PatternsNo. 04 · Geometry
The same shapes, drawn by people who never met.
Circles, spirals, cup-and-ring marks, precise alignments and repeated proportions. Every inhabited continent carries some of them, in cultures with no route between them.
177 sites · 37 countriesEquirectangular · every dot is a site in the Atlas
Watch the comparison · 6 studies
Loughcrew — megalithic art in ancient IrelandHugh Newman / MegalithomaniaIreland · carved interiors
On the ground at Malta — cart ruts and mysterious originsArchaic LensMalta · parallel tracks cut into bedrock
Sillustani — acoustic towers of PeruHugh Newman / MegalithomaniaPeru · circular towers, fitted stone
Exploring the temple of Quetzalcoatl — XochicalcoHugh Newman / MegalithomaniaMexico · relief geometry and an observatory shaft
Exploring ancient TahitiArchaic LensFrench Polynesia · marae platforms
They destroyed every face on this ancient bridgePraveen MohanCambodia · repeated modular formsMarks and layouts, filmed close. Read the shapes before reading anyone's theory of them.
What the pattern is, and what it is not: the argument in full
Geometry is the easiest pattern to over-read, because humans find shapes everywhere and a circle is not a fingerprint. The useful version of the question is narrower: not "do circles recur", but do specific constructions recur: the same alignment, the same ratio, the same motif executed the same way.
So these are chosen for what is on the stone rather than what is claimed about it.
Every site in the Atlas that carries it · 177 across 37 countries
Afghanistan
Armenia
Bahamas
Cambodia
China
Ethiopia
France
French Polynesia
Hawaii
India
Indonesia
Ireland
Japan
Laos
Mauritania
Mexico
Portugal
South Africa
South Korea
Türkiye
- Alaca Höyük
- Antalya Ancient Theaters
- Aspendos
- Ayanlar Höyük
- Aydıntepe Underground City
- Ağırnas Underground City
- Basilica Cistern (Yerebatan)
- Dara Ancient City
- Dulkadirli Underground City
- Ersele Underground City
- Gümüşler Rock-Cut Monastery
- Gürcütepe
- Hagia Sophia
- Harbetsuvan Tepesi
- Harput Castle
- Höyük Underground City
- Iznik (Ancient Nicaea)
- Kırkgöz Underground City
- Manazan Caves & Taşkale Granaries
- Matiate (Midyat) Underground City
- Meydan Kalesi
- Mucur Underground City
- Ozancık Höyük
- Sefertepe
- Selime Cathedral (Cave Mosque)
- St. Mercurius Underground City
- Yedikule Fortress
- Zeugma Mosaic Museum
United Kingdom
The other patterns
Dimmed patterns are tagged across the Atlas but have no comparative study written yet.