Standing at the top of one of the highest peaks in the Sintra Mountains, you can see all around: Guincho Beach, the Atlantic Ocean, the Setúbal peninsula and the Arrabida Coast. Look down at your feet, and amidst the jumble of stones a circular structure stands out. This massive chamber is part of the Tholos do Monge (the “Tholos of the Monk”), built over 4 thousand years ago.
This megalithic structure is a tholos, or a collective funerary structure with a circular chamber covered by a false dome. There are few identified and surviving tholoi in this region of Portugal (and fewer than 100 identified in the whole country). This was one of the earliest to be identified. (Historical note: While early archaeologists identified these structures as different from dolmens (or antas) and artificial caves, the term tholos only started being used widely during the late 20th century. Ribeiro called them “enclosures” or “monuments” while Vasconcelos called them “graves excavated with a lining.” It’s still not )
The chamber is about 4.5m across and would have been about 3.5m high. The stones that made up the dome cover are mostly gone. There is a short (~1m) corridor that leads out to an exterior atrium of somewhat irregular shape (about 6.5m by 6m). It was built during the Chalcolithic period, about 2,300-2,000 BC. Some clay fragments were found (kept in the Geological Museum in Lisbon), and evidence exists that shows the tholos was used through the Bronze Age. It was “discovered” and studied by Carlos Ribeiro in 1878, but the 16th century Convent of the Capuchos is only about 1-2km away. It is speculated that this site might have been used as a hermitage by individual monks. (The original geodesic marker was placed in 1845, so presumably the tholos was seen or known then!) It is considered to be one of the earliest identified false dome structures in the Lisbon area/south of Portugal.
The location of the tholos is at the third highest peak of the Sintra Hills (Serra de Sintra), called Monge (or “Monk”), at 490m. (There is a geodesic marker identifying the peak, right next to the tholos.) From this peak, there are amazing views that would have been more obvious when it was built: at that period the climate was more arid and would have had fewer tall trees.
The site is “in process of being classified.” It was approved as a National Monument in 1996. In 2021, it was thoroughly excavated by archaeologists working for the Town Council of Sintra. (Much of the details of this report come from their publication.2) It is hoped that this effort by the Town Council of Sintra will help restore the tholos and perhaps earn it its deserved recognition as a National Monument.
Location
The site is in the Lisbon district, municipality of Sintra. The tholos is in the Sintra hills, in the Sintra-Cascais Forest Park. It is situated at the peak also called “Monge,” and sits just below the geodetic marker. (Coordinates: 38.774337, -9.441474)
Access
The tholos is accessed by the PR6 hiking trail, which is well marked. It’s a wide flat trail, easy to walk or bike along. From the west (coming towards Monge from the Sanctuary of Peninha area), it climbs at a very gentle gradient. (Coming from the north, near the Convent of Capuchos, it’s a steeper climb.)
Signage
There are signs along the trail showing the way to the tholos.
Links
- Entry (in English) from the Megalithic Portal
- Description (in English) from Natural.PT
- Description of the PR6 trail with a PDF brochure/map (in Portuguese) from Walking Portugal
- Description (in Portuguese) from Archaeologist’s Portal of Directorate-General of Cultural Heritage
- Description (in Portuguese) by the Directorate-General of Cultural Heritage
Nearby
Only a few kilometers away is the “Anta” of Adrenunes which is more of a natural formation, but is a National Monument and was used for burials in prehistoric times. The Praia das Maçãs Prehistoric Monument is a tholos not far away (about 12 km away), but is currently (January 2025) still being restored and is not visitable.
Sources
- Roteiros Da Arqueologia Portuguesa 1: Lisboa e Arredores. Instituto Português do Património Cultural, Departamento de Arqueologia, 1986. ↩︎
- Costeira, C., Porfírio, E., & Simões, T. (2023). The Monge prehistoric monument (Sintra) – archaeological research outcomes in 2021: DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7920488. Estudos Arqueológicos De Oeiras, 32, 93–130. Retrieved from https://eao.oeiras.pt/index.php/DOC/article/view/400 ↩︎
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