I've researched that one a while ago, but couldn't find it again after the gulf war because there was a base there with a similar name and it screwed all the search results.
The photos I was using were from tourists who visited the area. What I was seeing was a lot of crushed mica and the tourists commented on this as it is not native of the area so had been brought in.
The basins are constructed with 2 holes at the edge , and have a red tidemark around them at this level. The outer edge of the basins are cog-like and contain smaller holes suitable for upright pegs to be fitted.
I believe it was a site for processing and refining gold because of the evidence.
To refine gold, first the ore is crushed. It is then added onto a bath of mercury where the stone powder floats, but the gold sinks. The powder has to be removed as more is added but must be agitated so that all the rock has a chance to make contact with the mercury.
After this process, because the mercury sticks to the gold powder , it must be burned to remove the mercury and melt the gold. this is then cast into moulds.
Looking at the site there is enough mica for there to have been massive ovens for first baking cinibar to obtain mercury, then to bake the large quantities of rock needed.
the mercury was then kept in the stone bowls, where a stirring mechanism would be used that used the outer pegs to mix the rock powder similar to a kenwood chef.
This would naturally fall through the outer holes in the bowl.
The red staining on the bowls is not blood as presumed. Blood stains are brown - not red, but mercuric oxide IS red. - bright red.
So the evidence is there for it to be a gold refinery, but nobody else has looked at the mica or come up with this solution as far as I know. I think that gold may have been more of an incentive to build something there.
It would be interesting to see if there was a water supply to it as that could be used as a power source, but with enough people they could be the source of mechanical power.
anomalien.com
