The Tholos do Barro (also known as the Tholos da Pena) was a

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 ...

or Copper-Age domed tomb of block masonry. Its ruins are located on Monte da Pena, near the village of Barro,

Torres Vedras Torres Vedras () is a municipality in the Portuguese district of Lisbon, approximately north of the capital Lisbon in the Oeste region, in the Centro of Portugal. The population was 83,075, in an area of . History In 1148, Afonso I took ...

municipality, in the

Lisbon District Lisbon District ( pt, Distrito de Lisboa, ) is a district located along the western coast of Portugal. The district capital is the city of Lisbon, which is also the national capital. From its creation until 1926, it included the area of the cur ...

of Portugal. The tholos was classified as a National Monument in September 1940.

History

The Tholos do Barro is a megalithic monument dated between 2500 and 2200 BC. It is located close to a hilltop monument to Our Lady of Fátima. The tholos was discovered in 1908 by Paulo Bovier Lapierre, a French Jesuit priest who was teaching at the Barro college and convent at the foot of the hill. The tomb was excavated a year later by Eugene Jalhay and Félix Alves Pereira but the results of their excavations were not published. Among the items found at the site were implements made from amphibolite, diorite and granite, limestone idols and vessels, ceramics, bones, jewellery, a copper dagger and metal rings. Cylindrical idols characteristic of the early Chalcolithic period permitted the tomb to be dated and it is considered to be contemporary with the nearby

Castro of Zambujal The Castro of Zambujal ( pt, Castro do Zambujal) is a Chalcolithic age archeological site in the civil parish of Santa Maria, São Pedro e Matacães, municipality of Torres Vedras in the western litoral area of the Portuguese Centro Region. Th ...

, one of the most important chalcolithic sites in the Lisbon area. The finds are located in the Lisbon National Archaeological Museum and also in the Leonel Trindade Museum in Torres Vedras. The tomb’s chamber was oriented from North to South, with a round burial chamber that was covered with overlapping blocks that created a

false dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...

. This was an unusual construction for a tholos in Portugal, as a wooden roof was usually used. The wall of the chamber, six meters in diameter, is still about a meter high. It is believed that the dead were deposited in a seated position, accompanied by various artifacts and food. The chamber, aisle and antechamber together have a length of 9.7 metres. At the entrance, the remains of a wall of limestone blocks on both sides of about 2.70 m in length are interpreted as the remains of the antechamber. The tomb was surrounded by an outer tumulus made of small stones, with a diameter of approximately 13 metres.

References

Buildings and structures completed in the 22nd century BC 1908 archaeological discoveries National monuments in Lisbon District Megalithic monuments in Portugal Prehistoric sites in Portugal Dolmens in Portugal Beehive tombs Chalcolithic sites of Europe * {{Commons category-inline, Monumento funerário eneolítico do Barro