Anyone with even a passing knowledge of New Age philosophies and principles knows that crystals symbolize all kinds of important things to its practitioners – strength, purity, innocence, and much more, depending on the context in which they are used.
Hanging one in the window of an ailing individual is said to help with healing; hanging one over the entrance of someone’s home is said to encourage divine protection.
Whether you believe wholeheartedly in these principles or find them to be utter nonsense, there is no denying that a substantial portion of the global population believes in the power of crystals.
Apparently some ancient Europeans did, too. They found crystal to be an ideal material from which to fashion weapons, like arrowheads and daggers. Just these kinds of artifacts were discovered at a southwestern archaeological site in Spain, called Valencina de la Concepcion.
Between 2007 and 2010, archaeologists were bowled over by the objects found at the site, including the graves of at least 25 people, perhaps more. Experts say the tomb covers almost 145 feet overall, and was built from huge slabs of slate.
Within it were many women but only one male, studies have shown, and all had consumed poison of some kind. The women were positioned in a kind of semi-circle in a room separate from where the male was found, leading researchers to conclude the man was a chief of some kind and the women perhaps his followers.
The site is called a Montelirio tholos, and dates back about five thousand years, to approximately 3000 B.C., perhaps further. Also buried with the people were numerous pieces of clothing.
The researchers published their findings in the online scholarly journal ResearchGate.com, in 2015. The study said, in part, “(We) found an extraordinary set of sumptuous grave goods… the most notable of which is an unspecified number of shrouds or clothes made of tens of thousands of perforated beads and decorated with amber beads.”
Crystal was not a common material in the region, so the daggers and other weapons made from it were not for everyone, just those in the elite echelons.
The set of 25 crystal arrowheads found, along with the tools used to make them, were in unusually good condition, which contributed to the rarity of the discovery.
Experts on the dig expressed amazement at the skill it must have required for someone to make the arrowheads, considering crystal easily shatters. Furthermore, whomever crafted these blades and other weapons must have looked long and hard for the crystal in another region.
The young man found in the tomb was, archaeologists say, no more than 25 years old. His remains were found in a foetal position, meaning he had been lain in a sort of semi-circle, with valuable artifacts, including an elephant’s tusk, near his head. There was also a set of 23 blades near him, all made of flint.
All these discoveries have led researchers to conclude that Valencina is an extraordinary site for archaeologists, researchers and other related fields, particularly because of the discovery of the rock crystal weapons.
Crystal was not available there thousands of years ago, meaning that someone, for reasons unknown, travelled a great distance to acquire it in order to make the weapons. Did they do it solely to impress the community’s elite?
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Or in the hope that a new material would create a durable weapon different from flint? No one knows for sure. This fact adds a level of mystery to the Valencina de la Concepcion site, a level that perhaps should impress New Age believers, considering that long ago, there were those who believed in the power of crystal long before it became fashionable to do so.