The Dolmen of Guadalperal, also known as the Treasure of Guadalperal and as the Spanish Stonehenge for its resemblance to the English

Stonehenge Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, west of Amesbury. It consists of an outer ring of vertical sarsen standing stones, each around high, wide, and weighing around 25 tons, topped by connectin ...

, is a

megalithic monument A megalith is a large Rock (geology), 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 Mediterr ...

dating from between 2000 and 3000 BC in Peraleda de la Mata, a town in the region of

Campo Arañuelo Campo Arañuelo is a comarca in Province of Cáceres, Cáceres, Extremadura, Spain. It contains the municipalities of Almaraz, Belvís de Monroy, Berrocalejo, Bohonal de Ibor, Casas de Miravete, Casatejada, El Gordo, Cáceres, El Gordo, Higuera, ...

in eastern Extremadura,

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. The monument is within the

Valdecañas reservoir The Valdecañas reservoir (''embalse de Valdecañas, in Spanish)'' is a reservoir on the Tagus, Tagus River. It begins in the municipality of El Gordo, Cáceres, El Gordo and ends at the Valdecañas dam, in Belvís de Monroy, in the Province of C� ...

in the

Tagus River The Tagus ( ; es, Tajo ; pt, Tejo ; see below) is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. The river rises in the Montes Universales near Teruel, in mid-eastern Spain, flows , generally west with two main south-westward sections, to e ...

and is only visible when the water level allows it.

Description and history

The

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 somet ...

consists of 150 granite stones, called

orthostats This article describes several characteristic architectural elements typical of European megalithic (Stone Age) structures. Forecourt In archaeology, a forecourt is the name given to the area in front of certain types of chamber tomb. Forecourts ...

, placed in a vertical arrangement to form an

ovoid An oval () is a closed curve in a plane which resembles the outline of an egg. The term is not very specific, but in some areas (projective geometry, technical drawing, etc.) it is given a more precise definition, which may include either one or ...

chamber in diameter. They are preceded by an access corridor about long and wide. At the end of the corridor, at the entrance of the chamber, there is a menhir about two metres high that has carving that might be a snake and several cups. It may be a representation of the river. These figures may have served as protection for the site. The chamber, of the ''anta'' type, a common construction in the west of the Iberian Peninsula, consists of 140 stones and was covered with a mound of earth and gravel. It is surrounded by another circular ring that contained the upper mound. Guadalperal Dolmen 1

According to the latest research, the menhir carved with an elongated and wavy engraving is believed to be a representation of the Tagus River as it passes through the area. The monument was discovered in 1926, during a research and excavation campaign led by the German archaeologist

Hugo Obermaier Hugo Obermaier (29 January 1877, in Regensburg – 12 November 1946, in Fribourg) was a distinguished Spanish-German prehistorian and anthropologist who taught at various European centres of learning. Although he was born in Germany, he was later n ...

between 1925 and 1927. It could have been a solar temple, and also been used as a burial enclave. Roman remains found there – a coin, ceramic fragments, and a grinding stone – indicate that at that time it was safely preserved from looting. Eleven axes, ceramics, flint knives, and a copper punch were found in a nearby dump. A settlement was also found, dating to the time of construction, which presumably housed the builders. Obermaier discovered houses, charcoal and ash stains, pottery, mills, and stones to sharpen axes. In 1963, construction of the Valdecañas reservoir inundated the monument; and thus, it is only visible when water levels are low. Drought conditions in the last decade have exposed the monument in several summers. The inundation has caused irreparable damage to the monument by eroding the stones and their engravings. Hugo Obermaier's team made reproductions of the engravings, which were published in 1960 by German archaeologists Georg and Vera Leisner. The Raices de Peraleda association is requesting its recovery due to the deterioration observed. The structure was seen fully for the first time in 50 years in July 2019, when a NASA satellite photograph during a drought revealed its 150 stones. File:Dolmen Guadalperal verano 2012.jpg, Partially visible Guadalperal dolmen during summer 2012 File:ThMenhir esculturado Dolmen Guadalperal Parte delantera.jpg, Front view of sculpted menhir File:Menhir esculturado Dolmen Guadalperal Parte trasera.jpg, Sculpted menhir believed to represent the line of the River Tagus

References

External links

El Stonehenge español sale a flote

Extremadura en la Historia: Dolmen del Guadalperal
{{European Standing Stones Dolmens in Spain Buildings and structures in the Province of Cáceres 3rd-millennium BC architecture Bronze Age sites in Europe Archaeological sites in Extremadura