Standing tall on a hillside in the Algarve, this solitary menir bears witness to the vast stretches of time between us and the earliest occupation of this land by people, over seven thousand years ago.
This menir is a tall stone of white limestone, the only one standing of a group that originally might have formed a cromeleque. This menir, officially “Menir 1” of the Padrão group, was rebuilt and re-erected in 1984, in its original location. It is the iconic representation of the megalithic heritage of the area, but surprisingly has no legal protection. The various excavations of this and its related menirs place it in the early Neolithic period, 5500 – 4500 BCE.
Location
The menir is in the Algarve, district of Faro. It’s in the far west, in the municipality of Vila do Bispo. The nearest town is Raposeira – the menir is to the south of the town, on the road to the Praia (beach) of Ingrina.
Access
The menir is right beside the road, the M1257. It’s easily spotted on the right side as you head towards the beaches from Raposeira.
Signage
In the town of Raposeira, there are signs directing you to the beach of Ingrina, as well as to megalithic monuments. There are no other signs for this menir, but there are signs for “Megalithic Monuments” at the hill of Milrei, before you reach Padrão. You have to look for the menir on the right side of the road, using the GPS coordinates of 37.062670, -8.888366.
Links
- Entry (in English) from the Megalithic Portal
- Article (in Portuguese) from Wikipedia
- Description (in Portuguese) from the town hall of Vila do Bispo
- Description (in Portuguese) from the Vila do Bispo Archaeology blog
- Description (in Portuguese) from Archaeologist’s Portal of Directorate-General of Cultural Heritage
Nearby
There are literally hundreds of menirs in the area. The nearest are the fallen menirs of Milrei, while only slightly further is the standing menir of Aspradantes.