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Location:
(N114) 5km from Evora, Alentejo, Portugal.
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Grid Reference:
38°
33′ 28″ N, 08°
3′ 41″ W
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Set in the beautiful and sacred Alentejo landscape, this
stone circle is now considered one of the oldest stone circles in
the world.
A part of the megalithic complex around Evora , in Portugal.
Now called by many: The Iberian 'Messopotamia'
(Map of
the area-how to get there)
(Scroll down for more)
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Cromeleque dos Almendres: (Alto das pedras talhos, Almendres stone circle).
Description
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The site consists of two stone circles, the product of sequential building phases.
The result is an oval of 92 stones, which measures 30m x 60m.
and includes various markings such as cup marks,
spirals and circles which can still just be seen on some of the stones
(there are apparently ten inscribed stones - but only 4-5 are now visible).
(Map of the site)
The Almendres Cromlech believed to be one mankind’s
first public monuments. It's the largest existing group of structured
menhirs in the Iberian Peninsula, and one of the largest in Europe. This
megalithic monument consisted originally of more than an hundred
monoliths, some of which over the ages were taken away for other uses. A
recent digging showed that there were several building phases during the
Neolithic period (5000 - 4000 BC.).
The 'circle' has been constructed on the top of a hill from
large, almost anthropomorphic quartzite
stone. Access is free and excellent, with overnight stays possible in the car-park. The site is located a
within a short walk of the contemporary Menhir dos
Almendres.
The 92-stone Circle
is actually two circles.. that were built oriented
to different equinoxial directions.
The flat faces of the
stones face inwards and seemingly towards the sun.
The cup-marked stone (No.8) at the top of the circle (above left), has
its face at almost 90° from the orientation of the circle, facing ENE. Another cup-marked stone from lower down (above right), faces roughly the
same direction.
Spot the difference:
The photo on the left was taken in 2006, while the one on the
right was taken in 2007. (The circles have been kindly 'coloured-in' for us this
year...hmmm).
The stone on the right has
what appears to be a part of a spiral - or possibly three concentric circles
on the top.
In the following photo, the stone in front
(with markings on its upper flattened-face), was casting a shadow which fell across
both the stone (right), and another stone simultaneously (see below).
Although they are hard to distinguish,
the face of the stone casting the shadow has several interesting features on
it, better seen in the photo on the right.
(more on this soon)
Chronology -
The site has been dated from
'various phases throughout the Neolithic period (4th to 5th millennium), by
when it had acquired the look it has today' (Ref: notice-board at
site). This makes it one of the oldest known circles in Europe.
Archaeo-astronomy
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The latitude of the site may
explain both the presence of such a grand stone circle, and of the high
concentration of megaliths on the vicinity. (Now referred to as: The
Iberian Mesopotamia).
There are only two latitudes
in which the Moon's maximum declination is the same as the latitude,
meaning that at its maximum elongation it goes through the zenith
(directly overhead). These two latitudes are
38˚
331 N (Almendres), and 51° 10' N
(Stonehenge).
The circle
is orientated towards - and has stones that point to sunrise
and sunset at the equinoxes. The Menhir do Almendres (See below) just over a
kilometre
distant is in line with the winter solstice.
when viewed from the cromlech, the menhir points to the
sunrise in winter solstice, and vice-versa regarding the sunset.
The circle is also approximately orientated towards Evora in the distance.
The 92 menhirs are considered by some to
mark the number of days in a quarter year
(More about the Evora complex of megaliths)
(Return to Top)
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Menhir
dos Almendres:
Description
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This
Standing stone is approximately 1 km from its neighbouring Circle the
Cromeleque
Dos Almendres. It is
described as 2.5m high, but actually stands at least 3m. It is reputed to
have fallen twice in living memory; once during a cyclone in 1941 and again
in 1964.
The Solstice line between The
Cromelech and Menhir of the mount of the Almendres could be used as
reasonable rigorous to mark the solstice of Winter.
(Ref:
Cromleque dos almendres: Crookscape.org)
(Other Portuguese
sites)
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