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The Dolmen of Menga ( es, Dolmen de Menga) is a

megalith A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. There are over 35,000 in Europe alone, located widely from Sweden to the Mediterranean sea. The ...

ic burial mound called a

tumulus A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or '' kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones ...

, a

long barrow Long barrows are a style of monument constructed across Western Europe in the fifth and fourth millennia BCE, during the Early Neolithic period. Typically constructed from earth and either timber or stone, those using the latter material repre ...

form of

dolmen A dolmen () or portal tomb is a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more upright megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from the early Neolithic (40003000 BCE) and were some ...

, dating from 3750-3650 BCE approximately. It is near

Antequera Antequera () is a city and municipality in the Comarca de Antequera, province of Málaga, part of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia. It is known as "the heart of Andalusia" (''el corazón de Andalucía'') because of its central loca ...

Málaga Málaga (, ) is a municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 578,460 in 2020, it is the second-most populous city in Andalusia after Seville and the sixth most po ...

, Spain. It is one of the largest known ancient megalithic structures in Europe. It is long, wide and high, and was built with thirty-two

s, the largest weighing about . Dolmen de Menga Antequera intérieur

After completion of the chamber (which probably served as a grave for the ruling families) and the path leading into the center, the stone structure was covered with soil and built up into the hill that can be seen today. When the grave was opened and examined in the 19th century, archaeologists found the skeletons of several hundred people inside. The dolmen sits from the

Dolmen de Viera The Dolmen de Viera or Dolmen de los Hermanos Viera is a dolmen—a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb—located in Antequera, province of Málaga, Andalusia, Spain.Dólmenes de Antequera
nuevaacropolismalaga.org. Accessed online 2010-01-23. and about from another subterranean structure known as

Tholos de El Romeral Tholos de El Romeral, situated north east of the town of Antequera (Andalusia), is one of the most important examples of Neolithic architecture in southern Europe. Tholos de El Romeral, also known as ''Cueva de Romeral'' (Cave of Romeral) and '' ...

.Conjunto Arqueológico Dólmenes de Antequera
, Consejería de Cultura,

Junta de Andalucía The Regional Government of Andalusia ( es, Junta de Andalucía) is the government of the Autonomous Community of Andalusia. It consists of the Parliament, the President of the Regional Government and the Government Council. The 2011 budget was 31. ...

. Accessed online 2010-01-23. In 2016, the dolmens of Menga, Viera, and El Romeral were all inscribed as a

UNESCO World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

under the name "Antequera Dolmens Site".

Abrigo de Matacabras

The Abrigo (shelter) of Matacabras, located at the foot of the northwest face of the

Peña de los Enamorados Peña de los Enamorados ("The Lovers' Rock") is a mountain near the city of Antequera, Málaga Province, Andalusia, Spain. It reaches a height of 880 metres above sea level. Name The mountain was named after a legend from the local oral trad ...

, is closely linked with the Dolmen of Menga whose central axis points directly to it. The tomb is orientated to the northeast, north of the sunrise on the summer solstice, and is the only known tomb so oriented in Europe in this cultural context. In 2018, the ATLAS research group from the

University of Seville The University of Seville (''Universidad de Sevilla'') is a university in Seville, Spain. Founded under the name of ''Colegio Santa María de Jesús'' in 1505, it has a present student body of over 69.200, and is one of the top-ranked universi ...

published a study of the high resolution analysis of Abrigo de Matacabras's schematic style cave paintings. The small cave has both visual and symbolic links to the Menga dolmen, establishing landscape relationships that are possibly unique in European prehistory. The results confirmed the Neolithic chronology of the cave “probably, at least, at the beginning of the 4th millennium BC... and its importance as a place of reference for the Neolithic (and possibly even older) population of the region...” Crucial new data on the origin of the Dolmens of Antequera, a World Heritage Site https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/06/180628120046.htm

Gallery

File:Dolmen de Menga Antequera.JPG, Entrance File:Dolmen de Menga, vista interior desde la entrada.jpg, View inside from the entrance File:Dolmen de Menga 10.jpg, Back of the chamber with well File:Unidentified object in the Dolmen of Menga, Antequera, Spain.JPG, view inside the well File:Dolmen de Menga 20170412-114210-2959-6-a1b2c1.jpg, Panoramic view

References

{{Authority control Dolmens in Spain Buildings and structures in Antequera Tourist attractions in Andalusia World Heritage Sites in Spain Bronze Age sites in Europe 4th-millennium BC architecture Archaeological sites in Andalusia

Abrigo de Matacabras

Gallery

See also

References