The Building Materials Used in the Structures at the Sacred Sites
At sacred sites worldwide, particularly the more ancient ones, builders frequently used rocks having subtle, natural energies, such as granite, magnetic stones with reversed fields, and stones with high concentrations of quartz and related minerals. Sometimes, these stones were used because they were the most widely available local building material, yet often, prehistoric builders went to considerable trouble to bring the stones from distant sources. The body of the Great Pyramid, for example, is built of locally available limestone, yet the walls, ceiling, and floor of the main ceremonial chamber are built from huge blocks of granite quarried in Aswan, many hundreds of miles to the south. Granite is known to be a source of low-level natural radioactivity. Presumably, the ancient builders sensed the energy of this stone and used it for ceremonial and healing purposes. Prehistoric peoples in England and France also constructed enclosed chambers with enormous granite slabs. Called dolmens, quoits, or fougous, depending on the region, these chambers were then covered with alternating layers of organic and inorganic material that some researchers believe gathered and concentrated the energies emitted by the granite. These chambers were used not initially for burials but by living persons for initiatory, shamanistic, religious, and healing purposes.
At other ancient sacred sites researchers have recorded magnetic anomalies in particular stones. Paul Devereux writes in EarthMind: Communicating with the Living World of Gaia…
It has become clear that megalith builders in Britain did make use of specific stones in the construction of some of their sacred monuments. Sites have now been identified where just one stone out of many is able to scramble a compass. (13)
Devereux comments further on this matter in Earth Memory; Sacred Sites-Doorways into Earth's Mysteries,
Magnetic stones so far found at sites are selectively placed - at cardinal points in circles, on astronomical sightlines, or exist as the dominant megalith in a monument. How could they have been used to augment altered states? Certain parts of the brain are sensitive to magnetic fields - particularly the temporal lobe region which houses the organs that process memory, dreams, and feelings. There is an archaic tradition of sleeping on stones of power to achieve visions. The classic case is of course Jacob who slept with his head on a bethel, or sacred stone. The Japanese emperors also had a special dreaming stone (kamudoko). We can perhaps envisage the megalithic shaman, in an altered state of consciousness, lying or sleeping in head contact with the stone of power at a site. This might have helped to engender special visions. (14)
Low-level magnetic fields have also been shown to stimulate more rapid healing of broken bones. Prehistoric people would not think of the power of these stones in the scientific terms of magnetism and natural radioactivity but rather as evidence of spirits or magical powers. Whatever words are used to describe the power of the stones is of only superficial importance. What is essential for our current discussion is that the building materials used at specific sacred sites do indeed have a power that contributes to the overall energetic field of the site.
The ancients also frequently used precious metals and gemstones in the sanctuaries of their ceremonial structures. Legends are told of rooms built of gold and silver and fabled gems worshipped for their mystic powers. However, using such materials was usually concentrated on the statues of the deities honored at a site. This practice was common among cultures worldwide, from the Hindus and Buddhists of Asia to the cultures encircling the Mediterranean to the Olmecs, Mayans, and Incas of the Western Hemisphere. Cast or sculpted from gold and silver, the statues were set with diamonds, emeralds, rubies, sapphires, topazes, aquamarines, and other rare jewels. Besides their remarkable visual beauty, these gemstones were known to have powers that catalyzed spiritual transformation, healing, and visionary trance states.
The ancients believed these powers were activated primarily by the unique vibrations specific to each kind of stone and secondarily by the pure colors of the stones. Precious metals and gemstones were also combined in various proportions according to secret formulas developed in great antiquity or revealed to humans by the gods. The statues fashioned with such precise combinations of exotic minerals were believed to be animated by divine intelligence. Stationary but alive, the figures of the deities saw deeply into the hearts and minds of worshippers and gave to them transmissions of power uniquely appropriate to each individual. During the past 2000 years, many of these legendary power objects have been stolen from temples, melted down, and shorn of their splendid jewels. Their concentrated essence has been lost. However, examples of such power statues remain in shrines such as the Maha Muni in Burma, the Johkang in Tibet, and temples throughout southern India.