Cromlechs from Mandale
The cromlechs of Mandale 1-5 (also called Mairubaratzak cromlech) are north of Monte Mandale, west of the Spanish border town of Ibardin , near the Col d'Ibardin in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in France on the border with the Merindade Pamplona in the province of Navarra in Spain . The pass is the most westerly in the Pyrenees towards Biscay and can be reached via the D 404.
The five stone circles are made from local quartzite , formed from blocks of various sizes. They are approximately 9.0, 8.0, 6.5, 6.0 and 5.0 m in diameter. Cromlech No. 1 is the most damaged as it is crossed by a path and some orthostats are missing. The remaining circles are almost complete. The five cromlechs were discovered and excavated in 1952 by José Miguel Barandiaran (1889–1991).
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The stone circles in the Pyrenees are between 2.0 and 13 meters in diameter. They consist of a different number of stones. The Cromlechs, which are still more or less complete today, consist of 8 to 50 orthostats. These can be stone slabs or stone blocks, depending on the geology of the area. There are two types of cromlech in the region. Some are empty circles. The others have a grave structure inside. They seldom surround a dolmen, as in the Pozontarri dolmen. There are cromlechs in which one of the orthostats stands out because of its height. It is a monolith or menhir . Isolated menhirs can sometimes be found. The Cromlechs in the Basque Country are burial sites in which remains (ashes) of cremations can be found. What is striking is - as J. Altuna wrote in 1977 - “the sudden disappearance of the Cromlech in the Leizaran Valley, in the heart of the Basque Country”. The cromlechs appear to be mainly associated with the vascones. Many can be found on the east side of the country (Navarra, Lower Navarra, and to the east of Gipuzkoa), including Adarra. In contrast, there are no cromlechs in the Uzturre - Ipuliño mountain range. If you go further west from the center, you will only find exceptions like in Aralar or in Bizkaia , which confirm the rule.
Nearby are the Mandale Tumulus (also Mandale Tumulua) and the Dolmen d'Erentzu, Galbario, Lezante Hego, Lezante Nord and Mokoa as well as the menhir of Xoldokogña, all at Urrugne in the Pyrenees .
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Coordinates: 43 ° 18 ′ 46.3 " N , 1 ° 41 ′ 50" W.