

Some studies have shown that
these quarried stones here

often have an outcropped
side and a quarried side,

which means that all this
granite emerged from the ground

and was extracted from the site.

And there are groups of
rows like that where there

are two lines of dressed stones,
and the sides which were cut,

which are flatter, are
all turned inwards.

I mean to say it's an
arrangement which is planned.

It hasn't happened by chance.

If that allows a particular
pathway or a kind

of precession, it's
difficult to imagine,

but it's very possible.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Whether there was an
architect to manage the work

is very hard to tell.

There were surely
very, very strong

symbolic and social
contexts, but I

think we're far from
having all the answers.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

When it comes to the orientation
of the rows, when we analyze

a lot of these, we
can see that there

are very few or none
which correspond

to any special
astronomical axis.

There's no alignment
truly oriented

towards the rising of the
sun, solstice, or lunar axes.

The principle behind this, and
the concept of emplacement,

is something else entirely.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

>> The logic behind the
emplacement of menhir in this

landscape is the subject
which Christian Obeltz,

a self-educated
archeologist, is exploring.

Christian has been traveling
the Brittany landscape

for 25 years,
trying to understand

the geographical placement
of these alignments.

The site of Kerzerho, a
few kilometers from Carnac,

is one of his favorite stops.

>> I'll show you the plan
made by the English geometrist

Murray Vicars in 1832.

He was a great
geometrist who was

working for the English crown.

So here's what he saw
when he came in 1832--

the alignment where we are.

There's two kilometers
100 meters from one

end to the other
of the alignment.

It's the largest group
of standing stones

known in Europe.

What's the most surprising is
that the lines aren't straight

at all, and people say, why?

The relief justifies the
changes of direction.

For example, here you see
that the lines of menhir

are all going in
the same direction.

And when you come to this path,
which is just beside a stream,

there's a change of direction.

Then the lines will bend and
reach up to this rocky ridge.

Every change of direction
corresponds with the line

to a hill or water.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

>> The inclusion of the menhir
in their natural surroundings

seems to have been a major
concern of our ancestor

builders.

They were doubtless
led by aesthetic logic,

but also by a symbolic quality.

It's true that these lines
of stone stretching out

through the landscape
are impressive.

>> It's a symbol of the
power of these people.

There's really the
idea that the territory

is barred off by something.

It's the symbol of an
ethnic group belonging

to a great family,
a large community

with a common culture,
which does this.

>> However, a major
question remains.

Why were these
monumental groups raised?

Commemorative stones for people
or events, ceremonial places,

territory markers--

there are many
hypotheses, but the answer

lies forever buried with
the minds of our ancestors.

>> It has to be said that about
everything concerning the daily

life of these people,
their dwellings,

very little data is available.

There have been
a few excavations

made of the habitations.

I think we're missing
a great many elements.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

>> The megaliths are an
illustration of the great

change in human history between
6,000 and 2,000 years BC.

This period is known
as the Neolithic,

and is the time when our
hunter-gatherer ancestors

became sedentary, invented
agriculture, animal farming,

and built tombs to
bury their dead.

Their collective
tombs, called dolmen,

appeared at the same
period as the menhir.

They are built of
a horizontal slab

of stone posed on vertical
stones which hold it up.

>> The humans of the Neolithic
went inside this corridor

and placed bodies all along it.

We know there could be more than
10, up to 100 bodies inside.

>> Dolmen, like menhir,
bear witness to the birth

of a culture 6,000 years ago.

>> It's really the start
of our own culture,

because it's the first time in
the history of humanity that

people made something which
was not just made for survival

purposes.

>> But how did people manage
in 4,000 BC to extract these

enormous blocks of stone?

>> The Neolithic people
worked at the fissures,

making little notches.

They just had to put
bits of wood into these

and then soak them
in water for the wood

to swell and finally crack
open the rock a little more.

And there, that's really
the face they cracked.

As well as that,
it's a typical case.

There are extraction
notches on either side.

There are two notches
here and two there.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

While the raising
of these stones

must have happened during
great gatherings of people,

the sheer number
put in place must

have taken hundreds of years.

The sight of these
thousands of standing stones

raises an immediate question.

Why are they concentrated at
Carnac and the area around it?

>> There must have been
a very dense population,

or otherwise a place where
gatherings were inevitable,

to raise these cut stones
and gigantic monuments.

>> In 4,000 BC, was the Brittany
coast a kind of El Dorado

attracting a dense population?

[MUSIC PLAYING]

>> In the Neolithic, they
had everything here--

excellent land, the sea,
cultural and business exchanges

by boat.

And it's probable that
the making of salt

was the reason for the
region being so rich.

You can see that it's the sea's
edge that is literally bordered

with these pillars,
and by looking

at the Carnac alignments,
you can really

see their idea of
a barrier of stones

when you come up from there.

It's really a kind
of wall marking

the start of the
land, where there's

a great number of
these standing stones.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

>> While most of these menhir
are part of groups, others,

more isolated, immediately
attract us by their size

and their particular placing.

>> So this enormous menhir here
is the highest raise nowadays

on the Morbihan coast.

We don't know its total length,
but it's close to 6 meters

high, just a little bit less.

It's clear that it being
outside the rows of monoliths

gives it a very special value.

The fact that it's the
biggest, the most important,

would mean if it's
the stone of a person,

they were very important, or the
values attributed to them were.

We're in the domain of mythology
which invents an entire people,

and I think it's the start
of our modern myths, which

gradually will take shape
here and develop over time.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

So menhir symbolize
the emergence

of a mysterious culture.

Sometimes it takes a detective's
eye to see and decode

all their secrets.

>> What's really amazing is
that because of this lovely,

ambient light and
the strong sunlight,

there are carvings which
appear on the menhirs.

This is one that isn't
known of in my opinion.

You can see a whole
series of horizontal cuts,

and you can follow
them up to here.

There are even some
a little lower.

And there you are.

I'd say that's a real discovery.

I think if we checked all
carvings on all the menhirs

with a strong nightlight, we'd
make a number of discoveries.

I think there's a lot left to
discover in these alignments.

>> Far from being just big
blocks of raw stone planted

in the ground, the menhir
were perhaps once carved.

Most of these carvings have
been worn away by wind and rain,

but some, protected
from the weather,

have crossed millennia.

>> There's a whole series
of snakes carved here.

You can clearly see
the winding snake body,

with head positioned here.

There's another one
beside it there.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

>> The symbolic aspect of
megaliths is omnipresent.

Bearing witness to this are
the carvings on some stones,

as well as the
spatial organization

of the groups of stones.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Sometimes the
architecture of the sites

is surprisingly precise.

This is true of Stonehenge,
the geometric structure

of which is a model.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Sites 150 kilometers west
of London, Stonehenge

is the most complete form
of what the Celts called

a cromlech, a stone circle.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

It was built in three phases
between 3,000 and 1,500 BC,

more than 1,000
years after Carnac.

The Giants' Dance, as it was
known in the Middle Ages,

has attracted
archeologists for decades.

Astronomical observatory,
royal tomb, ceremonial place,

memorial--

the explanations follow
each new discovery,

but for some, the magic of the
place is beyond explanation.

Some regular visitors,
roaming adventurers,

come and stop here every year
to feel the place's beauty.

Chris and Rob are two
pillars of this community

of Stonehenge lovers.

They set up house
here for a few weeks

on the roads which border the
site, and despite the fences,

let the atmosphere of
the place wash over them.

It

>> There's something about
this place that causes you

to reflect on your mortality
and your sense of life and what

it's about.

>> There is something that draws
me that I can't quite explain.

Every time I try and
do something else

or go somewhere
else or concentrate

on another part of my life,
it kind of turns me around

and brings me back here.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

>> There's a power
to this place.

You look at the world
in a different way.

You know, we have all this
chaos going on around us

in our lives.

But you come here, and you
kind of put it in perspective.

It's something stable and
tangible in a changing world.

>> Such a place should
have a caretaker,

and Rob sometimes feels he
has been given this job.

>> I think maybe I'm here
just to watch over it,

maybe just to make sure that
it's kind of looked after,

you know?

>> It's obvious that the stones
are laid out in some form

of astrological cosmic
thinking behind them

because of the nature of the
geometry that lies behind it.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

>> Perhaps this is the reason
that Stonehenge has become

a place of pilgrimage.

>> Hundreds of generations,
people have been come gathering

here.

People come here from all
over the world to gather,

and there's got to be a
common theme between them.

I don't know.

Maybe it's just something
that was built into us.

We need some places
like this, as a species,

to gather together and just be.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

>> For our ancestors, Stonehenge
was without doubt a solar

temple, which marked the
season's passing during large

gatherings.

The celebrations held
here 5,000 years ago

are perpetuated today.

At the time of the
summer solstice,

on the night of the 20th
to the 21st of June,

an immense crowd drawn
from all around the world

gather to celebrate sunrise
on the first day of summer.

[CHATTER]

>> My name's King Arthur.

I'm a senior druid, and I'm
here to celebrate the solstice.

And what we're here to
celebrate is the rebirth

of the sun on the longest day.

We will do it with poetry.

We will do it with verse.

We will do with ritual,
and we will do it

with up to 37,000
people, because this

is a gathering of the tribes.

>> This is the Festival
of Light for the Celts.

It's the time when the night
is shortest in the year,

so it's a very important
festival for us,

a festival to shared.

>> While Stonehenge can inspire
modern druids, the site has,

however, no link
with the first Celts,

who appeared 2,000 years
after it was built.

The force which emanates from
this place doubtless explains

the fascination felt for
this imposing monument.

>> The energy that comes from
the stones at this time of year

is really overwhelming.

>> There is natural
energies along the Earth,

and the ancient
peoples knew this.

That is why they were
attracted to this spot.

That's why they
built the stones.

That's one of the
things that may have

helped them build the stones.

>> There's sort of like an
energy point in the planet.

You know, you
can't have millions

of people drawn to the
same place for thousands

of years for nothing.

Do you know what I mean?

It's just-- it's
a special place.

It's like a church.

[DRUMMING]

>> I proposed to
my lady in there.

[CHUCKLING]

>> I said yes.

>> Nowadays, everyone has
their own reasons for coming

to celebrate the summer
solstice at Stonehenge,

but archeologists are unanimous
that the circle of giant stones

was certainly the site
of great gatherings.

>> I like to imagine that this
is the same sort of thing that

was going on 5,000 years ago.

[DRUMMING]

>> Stonehenge was built at
a time when we, mankind,

are changing from
hunter-gatherers

to agriculturalists.

The ancients built this so they
knew what time of year it was,

and the reason was that
is a great solar clock.

It does not tell
you the time of day.

It tells you the time of year.

Now, if you think about
it, if they got it wrong,

the frost would get the crop.

If they planted
at the wrong time,

the whole of their
society, their tribe,

would be wiped out.

They had to get it right.

And the way they
got it right was

by observing the movement
of the stars and the sun,

and that is what this
temple is designed for.

That is what it does, and
that is why some of us

still celebrate to this day.

[DRUMMING]

>> 4,000 years ago, the
celebrations were doubtless

accompanied by singing,
music, and dance.

Some archeologists
have theorized

that the structure
of Stonehenge was

designed so as to help sound to
be diffused during ceremonies.

[DRUMMING]

>> I'm a dancer.

I love to dance,
and I love music.

And I believe that
music can change a mood.

I believe music can change
where your consciousness lies,

can put you in a
dream-like state,

and I think that
is something that's

recognized through shamanic
teachings all over the world.

And I think as well as
being a temple of light

as well as being something
to do with the sun,

I think is also it
was done in a way

that the acoustics were
very important as well.

>> It can be anything just from
being able to hear somebody

speak like in a lecture theater.

Or it could be, as I said,
to help aid people to change

their state of consciousness,
to allow themselves

to be more open.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

>> Stonehenge has inspired
minds from its creation right

to our time.

The power of its structure
and its style fascinate.

The site has been copied
in different forms

down through the centuries.

In 1820, the
Sheriff of Yorkshire

had the Druid Temple built, with
its structure and proportions

inspired strongly by Stonehenge.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

The sacrificial
altar in the middle

of the construction and
the mysterious atmosphere

it has fed many rumors
of satanic ceremonies

and of secret society meetings.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Much more recently, a
postindustrial version

of the famous site of Stonehenge
was created in the USA

during the 1970s.

Carhenge is a
faithful reproduction

of the Neolithic site.

Compressed cars have
replaced the stones,

but the solar orientation
has been respected,

a way of being faithful
to the astral clock

face of the original site.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

The question recurs, were, like
Stonehenge, megalithic sites

used as seasonal clocks?

The reason for the
theory that they

are oriented towards
the stars becomes clear

when they are seen from above.

Laurent Lescop, an architect
with a passion for archeology,

wishes to test this theory
scientifically at the Crucuno

site in Morbihan.

He is there with his son
to explore the question.

>> The important thing here is
that there's a very particular

story attached to Crucuno.

It has the reputation of being
oriented towards the stars

and especially towards
the sunrise at the summer

and winter solstices.

So you could say, it's a sort
of little Stonehenge, at least

that's its reputation.

The idea is to make
a survey of the site.

So we're taking
advantage of time

when the light is
relatively even.

The morning is ideal, so
as not to have shadows cast

or contrast too strong.

The idea is to photograph
the zone entirely,

taking shots from every angle,
and then to reconstitute it

all using 3D software.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

These blue squares are
the camera positions.

This here is a faithful
model and carefully oriented,

because our concern here is
to have a perfectly precise

orientation, so
afterwards, we can

simulate the course of the sun.

So here we have an arc, which
corresponds to the sun's

position each hour.

Here, in 4000 BC,
and in comparison

with today's situation,
in the morning,

we have in this direction, the
sun which rises at the angle,

and in the evening, the
sun will set at the angle.

>> In 4000 years BC, our farmer
ancestors was certainly aware

of the natural phenomena
that gave rhythm to working

the land.

Some megalithic sites could
have served as observatories

to measure the course of the
sun and cycle of the seasons.

Well, to know whether these
sites were oriented in this way

with that idea in
mind, to know if that

was the initial
idea, the objective,

is difficult to say
one way or the other.

If saying that they
could have been

part of a kind of spatial and
temporal marker, I think so.

>> The solar orientation of
Crucuno has caused debate

following restoration of
the site by Felix Gaillard,

one of the pioneers of
megalith archeology at the end

of the 19th century.

Felix Gaillard protected and
restored the site in 1887,

and what's important is that he
wrote about it 10 years later

and published a book,
which was quite important,

called "Prehistoric Astronomy."

And the fact the site
was perfectly oriented

towards the solstices
fits the theory perfectly.

It was widely said that
the site was intentionally

replaced so that it corresponded
very well to the theory.

>> Christian Obeltz,
tireless megalith explorer,

has come to make his own
examination of the site

because for him, the astral
orientation of Crucuno remains

uncertain.

>> The presence of a great
number of monoliths taken

into the walls, which are
now hidden by vegetation,

suggests that this was much
more than a simple rectangle.

I've worked on the archives,
and it gets really interesting.

There are big
surprises that when

you study the plan
made by Murray Vicars,

you see that instead of
there being 22 monoliths,

there are 50 or so,
and they don't at all

form a structure like that.

Today, what is being conserved
is that, that, that, and that.

All the rest has been destroyed,
except for a few stones

that you can see here and there.

Once again, the plan was made in
1832, so what was there before?

>> Trying to rewind time
and unlock the secrets

of the megaliths is the
objective of archeologists like

Deborah Anderson.

She regularly braves
the wind and cold

of the wild fringes of Scotland
to visit the site of Callanish.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Known as the Stonehenge
of the North,

this stone circle is
found on Lewis Island

in the extreme
north of Scotland.

Its very special location
leads to our thinking

that the structure is
linked to the lunar cycle.

>> The Isle of Lewis is actually
on 58 degrees north alignment.

So the lunar standstill
only happens at 58 degrees.

The only other place it
happens is 58 degrees south

in Cape Horn, in southern Chile.

So you know,
Callanish, part of it

was built specifically with
that lunar alignment in mind.

Lunar alignments only
happens every 18.9 years,

and it's when the
moon is closest

to the horizon, how it skims.

And there's a set
of hills over there

that actually looks like a
woman lying on their back.

And during the lunar
standstill, the moon

skirts the hills there.

>> This astonishing display
inspired artist Christina

Walczuk, and she became quite
passionate about the site.

>> This figure has the
name "Sleeping Woman"

or "Old Woman of the Moon."

so from this point,
it looks like the moon

is born from the figure and
then glides across the sky

and disappears behind this
hill and then this reborn.

When you're standing at
the bottom of the avenue,

it looks like it
sinks into the ring,

and it's an absolutely
spectacular event.

So I wanted to recreate
that in my painting.

>> The orientation of Callanish,
according to the lunar axis,

has attracted attention
since antiquity.

>> There was a Greek historian
called Diodorus that mentioned

that there was a lunar temple
on this kind of 58-degree north

alignment.

>> According to other
ancient manuscripts,

Callanish was the place where
the goddess of the moon visited

Earth every 19 years.

Perhaps it was to capture
the power of the moon

that the people of the north
raised this stone circle there,

where the full solstice moon
touched the mountain tops.

Raised in 3000 BC, this
site is unique in Europe,

because it brings together in
one place all three main forms

of megalithic
structures, alignments,

stone circles, and a tomb.

>> This is what you
call the chamber tomb,

which was inserted after the
monolith and the stone circle.

This would have had burials
in there, communal burials.

>> Burying the dead was
a major cultural, social,

and spiritual development for
our ancestors 5,000 years ago.

>> The Neolithic see an entire
reworking of the relationship

of people with nature.

Before, in the Mesolithic,
you were part of nature.

You moved around the landscape.

Your special places
were natural places.

In the Neolithic, when you
start settling in one place,

they start building
monuments, you know?

And this is that relationship,
we own this land.

This is why we turn to
cairns we built on hills.

These are our ancestors.

This is our land.

>> As for many megalith
sites, the placing of the site

of Callanish within its
landscape has been thought out.

>> You often find stone circles
very close to water bodies.

And it's this liminality
between the living and the dead

and the water and
the land that seems

to be so important to the
monument builders of stone

circles.

>> The representations
which guided the conception

of Callanish have been revisited
5,000 years later by Christina

Walczuk.

In the gallery she runs
with her husband Roger,

the paintings on show are
full of symbolic elements.

I like to get the
emotional point of view,

the spiritual point of view.

And I used to be a
figurative artist,

now I try and pick out
the figurative element

in the landscape and the stones.

I included the crow flying,
because in Celtic methodology,

it represents death,
and this figure

looks like it's a skeleton.

So we actually see
this as something

that dies and is reborn in
relationship to the moon.

I personally think it's a
woman who's just given birth.

Now, this is the skeleton,
who implies death,

and I like to think
this is life, death,

and the cycle of life.

>> While Christina puts the
finishing touches to her latest

work, Roger goes to the
site looking for symbols.

>> Coming up to the stones now,
some people have noticed images

on the stones,
and we're artists,

and that's what
we're interested in.

I don't know if you noticed
here there's an image of a face,

like a woman's face, a bit
like an Egyptian sort of face.

This, we call the Woman Stone.

From inside, this one we
refer to as the male stone

because it's obviously
very phallic.

The female stone
and the male stone

work together to form a box,
those shelves there from a box,

where the midsummer sunrise,
just after it, shines

a beam of light to this stone.

It's bringing the adages
of the sun into the ring.

>> Lost in the middle of the
Scottish lochs and heaths,

the site has a rare
strength and poetic quality.

It can't help inspiring artists
and firing the imagination.

Roger crisscrosses the
site and allows inspiration

to carry him away.

>> There would be the point,
that box, the equinox,

it echoes the shape of the
landscape, that ridge there,

that notch.

That's where the
midwinter sun sets.

Because you would
actually go like that when

something's dazzling you,
yeah, to sort of stop it

from dazzling you.

And I think they made that
stone deliberately to hide it,

because it was
hurting their eyes.

This stone, I think,
represents revering

the dead, because it seems
like a skeleton, yeah?

So it's like revering the
dead near the cairn here.

Perhaps why the later
people built the cairn

here because of this
stone with this image on.

The big stone in the
center, some people

have suggested it's
like a rudder of a boat,

you know, the steering
part of a boat,

to steer the spirits of
the dead to the stars.

>> The Callanish,
which affects us today,

is the work of people who
have mastered the cycle

of the seasons,
observed the stars,

and voyaged on the ocean.

Could these stones standing
on the hills of Scotland

be simply the symbol of a
megalithic civilization?

>> This stone circle here
is just part of the Atlantic

tradition, which you will
have links all the way down

the Atlantic coast.

There's lots of evidence to
suggest that people are moving

up and down the Atlantic
seaways but also

ideas and traditions as well.

>> Some thousands of
kilometers to the south,

like an echo to Callanish,
silhouettes of stones are lost

in the sea.

Witness to the changes in the
landscape over 5,000 years,

these half-drowned arcs of
standing stones intrigue us.

Sited in the Gulf of Morbihan,
the island of Er Lannic

has been declared
a natural reserve.

It is only accessible
by sea, and it

is forbidden to set foot there.

So Laurent Lescop is
taken there in a boat

by Yves Belenfant, who
knows the place well.

>> It's a double
semi-circle really.

It's not completely
two arcs of a circle.

So there we can see the
first, and the second you

can't see, because it's
completely immersed.

Here, we're at full tide.

So at full tide, they're at
about three to four meters

maximum.

The monoliths that we see
here in the first arc,

well, there's a big one
there, the one at the summit.

But the monoliths of
the second semicircle,

which are completely immersed,
are three to four times bigger.

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>> Archaeological excavations
made near the stones have given

clues to the
function of the site.

>> When we look at the
archaeological material that

has been found, there's over
a ton of pottery and traces

of elements of fumigation.

So this could have links with
some kind of cult practice.

There were also a number
of little flint arrows

and as well, there were
casings, and in these casings

were the burned bones of cattle.

So we have something which
is perhaps a lot more

to do with the ceremony, cult
of some kind, but what kind,

it's very hard to say.

>> One thing is sure is that
the semi-circles of stone were

raised on dry land in a
very different landscape,

which has since been altered
by the change in climate.

Laurent has made a
photographic survey of the site

to model it in 3D and simulate
the original environment.

5,000 years ago, it's
estimated the water level

was six to eight meters lower.

>> It's true that imagining this
place without water requires

a little effort of
the imagination.

So this image will help
that effort of imagination.

It's a model which
will help to understand

the proportions of this to
the scale of the landscape.

>> These standing stones were
without doubt part of a group

of interconnected sites.

In fact, far off, on the
other side of the sea,

is a construction
of dry stones, which

the archeologists call a cairn.

The Cairn of Gavrinis
is a funerary monument

built around 4000 years BC.

Beneath this massive stone
is hidden a treasure,

and this is one of the sites
explored by Laurent Lescop.

22 of the 24 blocks
of stone which

make up the inner corridor
and funeral chamber

are entirely
covered in carvings.

The site is known for this
reason as the Neolithic Sistine

Chapel.

Laurent is carefully
surveying all the stones

to model them in 3D and thus,
be able to better decipher

the motifs.

>> We can see the carvings
much more precisely.

One very important
element is the position

of each carving within
the global space.

That is to say, until now,
what we had been seeing

were carvings
reproduced on a plan.

So we had little idea
of the volume over which

the carvings stretched.

However, Gavrinis by closely
observing all of the stones,

we see that some
carvings are directed

by the volume of the stones,
by the starting model

that the stone offered.

Given the density,
the regularity

and the way in which
things have been done,

we can ask ourselves if
it was the same hand which

carved the whole site,
and in that case,

we would have ourselves here
a Michelangelo of that time.

>> One of the remarkable
elements is found here.

These are, in fact, boats.

They are here and there.

And then these elements, like
points, would be the crew.

It's a way of representing
the boats and their crews that

is found in a lot of
carvings of this time.

>> The maritime environment
certainly influenced

the artistic repertory of
the Neolithic occupants

of the region.

>> When you see the current,
you can see it makes arcs,

and you could ask yourself if
these forms inspired what we

find inside.

>> Laurent's objective is also
to make a precise 3D model

of the exterior of the site.

>> Here, for example, we have
the general volume of the cairn

as a scatter plot, and you can
see there are some elements

missing, which will probably be
completed by the shots we take

with the drone.

With the images
taken by the drone,

I'll be able to have the
whole of the site all at once

with a lot of detail, which will
then come in very, very useful.

>> OK, we'll take off.

Can we sweep the facade there?

>> Yes, of course.

We'll go from left to right.

>> There, that's perfect

>> The use of models for the
exterior is to get the complete

volume and the interior to have
detail of all the carvings,

to relate the inside
to the outside,

allowing us to place the
corridor very precisely

in the cairn and have an image,
a bit like an ultrasound image.

>> Laurent thinks that
the corridor of the Cairn

of Gavrinis was lined up in
relation to the axis of the sun

at the winter solstice.

On the 21st of December,
the first rays of the sun

light up the corridor
in the funeral chamber,

one more sign that
shows the close link

for Neolithic people
between nature

and all the forces
that drive it.

>> Natural elements, whether
they be stone, water, wind,

or the stars have contributed to
the placing of these megaliths.

>> This proximity between
standing stones and natural

forces has helped to feed many
beliefs and legends throughout

the ages.

>> There are several legends
linked to the Giant Gargantua,

to the fairies, to the
Corrigans, or Brittany elves.

For example, the
Giant Gargantua,

who often had a pebble in
his shoes, pulled it out,

and when it fell
it became a menhir.

Or it's said that the spindle
of a fairy spinning wheel

was turned into a menhir.

Or that the dolmen were the
houses of the Corrigans,

those mischief elves,
that once night fell

could lead you into
infernal dances,

and you'd never be seen again.

Very close to
megalithic monuments

are often found natural
outcrops of rock

on the surface
formed geologically

by natural erosion of granite.

And these rocks,
which were often

thought to be
sacrificial stones,

have led to many legends.

Some menhirs were used
for fertility rights

for women wanting children.

Small flowers braided with oil
were brought to the menhir,

and they rub their stomachs
against the menhir,

naked preferably, and I've seen
this done, not by new agers

but by older folk.

So it hasn't yet disappeared
from tradition here.

It brings us back again to the
idea of a force in the stone.

When you see a
standing stone, I don't

want to be a total
Freudian, and I'm not one,

but there is a phallic
quality all the same

in these enormous
standing stones,

a force in this shape
of virility and potency.

Nowadays, a lot of people
come to find energy

in these megaliths, come
and place the hands upon it

or to walk around it, lie
down, sit, lie and watch them.

Do these stones transmit energy?

Here, we're flirting with what
can be scientifically proved

and that which can't be between
the visible and the invisible.

>> It is this invisible
part that Maria Wheatley is

exploring.

Daughter of a dowser, she
quickly became interested

in the energy of megaliths.

Her favorite exploration
ground is the site of Avebury

where anybody fascinated
by menhir should visit.

>> It's a special area because
it contains Earth energy,

and that's what our ancient
ancestors were looking for.

This is a ley line,
called the Saint Michael

line that's 300 miles
coursing across the landscape.

You get many ceremonial
centers lined upon this ley.

Avebury is at the exact
center of this line.

>> Maria thinks Avebury's
site is deliberate.

The site is in the middle
of a flow of energy

that crosses the southern United
Kingdom from west to east.

>> When you root a standing
stone into the ground

on an Earth current, something
truly magical begins to happen.

The stone absorbs
the Earth energy,

and it kind of has
these energy bands

that coil around the stone.

There's five above
ground and two below.

Band number two sends an
electromagnetic signal

to that stone, to that stone,
to that stone, to that stone.

So it creates a spider's web
of electromagnetic energy

on the inside of a stone circle.

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>> According to Maria,
the capacity of the stones

to absorb energy comes
from their composition.

>> This type of stone
is a form of sandstone.

Sandstone formed
thousands of years ago.

And it contains
a lot of silicon,

which is quite
intriguing, because when

we think of silicon, we think
of macrochips and microchips

and everything that has
revolutionized our lives,

because semiconductors
and those microchips

are used today in our
PCs, our telephones.

Well, our ancient ancestors
may have used them

in a completely different
way, because this

is a massive piece of silicon
put into Earth energy currents

to make them come alive
with those energy bands.

And I'm going to give you a
dowsing demonstration now.

This is a dowsing rod.

It's made of copper and nickel.

So it's quite conductive.

It's particularly good at
picking up these energy bands.

So just by lifting the rod
up the face of the stone,

when it gets to the top of that
third energy band, there we go.

There, it said found.

So that's the top there.

We just lift it up the
face of the stone again.

That's particularly
strong there.

And lift it up the face
of the stone there,

that's the energy band.

>> Some people think the
Neolithic people knew how

to channel this energy.

>> A lot of people think somehow
our ancient ancestors were able

to manipulate that energy
and transport stones.

That sounds quite fantastic.

It really does.

But maybe there's a shred
of evidence for that.

With using our
equipment, we decided

to see if there was any
electromagnetic activity

happening in the Earth
currents, and what

we found was three distinctive
electromagnetic signals.

There's a researcher who looks
into the Bosnian pyramids,

and he claims that the signal
for levitation is 25 Hertz.

Well, we found round about 25
Hertz in this Earth current.

So could it be that our
ancient ancestors somehow knew

and manipulated that
frequency of levitation?

>> Maria also thinks she has
unlocked the secret of why

the megalithic sites have
such an attraction for us.

>> With our equipment, we
realized that the Earth

currents and underground water,
particular type of underground

water, emits a frequency, and
that frequency is seven Hertz.

Well, what does that mean?

Seven Hertz is when
you feel relaxed.

It's like when you're
in a meditative state.

So I'm sure that is why people
are drawn to these sites.

They know what's good
for them, and they

feel that there's something
about these sites.

They make them feel good.

>> The energy released by these
sites attracts us even today,

although, according to Maria,
our ancestors could feel it

much more powerfully.

>> Our ancestors were more
connected to the landscape,

and also, I think their
sensitivity was increased.

Today, we just walk around.

We've got synthetic
clothes on, made of nylon.

Some of us wear synthetic shoes.

We're not connected
to the earth,

so we've lost that connection.

I feel ancient
sites, they're places

where we can get a connection
back to Mother Earth.

So it's about really
connecting back to the Earth

and seeing the Earth
in all of her glory.

>> Megaliths attract us through
their evocative power for they

draw us back to the
origins of our culture.

They illustrate an essential
period of humanity's history

6,000 years ago, when our
ancestors settled, marked out

their territory,
buried their dead,

and set the foundations
of a civilization which

the megaliths symbolized
spectacularly.

While science has allowed
us to better understand

who built these monuments,
at what time they were built,

and how, a question has
never been answered.

Why?

For our ancestors took with
them the rituals and beliefs

that brought these
places to life.

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