Also known as: Anta do Monte Serôdio
Standing on a hilltop in the foothills of the Grândola mountains, the ancient dolmen seems fairly ordinary. Grey stones form a chamber, with a small corridor leading off. There are hundreds, if not thousands, like it in Portugal. But look a little closer and you can see that this dolmen has a hidden distinction. One of the upright stones reveals a little more about our ancient ancestors.
This dolmen (or anta) has a trapezoidal chamber, 3m x 3.3m, formed by seven greywacke orthostats. (One has fallen in towards the centre.) The orthostats measure up to 1.8m tall. The corridor is about 2m long, formed by two orthostats on each side. The height of the corridor is about 0.6m high.
The tumulus is still visible and is large: it has a diameter of 8 meters.
One of the orthostats in the chamber is covered with around 25 cup marks (covinhas in Portuguese). This is the only example of megalithic art in the region.
The dolmen was only recently discovered by archaeologists. When the site was cleaned around 2012, a fragment of a grewacke polisher or sharpener was found but otherwise no artefacts were recovered.
Location
The dolmen is in the district of Setúbal, municipality of Grândola, parish of Azinheiras dos Barros. It’s on a country road west of the village of Lousal.
Coordinates: 38.041879, -8.461639
Access
It is not easy to reach by car. It is possible, but you will drive along rutted country/mountainous roads. You can use the hiking route PR6 (“Lousal Geomegalítico”) to reach the site.
Signage
Follow the signs for the PR6 route: there are occasional signs pointing out the monument. When you reach the site, there is a bilingual information board.
Links
- Article (in German) from Wikipedia2
- 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
Nearby
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 Megalithic Monument of Lousal is the nearest to this one, closer 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.