Mysterious Megaliths of Sulawesi, Indonesia

Lore Lindu is a National Park located in the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. There can be found ancient granite carvings, that no one could explain and still a mystery to the modern man.

A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. The word megalithic describes structures made of such large stones without the use of mortar or concrete, representing periods of prehistorycharacterised by such constructions.

The word megalith comes from the Ancient Greek μέγας (transliteration mégas, meaning “great”) and λίθος (transliteration líthosmeaning “stone”). Megalith also denotes one or more rocks hewn in definite shapes for special purposes.

These megaliths vary in size from a few inches to 15 feet (4.5 meters) high. No one knows who carved them, when, how or why.

The existence and location of the megaliths was never really formally documented. The Nature Conservancy is assisting the Indonesian park officials to find and protect all the known carvings, as well as the forests around them.

So far more than 400 of the carvings have been found in and around the Lore Lindu park.

Among the megaliths are about 30 arca menhirs,or human forms. Some are toppled over into rivers, their massive faces and unblinking eyes covered in mud and drifting leaves. Others stand forgotten in rice fields, obscured by long grasses.

Hope someday we will get the complete understanding and the reason behind these unknown structures standing alone at this ancient site.

You can also have a glance at the stone pots of the Bada Valley, Sulawesi here in this post.