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Prehistoric Portugal.
Portugal possesses some of the earliest examples
of European Neolithic structures, dating back before 4,000 BC. In addition, Portugal
also contains
examples of 'Ogham' script, Spiral rock-art, and a range of megalithic
structures including
Stone circles, Dolmens, Passage mounds
and even
cart-ruts
(Strada's Real). More recently, Portugal hosted the Templar's conversion
to the 'Order de Christo'.
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(Scroll down for more)
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Featured Items.
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 The 'Anta Grande do Zambujeiro' near Evora, in the
Alentejo has the largest stones of any passage-mound in all of
Portugal, and possibly all of Europe. The stones extend over 7m above ground
and the whole construction was covered by with a mound on-par with
Maes-howe or the Irish passage-mounds at
the Boyne Valley. The style of the
structure is unique to central Portugal and can be found at at least another
two sites Anta de San-Gens and Anta do Tapadao.
Zambujeiro is one of Portugal's treasures and a must for all lovers
of megaliths.
(More about Zambujeiro)
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Piodao/Chaz d'Egua.
.jpg) Spiral-rock-art
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The photo (right), is from a rock in the region of
piodáo in the Bieras. The lines of the spiral continue
to form the shape of an animal (suggested as a horse), and then cut back and
forth across the face of the rock, ending/starting in a depression (possible
cup-mark).
(More about the Piodao
spiral)
Cart-ruts - The
same region of Portugal has revealed itself to have several good examples of
cart-ruts running over the tops of the Serra d'estrella mountains. The ruts
are well-worn in places, and have several features that support an ancient
providence, although they are said to have been used up until the beginning
of the 20th
century
(More about the Portuguese
cart-ruts)
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 The Orca complex:
The elevated granite bedrock of the Fiais region near Carregal do
Sal, offered the builders of the 'Orca' dolmens both a ready source
of building material, and a 360˚ view of the country extending
several miles in all directions, whilst remaining in close proximity
to the Mondego river. The several dolmens in this area have been
preserved and combine together to form the 'Curcuito Pre-historico
Fiais', a signposted journey through the forest tracks of Fiais.
Apart from the beautiful Orca dolmen, this circuit offers examples
of rock-art (arte-rupestre), several other smaller dolmens, and
various other traces from Neolithic life, all of which add to the
feel of the site.
(More about the 'Orca' complex) |
 The Evora complex: (The
Mesopotamia of Iberia):
The
countryside around Evora is rich with megaliths of all
kinds. This region of Portugal offers some of the biggest
and the best sites in Iberia.
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).
Recent discoveries of
astronomical alignments between sites, support the idea that
the Evora was important in prehistory..
(More
on this important location soon)
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Portuguese Passage mounds.
Although there
are several passage mounds in Portugal, the above three from the
Alentejo, have features
which are common to each
other and at the same time, different to any other passage mounds
in Europe. The largest of these Passage mounds (Zambujeiro -
centre), is also one of the
largest in Europe, and certainly has the largest stones of
any passage mound in Europe.
Cope
(1),
refers to these three passage mounds as 'dolmens', but
close examination proves them to be something different
altogether. While Zambureiro is clearly a passage mound, the
construction at Tapadao and Igreja de Commenda appear to be a
unique hybrid of both Dolmen and Passage mound.
In all of the
above structures, the chamber is composed of eight large upright
stones, the one at the front, only reaching half-way to the
ground, leaving the passage open and accessible.
The
orientation, construction method and number of stones are similar
in at all three sites.
(Other passage-mounds)
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List and Description of Prehistoric Portuguese
sites .
The Mondego river, Serra d'estrellas -
(Northern-central).
The modern entrance to Spain from Northern-central Portugal appears to follow a
similar prehistoric route, judging from the high density of prehistoric
remains. One of several Neolithic concentrations in Portugal, sites are
dotted along the River Mendego which follows the Serra d'estrella mountain
range. Nearby this ancient and seemingly invisible route is the valley
region of Piodao, near which several important prehistoric discoveries have
been made, the 'Orca' cluster. As well as having several impressive dolmens,
passage-mounds and cart-ruts, this area has
produced numerous prehistoric stone-carved Phallus' along riverbeds, over 50 examples of rock-art
including spirals, foot-prints, and various other symbols and motifs, is gradually
revealing itself to have been an important megalithic centre.
The Evora complex, Alentejo -
(Central). The
Alentejo region is rich with prehistoric remains. Apart from the numerous
dolmens, the area includes cave-art,
stone circles, dolmens and with over a dozen
megalithic sites, the Evora region alone is worth a visit. Sites include:
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