Antas from Olival da Pêga
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The Antas of Olival da Pêga are located in Telheiro, a town in the Monsaraz municipality in the Évora district in Portugal . Anta or dolmen is the Portuguese name for around 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 .
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The Antas are part of an ensemble that also includes four other megalithic structures, making the group one of the most important in the Iberian Peninsula . The dolmens and their passages are integrated into a complex structure about 40 meters in diameter. The megaliths of Olival da Pega date from 3500-3000 BC. Chr. And consist of the Antas 1 and 2. It should be noted that the stones lying around cannot be clearly assigned.
The importance of the antas is indicated by the amount of objects found, which include 134 slate idols and shards of 200 ceramics and animal sculptures . 140 and 118 people were buried in each complex. This accumulation only affects these megalithic structures and shows no continuity with others, which is not surprising in view of the almost complete deprivation of Portuguese Antas.
Anta 1 has a polygonal chamber with a large head area, which is flanked by two lateral orthostats and the wide access. In contrast to the chamber, the aisle is low. The chamber of the Anta 1 was first excavated by Vera and Georg Leisner , who found an extensive artefact arsenal that indicated its use by a large community. Between 1990 and 1997, VS Gonçalves and Ana Catarina Sousa, who uncovered the entire complex, carried out a second excavation. They found two steles in the corridor and a paved courtyard, the excellent condition of which (including the burial grounds) indicated that the monument was from the late 3rd millennium and four complexes were gradually added.
Anta 2 consists of a closed chamber covered by a large cover plate. The corridor is about 16.0 m long, the longest in Portugal. It was built in two phases. Apparently, two pillars made of slate (not granite like the rest of the complex) were installed in phase 2 . Both were covered with bowls on almost all sides . Poorly preserved human bones and a small pile of artifacts were found next to a column, including a diamond-shaped object, probably made of copper.
Nearby is the Barrocal menhir .
literature
- EH Whittle, JM Arnaud: Archaeometry 17 fasc. 1 (1975)