Anta-Capela de São Brissos

Also known as: Anta-Capela de Nossa Senhora do Livramento, Anta Ermida de Nossa Senhora do Livramento, Anta de São Brissos, Anta do Livramento

In a field in the Alentejo plains, stands a Catholic chapel. Painted in traditional blue and white, it stands out in the green landscape. It’s only on coming closer that you see that the front part looks rough. Under the paint, huge stone slabs stand as they have for millennia. This chapel has been built incorporating an anta, the Portuguese term for a prehistoric megalithic chambered structure.

This chapel has been built incorporating a megalithic chambered tomb, or dolmen (“anta” in Portuguese). The anta dates from the Late Neolithic or Chalcolithic period (about 4000 to 3000 BC) . Five of the original pillars (or orthostats), about 3m tall, as well as the capstone, remain. The chamber would have been polygonal, about 4m in diameter. There are some remnants of the original corridor. There is a large stone lying near the chapel: this was likely the stone that was removed to make space for an entry doorway.

The chapel was likely built in the seventeenth century AD. The dolmen-chapel was named a Property of Public Interest in 1957. The chapel is still in use, and has been a scene of pilgrimages up through recent times.

There are a number of anta-capelas around Portugal. The most well known are the Anta-Capela de São Dinis (in Pavia, about 60km away), and the Anta-Capela de Alcobertas (about 180km away).

Location

The anta-capela is in the Alentejo, district of Évora. It’s in the municipality of Montemor-o-Novo, parish of Santiago do Escoural. It’s just off the road that runs from the town of Escoural to the village of São Brissos.

Access

You can visit the exterior anytime, but to get inside you have to call the parish. (Contact details here.) There used to be a sign with telephone numbers posted.

Signage

From the town of Escoural, head towards S. Brissos (São Brissos). On the road just outside the anta-capela, there’s a sign for the “Anta do Livramento.”

Links

• Article (in English) from Wikipedia
• Entry (in English) in the Megalithic Portal
• Description (in Portuguese) from the parish of Santiago do Escoural
• A travel article (in Portuguese) from SapoViagens
• Description (in Portuguese) with a video from Morbase
• Video (in Portuguese with English subtitles) from Morbase
• Description (in Portuguese) from Archaeologist’s Portal of Directorate-General of Cultural Heritage
• Designation (in Portuguese) as a National Monument by the Directorate-General of Cultural Heritage
• Detailed information (in Portuguese) in the database of the Directorate-General of Cultural Heritage

Nearby

There are many prehistoric sites in the area. The most famous is the Gruta (“Cave”) of Escoural, only about 5km away. (It is only visitable by appointment.)

Sources

Gomes Costa, Ana Rita. As Antas-Capelas Em Portugal : Pré-Existências, Tipologias, Cristianização E Formas de Expressão Artística. 9 Apr. 2019, repositorio.ulisboa.pt/handle/10451/38212?locale=en. Accessed 10 May 2025.