Tholos De El Romeral
   HOME

TheInfoList



Click Here for Items Related To - Tholos De El Romeral
OR:
Tholos De El Romeral on:   [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Amazon]

Tholos de El Romeral, situated north east of the town of Antequera (
Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a ...
), is one of the most important examples of
Neolithic architecture The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...
in southern Europe. Tholos de El Romeral, also known as ''Cueva de Romeral'' (Cave of Romeral) and ''Dolmen de Romeral'', is a megalithic burial site built circa 1800 BCE. It is one of three tombs in region, the others being
Dolmen de Menga __NOTOC__ The Dolmen of Menga ( es, Dolmen de Menga) is a megalithic burial mound called a tumulus, a long barrow form of dolmen, dating from 3750-3650 BCE approximately. It is near Antequera, Málaga, Spain. It is one of the largest known anci ...
and
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.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 h ...
under the name "Antequera Dolmens Site".


Date

As late as the 20th century it was believed that the three megalithic tombs in the area (''
Dolmen de Menga __NOTOC__ The Dolmen of Menga ( es, Dolmen de Menga) is a megalithic burial mound called a tumulus, a long barrow form of dolmen, dating from 3750-3650 BCE approximately. It is near Antequera, Málaga, Spain. It is one of the largest known anci ...
'', ''
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.Los Millares Los Millares is a Chalcolithic occupation site 17 km north of Almería, in the municipality of Santa Fe de Mondújar, Andalucía, Spain. The complex was in use from the end of the fourth millennium (c. 3000 BC) to the end of the third mi ...
, which had its centre more than 200 kilometres to the east. The main reasons for this are the different stone materials used and the differing floor plans of the chambers, as the other two tombs have rectangular chambers.


Architecture

Tholos de El Romeral is a chambered tomb covered by a mound. It consists of a long corridor with drystone walls made of small stones and a ceilings made of megalithic slabs. The corridor culminates with two consecutive round
beehive A beehive is an enclosed structure in which some honey bee species of the subgenus '' Apis'' live and raise their young. Though the word ''beehive'' is commonly used to describe the nest of any bee colony, scientific and professional literature ...
-like chambers. The larger chamber has a diameter of approximately and has corbelled walls built in the same way as the corridor, projecting inwards and culminating in a megalithic capstone. The floor of the corridor and main chamber are made of packed earth. The second chamber is linked to the first by a rectangular corridor (and is not accessible to the public). It has a diameter of approximately , contains a stone slab
bier A bier is a stand on which a corpse, coffin, or casket containing a corpse is placed to lie in state or to be carried to the grave.''The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language'' (American Heritage Publishing Co., Inc., New York, ...
, and the floor of the small room is covered with stone slabs. Bones and grave goods were found within the dolmen. Although it is believed that these megalithic buildings had different uses (tombs, temples, etc.) the Romeral Dolmen is certainly a burial site because human remains, shells, and two types of ceramics were found within it.


Gallery

File:Tholos de El Romeral, vista exterior.jpg, Exterior view File:Tholos de El Romeral 01.jpg, Exterior view File:Tholos de El Romeral 05.jpg, Entrance passage File:Tholos de El Romeral, vista interior.jpg, Interior chamber File:Tholos de El Romeral 11.jpg, Roof of the tholos File:Holos de El Romeral, vista pasillo de entrada desde el interior.jpg, Entrance passage File:Dolmen elromeral plano.jpg, Plan


See also

*
Megalithic Monuments of Alcalar The Megalithic Monuments of Alcalar ( pt, Monumentos Megalíticos de Alcalar) are a group of burial tombs that comprise a Calcolithic necropolis, located in the civil parish of Mexilhoeira Grande, municipality of Portimão, Portugal. History D ...
*
Dolmen de la Pastora The Dolmen de la Pastora (also known as Cueva de la Pastora) is a prehistoric passage grave at Valencina de la Concepción near Seville, Spain. It has been dated to the Chalcolithic Age. Description The dolmen is under "La Pastora" mound at Vale ...
*
Tholos do Barro The Tholos do Barro (also known as the Tholos da Pena) was a Chalcolithic or Copper-Age domed tomb of block masonry. Its ruins are located on Monte da Pena, near the village of Barro, Torres Vedras municipality, in the Lisbon District of Portuga ...
* Dolmen of Montelirio * Valencina de la Concepción *
Prehistoric Iberia The prehistory of the Iberian Peninsula begins with the arrival of the first hominins 1.2 million years ago and ends with the Punic Wars, when the territory enters the domains of written history. In this long period, some of its most signific ...
*
Bell Beaker culture The Bell Beaker culture, also known as the Bell Beaker complex or Bell Beaker phenomenon, is an archaeological culture named after the inverted-bell beaker drinking vessel used at the very beginning of the European Bronze Age. Arising from a ...


External links


''The Modern Antiquarian''

''The Megalithic Portal''


(page in Spanish) {{Authority control Prehistoric sites in Spain Buildings and structures in Antequera Chalcolithic sites of Europe World Heritage Sites in Spain Archaeological sites in Andalusia 2nd-millennium BC architecture Neolithic Spain Bronze Age sites in Europe