Anta do Beringel

Also called: Tholos of Cumeada

On a hill in the heart of the Algarve, a bare dead tree holds vigil over an ancient megalithic tomb. The surrounding hills provide a backdrop of forest and low scrub, leaving the stones standing out under the hot sun. In the quiet, the millennia that stretch between its construction and our present are almost palpable.

While the site is identified as an anta (dolmen), it is considered to be a tholos (or beehive tomb), according to achaeologist Victor Gonçalves. It has 11 pillars in the chamber, and no indication of a capstone. It seemingly had a corbelled ceiling, formed by smaller overlapping stones. It also had a long corridor facing east, with eight uprights on either side.

In 2020, the Geoparque Algarvensis carried out excavation/restoration work on this and the nearby Anta Pedra do Alagar. Besides preserving the megaliths, an art exhibit was commissioned entitled “Daqui, sente o que vês” (From here, feel what you see) which is described as “a poetical-visual journey through the hills of the Algarve.” There is a wooden sign on the site with a (non-functioning) QR code linking to a video, “Ameixial, Keeper of Memories,” which was filmed at the megalith. The director describes it as being about a goddess who preserves and protects the memories of all the people who were entombed in the megalith. It’s an interesting short video, and there’s a nice aerial shot of the megalith that shows the excavations around the tomb.

Location

The megalith is south of the village of Corte D’Ouro, east of Ameixial in the Algarve. (Loulé region)

Access

It is easy to drive to the site along dirt roads. There is some hiking at the end to go up a hill.

Signage

There is a sign on the main road (M504) between Cachopo and Ameixial, in the village of Corte D’Ouro. The sign faces East, so if you’re coming from the West (from Ameixial) it’s not obvious! From there you can follow occasional signs along the dirt road that lead to the megalith.

Links

• Entry (in English) from the Megalithic Portal
• Listing (in English) with the Geoparque Algarvensis
• News article (in English) about the renovations in 2021 from Sul Informação
• A video (no language) featuring the megalith, produced by the art collective Figa Lampo
• Article (in Portuguese) from the Town Hall of Loulé
• Description (in Portuguese) from Archaeologist’s Portal of Directorate-General of Cultural Heritage

Nearby

There are several prehistoric sites in the area. The Anta Pedra do Alagar is only about 8km away towards Ameixial, and about 10km in the other direction is the village of Mealha, which has the Anta das Pedras Altas and the Anta da Masmorra nearby.