6000 year old grave is the first telescope in the world?

The tombs from prehistoric times in Europe can be built for many purposes, not just the resting place of souls from many millennia ago.

According to researchers in the UK, 6,000-year-old tombs in Portugal may be the world's first astronomical telescopes . It creates a "tunnel" perspective, allowing the observation of stars to become easier.

One of the 6,000-year-old tombs in Portugal.

"A long tunnel with a tunnel helps you look at the sky like a pipe," astronomer Fabio Silva told The Guardian.

Prehistoric people may have turned the tomb's perspective to a specific part of the sky, and tunneling will help to eliminate ambient light distractions. In addition, in the tunnel is very dark, it will help the eyes of prehistoric people adjust to the dark, making it easier to distinguish faint details such as a star from afar.

"All they do is make sure their surroundings are dark, except for small areas in the sky that they want to observe," said Daniel Brown from Nottingham Trent University.

The grave may be a way of prehistoric observers of astronomy without the need for a lens.

The team believes that building a tunnel into many tombs in Portugal is not natural or unintentional, but intends to use it as a telescope.

"The built tombs can head to Aldebaran, the brightest star in the constellation Taurus," Silva said in a press release. "It is important to calculate the time this star appears in the season."

Researchers believe that prehistoric people used graves as a calendar tracking tool , helping them mark the changing seasons so they knew when to move to higher ground in the spring. They can also be used as a ritual, special knowledge for those allowed to enter the crypt.

The homemade "telescopes" help them keep track of the seasons.

The group of scientists presented their research at the National Astronomy Conference in Nottingham, England earlier this week. They are now trying to expand their hypothesis by recreating astronomical observations as prehistoric people.

In Europe there are thousands of mysterious ancient tombs, unknown uses.

A large number of European tombs have similar characteristics that have not been explained."There are more than 1,000 tombs along the Atlantic coast in northwestern Europe. Their purpose is the question of many archaeologists for centuries" , archaeologist Timothy Darvill from Bournemouth University in England answered The Telegraph newspaper.