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 …
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 …
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, …
Sit on the edge of the cliff, looking out to sea. The wind blows in your face while the sun warms your back. Watch people walking along the beach. Watch fishermen walking along the cliffs. Then look down at the sandstone sheet below you. The marks in the stone are …
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 …
Standing midway up a hill, overlooking the Algarve coast, the scrubland stretches around you. The power lines above emit a faint hum and you can hear some sounds of work from the nearby quarry. Before you, the battered and scarred stone leans slightly to one side, as if it was …
ALSO: Anta da Cerca da Francisquinha There’s little left of the original construction of this tomb. It’s somewhat forlorn and tattered from age and raiding. However, it has been recently refurbished and it seems to sit a little more upright and enjoy its place on the top of a hill …
Also called: Tholos of Cumeada On a hill in the heart of the Algarve, a bare dead tree holds vigil over an ancient megalithic tomb. The surrounding hills provide a backdrop of forest and low scrub, leaving the stones standing out under the hot sun. In the quiet, the millennia …
The building itself of this fascinating museum includes its own National Monument, the cistern well in the centre of the building. Surrounding it, a collection traces the history of this ancient city and region, from prehistoric to modern times. When you enter the museum, you start in the prehistoric section. …
Hiking up and down the hills of central Algarve, the remnants of the past are all around. There are medieval burial sites all around, and then there are the menirs. In a line running northeast to southwest, red sandstone obelisks stand sentinel over the hills. Each one different, they each …
