Anta de Fonte Coberta da Chã de Alijó
 
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Location of the Anta de Fonte Coberta in Portugal. |
The Anta de Fonte Coberta da Chã de Alijó is a megalithic complex in northern Portugal , east of Vila Real in the municipality ( Freguesia ) Vila Chã in the district ( Concelho ) Alijó , district Vila Real . The grave is located approximately 1 km north of Vila Cha in relative isolation on a plateau ( Planalto da Chã ).
Anta , Mámoa , Dolmen , Orca and Lapa are the common names in Portugal for the approximately 5000 megalithic structures that were built during the Neolithic in the west of the Iberian Peninsula by the successors of the Cardial or Imprint culture .
Monument preservation
The facility was explored by Henry Botelho in the late 19th century . In 1938 the geologist Joao Manuel Cotelo Neiva carried out systematic excavations and investigations of the facility.
The comparatively well-preserved grave was registered and protected as a Monumento Nacional in 1910 and has been opened to the public after the renovation work in recent years.
- Anta de Fonte Coberta
Finding
The polygonal burial chamber with vestibule has been preserved. All seven support stones ( orthostats ) made of granite are largely preserved in situ and carry the capstone with a size of 3.54 × 2.20 m. Only one stone on the south side of the previously existing corridor could be excavated, but there are clear indications that the grave was overgrown ( Mámoa ). Polygonal burial chambers with vestibules are rather rare in northern Portugal and are more likely to be found further south of the country.
The top of the capstone is decorated with engraved dimples and grooves. The same decorative elements also have two bearing stones of the grave chamber on the outside (1st stone on the right and 3rd stone on the left) and could still be found on the rocks in the vicinity of the grave. The third bearing stone on the left shows remains of red painting on its inside at a height of 1.60 m.
Finds
The grave was probably already stripped of antiquity, as the excavation only uncovered a polished stone ax .
literature
- Henrique Botelho: Antas e castros do concelho de Alijó . In: O Arqueólogo Português . tape II , 1.ª Série, 1896, p. 264 ff . (Portuguese).
- A. Martins: Anta de Fonte Coberta . Direção-Geral do Património Cultural, accessed on January 14, 2018 (Portuguese, with extensive literature sv Bibliografia).
- Thomas G. Schattner (Ed.): Archaeological guide through Portugal (= cultural history of the ancient world . Vol. 74). Philipp von Zabern, Mainz 1998, ISBN 3-8053-2313-1 , p. 82f.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c A. Martins: Anta de Fonte Coberta . Direção-Geral do Património Cultural, accessed January 14, 2018 (Portuguese).
- ↑ a b Isabel Sereno, Ricardo Teixeira: Anta de Fonte Coberta. SIPA, 1993, accessed January 14, 2018 (Portuguese).
- ↑ Thomas G. Schattner (ed.): Archaeological guide through Portugal (= cultural history of the ancient world. Vol. 74). Philipp von Zabern, Mainz 1998, p. 82f.
Web links
Coordinates: 41 ° 20 ′ 5.3 " N , 7 ° 28 ′ 17.8" W.