Dolmen of Dombate
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The Dombate dolmen is a megalithic complex in the Spanish region of Galicia . It is an example of a type that is also widespread in neighboring Portugal and is called Anta there .
location
The small town of Dombate is located about 60 km southwest of the city of A Coruña and about 65 km northwest of Santiago de Compostela . The dolmen is to the left of the village entrance.
Building history
The relatively well-preserved dolmen consists of two structures built one on top of the other: the older complex of Dombate, which only came to light in the course of the excavation work on the visible megalithic structure between 1987 and 1989, is undated. The border of its hill forms a circle 10.5 m in diameter. It does not seem to have completely covered the access-free chamber measuring 2.4 × 1.9 m inside. Around 3900 BC The hill was expanded on one side, making the old system marginal.
architecture
The newer complex now consists of a circle with a diameter of 24 m enclosed by small curb stones. In the newly acquired part, an ante of considerable dimensions was built. A polygonal chamber consisting of seven supporting stones ( orthostats ) is dominated by a particularly wide frontal stone (the largest in Galicia) on the back (height and width about 4.7 m) and covered by a stone of similar size. Its interior is a 4.7 × 3.0 m so-called "wide chamber". The chamber has a corridor about four meters long and made of side stones with decreasing height; the corridor, originally covered with thick stone slabs, probably reached as far as the hill border.
ornamentation
On some megaliths in the chamber and corridor, petroglyphs and even remains of paint have been found, which are unique in Spain. The pictures show so-called zigzag motifs in reddish color with black dots over a whitish base.
A strange stone carving on the forehead stone of the chamber, which can also be seen in some other dolmens in northern Spain as well as in Portugal and Brittany (cf. Mané Lud and Gavrinis ), possibly represents a blowing whale (see web links).
meaning
The complex shows features that make it stand out from the large number of Galician megalithic structures. The small finds made indicate that the complex was between 3900 and 2700 BC. Was used. Later it was reused by people of the bell beaker culture , who very likely left the paintings with the zigzag patterns.
Visitor facility
Around 2010, a hall and a visitor center were built around the dolmen to protect against weathering and attacks. Visitors can now view the dolmen in the air-conditioned hall from all sides from a few meters away. However, its interior has not been accessible since then. Instead, a replica was built in the entrance hall of the facility in 2013. Visitors can enter their interior and see the drawings inside. In a small cinema in the adjoining room, video presentations on the dolmens in Galicia are shown; it is also used for lectures.
Nearby is the Dolmen A Fornela dos Mouros .
See also
literature
- José Manuel Vázquez Varela, Felipe Criado Boado, José María Bello Diéguez: La cultura megalítica de la provincia de La Coruña y sus relaciones con el marco natural. Implicaciones socio-económicas. Diputación Provincial de La Coruña, La Coruña 1987, ISBN 84-86040-21-3 .
- Pilar Barciela Garrido, Eusebio Rey Seara: Xacementos Arqueoloxicos De Galicia 2005
Web links
Coordinates: 43 ° 11 ′ 24.5 ″ N , 8 ° 58 ′ 10.1 ″ W.