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Florinsky, I.V., 2010. Sacred places
and geophysical activity. In: Florinsky, I.V. (Ed.), Man
and the Geosphere. Nova Science Publishers, New York, pp. 215–255. Mystical experience is a phenomenon that
has influenced and continues to influence the development of culture and
civilization. Mystical experiences in particular places are known to all
cultures. Every so often, such places become sacred. The author proposes a
hypothesis that the following complex of geological and geophysical
prerequisite factors is of importance to the sacralization of a place:
regional and local active faults, local magnetic anomalies, regional and
local lithospheric stresses, and regional seismic activity. The following
cause and effect chain is assumed: Along faults and at fault intersections,
the crust exhibits increased permeability over geological time scales. This
creates conditions conducive to the occurrence of ore concentrations and
magmatic bodies generating local magnetic anomalies. Geomagnetic storms
modulate the intensity of the geomagnetic field at these anomalies. Before an
earthquake, the rise of local and regional lithospheric stresses leads to
electric currents carried by electron holes. Propagating along faults, these
currents also modulate the intensity of local magnetic anomalies and
sometimes produce self-luminous objects. Local fluctuations of the
geomagnetic field and pulsating magnetic fields of self-luminous objects
influence the human brain and can lead to a mystical experience. To test the hypothesis for an initial
approximation, one should demonstrate that sacred places are predominantly
located along fault lines. For a part of the Crimean Peninsula, the author
carried out a comparative analysis of a statistically representative sample
of monasteries comprising 104 objects, as well as faults, earthquake
intensity zones, and regional magnetic anomalies using geological and
geophysical maps. Almost all Crimean monasteries are located along faults of
various ranges or at their intersections. Most monasteries
are placed within earthquake intensity zones of VII–VIII degrees as well as
within regions with decreased regional geomagnetic intensity. These results are
evidence in favor of the author’s hypothesis. PDF
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