Megaliths in the Urals

In recent years, many megaliths have been discovered in the Urals: dolmens, menhirs and a large megalithic cultic complex on Vera Island.

At present, more than 200 dolmens have been discovered in the Sverdlovsk Oblast. Specificity of the dolmens in the Middle Urals is their relatively small size (width and length no more than 1.5 - 2.5 m) and original constructions. Based on differences in their construction, it is possible to distinguish two main types of dolmen:

Dolmens of stone plates are structures consisting of a mound of stones and soil, with a stone chamber attached to it. Usually there is a square court in front of such dolmens. Sometimes such a court is surrounded by stones.

The boulder dolmens had been made of massive boulders forming a chamber. From above the chamber is covered by either one or several flat boulders. Despite the differences of form and size of their chambers, all the boulder dolmens are identical in one respect: they all have two entrances - the main entrance (in one of its side walls) and another, narrower entrance between the boulders.

The commonest megalithic structures of the steppe area of the Urals are menhirs. They are crude or roughly finished stones standing on the surface. This type of object is also found in forested areas, but very rarely and usually associated with dolmens. There are several types of menhirs in the Southern Urals: single, stone rows, complexes of menhirs, and circular structures of menhirs.

All discovered single menhirs are usually situated close to Bronze Age settlements or cemeteries. For this reason, archaeologists believe that they date from this period, and the evidence of limited excavations does not contradict this conclusion. Stone rows are for the most part oriented in an east–west direction. The length of some known rows is 13-18 m. The most massive stones are situated in the center, forming the core of the composition. Topography of the stone rows (their location in landscape) is very variable and has no clear strong pattern.

An unexpected discovery is a circular structure of menhirs at the village of Akhunovo in Bashkiria. This is a circular structure with a diameter of about 25 m, and consisting of eight menhirs. The two largest stones are aligned in the north–south direction inside the ring. One of these central stones is surrounded by a ring (diameter 3.5 m) of post holes. The position these holes precisely repeats the structure of the whole stone ring, each hole corresponds to a menhir of the ring.

The greatest megalithic complex of the Ural Mountains is situated on Vera Island in Lake Turgoyak. It belongs to the Chalcolithic (Eneolithic) period. There are several objects:

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