Stand on the rock ledge as the waves crash beneath you. The strange holes in the rock ledge weren’t created by an accident of geology. They are the footprints that a dinosaur made, a hundred million years ago. Careful: don’t let the yawning chasm of time make you dizzy, or you’ll fall into the sea …
Standing on the huge rock slab, you can see most of the beach. People walking up and down, leaving footprints that get washed away by the waves. Down at your feet, marvel at the footprints that won’t get washed away. They’ve lasted millions of years, and will no doubt still be there long after you …
Standing alone in a private garden, this stone proudly displays ancient carvings. (photographs graciously provided by one of our readers) This is a cylindrical menir, with the top broken. It is decorated with vertical bands of carved waving lines. (Serpentiform?) The menir was re-erected on the site where it was found by the landowner. Menir …
This little stone stands peacefully in an urban environment. Having been moved from its original location, it now serves as an enigmatic reminder to passers-by that people had lived here and built markers like this many thousands of years ago. (photographs graciously provided by one of our readers) This was apparently found in the area …
This rough stone is positioned in the middle of a sidewalk in an urban area of the town of Portimão. Having been moved from the distant mountains in prehistoric times, it was again moved in modern times because of construction. It now serves as an enigmatic presence in the urban context: challenging passers-by to think …
This Neolithic stone stands again in a park, slightly removed from its original position. Whatever its original purpose, it now stands as a focal point in an urban environment. (photographs graciously provided by one of our readers) According to a post from the Museum of Portimão, this menhir was found fractured, lying on its side …
Also known as: Menires da Pedra Escorregadia, Sepultura da Pedra Escorregadia, Necrópole da Pedra Escorregadia Stand on the hilltop, and listen to the cars racing past on the road below. On this hill, the stones have stood still for many thousands of years. Looking around the view, you can see to the ocean in several …
Two groups: Cromeleque de Amantes 1, Cromeleque de Amantes 2 (also known as Menires de Amantes 2) Walking around the field, several large stones stand out. They’re toppled over and broken, but their smoothed cylindrical shape belies their origins: these are shaped stones, made into menires (Portuguese spelling), or standing stones, thousands of years ago. …
Standing sentinel above the fields around Sagres and Vila do Bispo, the conical menir (the common English term is “menhir“) seems the solitary example of prehistoric megalithic construction in the area. But look more closely in the area, and you will find remnants of its original neighbours. Look around again and imagine the area dotted …
Broken stones lie scattered in the fields above Sagres and the Cabo de São Vicente. If you look closely at them, you’ll see that they are shaped into smooth obelisks. Were these territorial markers in ancient times? Did prehistoric people use them for ritual purposes? We don’t really know. Today, they are merely stones lying …