Walk down the stairs, ducking your head beneath the stone ceiling. Wooden steps lead you down into the Earth. Electric lights have been installed to guide your way, but the silence and the still air remind you that you are in an ancient place. Duck down and follow the laser pointer of your guide. With …
Also known as: Anta da Casa dos Mouros In the sunshine, the light glints off the river below. Birds and insects fill the air with sound, competing with the hum of traffic on the bridge across the river. A riot of wildflowers splashes the green vegetation with yellows, pinks, and more. It’s a gorgeous and …
Also known as: Necrópole Megalítica dos Coureleiros, Antas dos Coureleiros Walk along the road leading through the farmland: paddocks on either side of you, with the occasional herd of cows. The constant thumping of the nearby rock quarry provides an unpleasant soundtrack for your visit to this “park.” But if you persist, you can see …
Also known as: Anta do Zurrague, Anta do Azurrague 1 This anta (dolmen) is currently (from 2024) being excavated by archaeologists on a project titled MEDICE (Memórias, Dinâmicas e Cenários da Pré-história à Época Romana). There are few known antas in the area, and few published reports of this anta. The anta has been seriously …
Also known as: Cromeleque de Perdigões Below the flapping tarpaulins, archaeologists work, carefully excavating holes in the hard clay. There are many holes, forming a series of concentric circles. The team leader explains the site, using maps and illustrations. He points off to the East and explains how the enclosure opened up towards the rising …
The cars and trucks go whizzing past. They used to be able to stop and refuel, allowing the people inside a chance to get out and stretch their legs. Now the motorway exit and nobody stops and gets out. The megalithic tomb is largely unvisited and only rarely seen as the vehicles rush past. The …
The rush of traffic on the nearby motorway is noticeable but not overwhelming. The buzz of the electricity wires overhead is a gentle background noise. Occasionally you can hear a distant shout of a person in the apartment buildings at the edge of the field. Mostly, you’re aware of the warmth of the sun and …
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 …
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 tired from its long vigil. …
Portuguese: Monumento pré-histórico da Praia das Maçãs Also known as: Tholos do Outeiro das Mós, or Tholos da Praia das Maçãs In the Neolithic era, about 4,000BC, an artificial cave was dug on this site. It had a corridor and central burial chamber with side niches. Later, a large tholos was built. The site was …