Temples and Sanctuaries of the Cucuteni-Trypillian Culture from the Territory of Ukraine and Moldova Based on the Results of the Latest Geomagnetic Researches

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.