TITLE:
Temples and Sanctuaries of the Cucuteni-Trypillian Culture from the Territory of Ukraine and Moldova Based on the Results of the Latest Geomagnetic Researches
AUTHORS:
Oleksandr Zavalii
KEYWORDS:
Trypillia Culture, Cucuteni-Trypillia Culture, Ukraine, Moldova, Eneolithic, Temple, Religious Cosmology, Prehistoric Religion, Geomagnetic Survey
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Historical Studies,
Vol.12 No.4,
November
29,
2023
ABSTRACT: The article presents the results of a large-scale geomagnetic survey of
the Cucuteni-Trypillian settlements. The survey reveals that the structure of
the settlements is characterized by the presence of distinctive structures (“megastructures”)
located at typical sites of different settlements. In 2012, based on the
results of a preliminary geomagnetic survey, archaeological excavations of one
of these structures near the village of Nebelivka (Ukraine) revealed a temple
structure. This structure is now recognized as one of the oldest temple
structures on the European continent. The Nebelivka Temple (4000-3900 BC) was
the scientific name given to this object. The Nebelivka Temple Complex,
according to the geomagnetic surveys on the ground, has a fairly clear set of
spatial landmarks and has a kind of cultural standard by which the sacred
complexes of the ancient agriculturalists were constructed. It can be said that
since the violation of this condition would destroy the whole sacred order, the
very presence of the temple in its place makes it sacred and what it is.
Discovering such sacred patterns, even without archaeological research, can
pave the way to discovering the sacred structures of the Cucuteni-Trypillian
community. It should be added that the ancient sanctuaries of the European
culture were built based on the place and its observance. The author reveals
the meaning of the sacred structures of Cucuteni-Trypillia in the context of
the spatial orientation on the ground in the last part of the article. It
becomes clear that at a certain point in space and time, where a sense of
divine order in the universe was guaranteed, the ancient temples were organized
in the appropriate sacred order.