The article talks about what a mound is, why people erected such structures, what types of them are and where they are common.
Ancient times
Such a trait as religiosity is natural to man. And finding mysticism where everything can be explained rationally is absolutely normal. Of course, every year (according to surveys in developed countries) the number of atheists is growing, but be that as it may, faith in higher powers and something like that is a normal and natural process that goes back to ancient times and is rooted in human nature almost at the genetic level.
If we talk about when our ancestors appeared religiosity and faith in the afterlife, it is difficult to determine. However, the first date is considered to be about 100 thousand years ago. Perhaps they were before, but it is precisely at this age that the find of the grave of one of the Neanderthals dates from. Not only was our ancestor buried intentionally, but also with the help of analysis it was established that flowers were regularly brought to his grave. Despite the seemingly fantastic nature, it’s true - traces of pollen of flowers were found on the grave, and its number suggests that they were laid on purpose. So, ancient people already had a developed psyche and believed in something mystical and symbolic.
The method of burial at all times was considered very important. Thus, people rendered the fallen fellow last favor. Depending on his social status, position in society and other merits, the method of burial was very different. Simply put, a brave warrior was buried in a completely different way than a robber or other asocial element. If we discard absolutely exotic ones, then one of the most common is burial in a special mound. In addition, it is thanks to this method that many burials have been preserved to this day. So what is a mound? And what are they like? We’ll talk about this.
Definition
If we refer to the encyclopedia for a precise definition, then, according to it, the mound is one of the varieties of burial monuments, depending on the region and locality, their shape may vary, but the general principle remains the same - a large earth mound above the pit, where a person was buried alone or several. Scientists have discovered mounds, which became the last refuge for entire families of noble people of antiquity. So now we know what a mound is. But why such difficulties?
Honors
As already briefly said, the whole thing is the significance of a person during life and his social status. Even in our enlightened age, it is enough to look at almost any cemetery, and it will become clear - people still attach great importance to the appearance of graves, tombstones and other things. Of course, this is far from important to everyone. And what can we say about our ancestors, for whom faith in higher powers, witchcraft and other mysticism, have been a part of their life since childhood. Although this did not stop them from pursuing the "sorcerers" and "witches." So now we know what a mound is.
And of course, after the death of a noble man, a great warrior or ruler, his relatives, relatives or simply subjects, wanted to perpetuate his memory. True, this was not always the case, and history knows examples when the hated kings and other rulers were deliberately buried so that no one knew about their place. If at all buried. From recent history, an example of Hitler can be given.
So what is a mound? Their photo shows the usually high earthen hill, in the depths of which human remains lie. By the way, in a number of different religions, people believed that in the afterlife a person would take away what lies next to him, because in the mounds often find weapons, kitchen utensils, jewelry, clothes and more. And such finds are considered very successful, since objects are not so much destroyed by time, and from them you can establish many interesting facts about the life of ancient times. But, unfortunately, such graves are not common.
Where are they?
A similar burial method is found all over the globe, even in those corners of the earth where the peoples of cultural contacts with the inhabitants of other continents did not support (for example, the Indians of North and South America until the discovery of the continent by Columbus).
Depending on the region, their shape and size may vary slightly, but the overall design is the same. There are quite a lot of barrows in Russia, and archaeologists find them in different areas, but most often they can be found in the steppe regions. So now we know what the mound is, the definition of the word, why they were built. In Russia, their extensive excavations began by decree of Peter the Great.
But there are two continents where such artificial structures are not found, these are Antarctica and Australia. From the first, everything is clear, people simply never existed there, but the indigenous inhabitants of Australia buried their fellow tribesmen differently.
What is the mound of glory?
This building was erected artificially, but it serves not as a grave, but as a monument to the former bloody battles of the mid-20th century.
In 1944, in Belarus, Soviet troops surrounded and completely defeated the German group of 105 thousand people. And in 1966, a decree was issued on the construction of a monument to this event. Architects erected an earthen mound 35 meters high and installed four sterilized bayonets from rifles on it, they symbolize the 1st, 2nd, 3rd Belorussian and 1st Baltic fronts, which participated in the liberation of Belarus from fascist invaders.
What is a mound in nature?
In fact, any mound is an earthen hill, its height and diameter can vary greatly.
Like the tombs of the ancient Egyptian pharaohs, the mounds were also plundered by marauders. There are versions that not all have survived to this day. True, not all mounds hide jewels in their bowels, some are earthen hills of natural formation, and the funerary structures of kings and other rulers, with whom the jewels were buried, were a rare occurrence. Or they were on a land sacred to people and protected.