h enormous
blocks of stone. With modern cranes and traction engines all would be
simple, but it might have been thought that in the stone age such
building would be impossible. Thus, for instance, in the 'temple' of
Hagiar Kim in Malta, there is one block of stone which measures 21 feet
by 9, and must weigh many tons. In reality there is little that is
marvellous in the moving and setting up of these blocks, for the tools
needed are ready to the hand of every savage; but there is something to
wonder at and to admire in the patience displayed and in the
organization necessary to carry out such vast pieces of labour. Great,
indeed, must have been the power of the cult which could combine the
force of hundreds and even thousands of individuals for long periods of
time in the construction of the great megalithic temples. Perhaps slave
labour played a part in the work, but in any case it is clear that we
are in the presence of strongly organized governments backed by a
powerful religion which required the building of temples for the gods
and vast tombs for the dead.

Let us consider for a moment what was the procedure in building a simple
megalithic monument. It was fourfold, for it involved the finding and
possibly the quarrying of the stones, the moving of them to the desired
spot, the erection of the uprights in their places, and the placing of
the cover-slab or slabs on top of them.

With regard to the first step it is probable that in most cases the
place chosen for a tomb or cemetery was one in which numbers of great
stones lay on the surface ready to hand. By this means labour was
greatly economized. On the other hand, there are certainly cases where
the stones were brought long distances in order to be used. Thus, in
Charente in France there is at La Perotte a block weighing nearly 40
tons which must have travelled over 18 miles. We have no evidence as to
whether stones were ever actually quarried. If they were, the means used
must have been the stone axe, fire, and water. It was not usual in the
older and simpler dolmens to dress the stones in any way, though in the
later and more complicated structures well-worked blocks were often
used.

The required stones having been found it was now necessary to move them
to the spot. This could be done in two ways. The first and simpler is
that which we see pictured on Egyptian monuments, such as the tomb of
Tahutihotep at El Bersheh. A rough road of beams is laid in the re