Limestone idol
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A limestone idol ( Portuguese Idolo calcários ) is a group of idols in the form of limestone cylinders or half-cylinders, which are found in Portuguese antas , i.e. megalithic tombs and in tholos or rock- domed tombs and grottoes in the Estremadura and the regions north of the Alentejo , as well as in the south Spain were found. They have round or segment-like cut off, approximately semicircular cross-sections and blunt or pointed ends. They can also be made of marble like the idol of “Moron de la Frontera” and are always slender like a stele. Mostly they come together with other idols z. B. ( Portuguese ídolos pinha - pine cones ) or Einbringeln .
distribution
The limestone sculpture area coincides with the Estremadura burial complex on the west side of the Iberian Peninsula . It extends from the mouth of the Tejo to Torres Vedras and, further north, includes the grottoes in the Serra de Montejunto and those near Peniche. Isolated occurrences are found at the Mondego estuary and up the Tagus River in the Ribatejo province. South of the Tagus River, the concelho Settúbal ( Lapa do Bugio ) belongs to the area. Between Setúbal and the Algarve , in southern Alentejo, there is a previously uncovered zone, but discoveries can still be expected from the dome graves. In contrast, the limestone sculpture in the passage graves of the Alentejo is almost completely absent.
description
Among the up to 30 cm long column-like round ones there are
- undecorated (Serra da Vila)
- grooved
- phallically decorated
- symbolically decorated - possibly only at the head end (Tholos do Barro)
There are so-called half cylinders
- undecorated
- grooved (across and lengthways)
- herringbone ornament
- decorated with a flat bowl (Cabeço da Arruda 1) on the flat
- Symbolically decorated specimens - often divided into zones by grooves, otherwise decorated (Dolmen de Casainhos, Folha das Barradas).
Horn-like curved specimens (Cabeço da Arruda 2) are a separate group.
The decorated specimens are particularly interesting. But there are only 22 of the 199 cylinders, which usually have eye ornaments and double arches. One specimen shows a crescent moon.
See also
literature
- Vera Leisner : The megalithic tombs of the Iberian Peninsula. The West. De Gruyter, Berlin 1965, p.
- Jürgen E. Walkowitz: The megalithic syndrome. European cult sites of the Stone Age (= contributions to the prehistory and early history of Central Europe. Vol. 36). Beier & Beran, Langenweißbach 2003, ISBN 3-930036-70-3 , p.?.