The Menhir of Meada is believed to be the largest menhir in the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...

that was entirely carved by humans. It is situated 12 km to the north of Castelo de Vide in the

Portalegre District Portalegre District ( pt, Distrito de Portalegre ) is located in the east of Portugal. The district capital is the city of Portalegre. As of 2021, it is the least populous district of Portugal. Municipalities The district is composed of 15 mu ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

and is within the protected area of the

Serra de São Mamede Natural Park Serra de São Mamede Natural Park is a nature park, natural park in the Serra de São Mamede range, Portugal. It is one of the 30 areas which are officially under protection in the country. Climate The São Mamede Range rises from the Alentejo re ...

Description

The monolith, consisting of coarse-grained porphyroid

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

, was discovered in a rural area, now used mainly for cork production, in 1965. Discovered in two pieces, it was restored in the 1990s, when the two parts were joined and the complete stone was replaced in its original location. The menhir's total length is about 7.5 metres, with a maximum diameter of 1.25 metres and a circumference of 3.90 metres at the base. It weighs around 18 tons. Based on

radiocarbon dating Radiocarbon dating (also referred to as carbon dating or carbon-14 dating) is a method for determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of radiocarbon, a radioactive isotope of carbon. The method was dev ...

of coals discovered underneath the base, the menhir is believed to have been raised around 5000 BCE, in the Neo-

Chalcolithic The Copper Age, also called the Chalcolithic (; from grc-gre, χαλκός ''khalkós'', "copper" and ''líthos'', "stone") or (A)eneolithic (from Latin '' aeneus'' "of copper"), is an archaeological period characterized by regular ...

period, approximately the same time as the Coureleiros

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 ...

s, or

megalithic 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 ...

tombs, that are found in the same district. If this dating is correct, it would make the menhir the oldest yet discovered anywhere in the world. The stone has a cylindrical configuration, with clear phallic contours, accentuated by a bump similar to a glans enveloping the top. The surface is likely to have been polished, and marks left by the tools used for polishing are visible.

References

{{Commons category-inline, Menir da Meada 1965 archaeological discoveries National monuments in Portalegre District Megalithic monuments in Portugal Prehistoric sites in Portugal Stone Age Europe Prehistoric art Tourist attractions in Portalegre District Menhirs

Description

See also

References