Also known as: Lousal 1
Walk through the gate and follow the path up to the top of the small hill. An open pit on the ground reveals the stones of a dolmen. But wait: there’s something highly unusal here. Look around and you might think you are seeing double. This dolmen has two chambers!
This is a very interesting and unique dolmen. It has a small chamber (around 2.3m in diameter, 1.6m high), with a 2.2m corridor heading southeast. What sets it apart, and is different than almost every other dolmen, is that it has a second chamber, or an oval “niche,” to the northwest of the main chamber. This seems to suggest that this is a tholos or a false dome monument.
It was first identified and excavated in the 1950s, but it has also been recently re-excavated and is part of an effort to raise awareness and accessibility to monuments in the area. It has been identified of one of a group in the area.1
Location
This dolmen is in the Setúbal district, the municipality of Grândola. It’s in the parish of Azinheira dos Barros e São Mamede do Sádão, just outside of the village of Lousal.
Coordinates: 38.043361, -8.438834
Access
The anta is directly beside a dirt road, reached by a short walk through two gates. Please make sure you close gates behind you. You can also follow the PR6 “Lousal Geomegalítico” trail to find it.
Signage
There are signs outside of the town of Lousal directing you to the “Estação Arqueológica” (Archaeological Station) or the “Monumento Megalítico do Lousal.” There are also trail signs along the PR6 GDL trail and the GR 63 large trail pointing out the way. When you reach the site, there are large signs indicating the monument.
Besid the monument, there is an informational sign in both Portuguese and English.
Links
- Article (in Portuguese) from Wikipedia
- Entry (in English) in the Megalithic Portal
- Description (in Portuguese) from the town hall of Grândola
- Hiking route and map (in Portuguese) of the PR6 GDL – Lousal Geomegalítico route from Visit Grândola website
- Description (in Portuguese) from the Setúbal Region Network of Cultural Heritage (Rede de Património Cultural da Região de Setúbal)
- Description (in Portuguese) from Archaeologist’s Portal of Directorate-General of Cultural Heritage
- Designation (in Portuguese) as a XXX by the Directorate-General of Cultural Heritage
- Detailed information (in Portuguese) in the database of the Directorate-General of Cultural Heritage
Nearby
There are a number of other dolmens in the area, forming a group of about 8 Lousal dolmens. They are not signposted and probably not visitable. The area of Grândola has several interesting prehistoric sites, with five main ones being listed by the municipality. The archaeological museum in Grândola has more information. The Anta do Monte Serôdio is nearest to Lousal, and the Anta da Pata de Cavalo is a little further away.
There are two sites south of Melides, further away to the west: the Anta da Pedra Branca and the Bronze Age cists of Casas Velhas.
Sources
- Inácio, Nuno, et al. “A Valorização Do Património Megalítico Do Lousal (Grândola).” Arqueologia Em Portugal: 150 Anos, 2013, pp. 205–211, www.academia.edu/8415290/a_valoriza%C3%A7%C3%A3o_do_patrim%C3%B3nio_megal%C3%ADtico_do_Lousal_Gr%C3%A2ndola_. Accessed 6 Oct. 2026. ↩︎