Megalithic sites in Catalonia

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Dolmen Cova in the Serra de l'Albera

The first megalithic systems in Catalonia emerged towards the end of the Neolithic (4400-3600 BC) in the area of ​​Tavertes. Their builders did not yet use large stone slabs, which is why these structures are referred to as premegalithic. These are stone boxes ( Spanish cista - made of vertical plates) in square or rectangular mounds, which are covered with large round stones, about 22.0 m in diameter and reach heights of up to 2.0 m ( Cista del Clot del Llorer ) . The excavation of some of these structures revealed that they were individual burials.

Catalonia is divided into six megalithic provinces :

  1. Alt Empordà (Serra de Rodes, Serra de l'Albera and Cap de Creus)
  2. Les Gavarres and Massis d'Ardenya
  3. Serre del Corredor
  4. Altiplans Centrals
  5. Pirineus Centrals
  6. Pirineus Occidentals

During the Mesolithic Age , the first facilities for collective burials were built in the Empordà area . This tradition lasted until the Bronze Age , in which, however, hardly any systems were built, but existing ones were used again.

In the rest of Catalonia, other groups erected a large number of monuments. Above all, they highlight the Alt Empordà as the region with the highest number of known megaliths, followed by Alt Urgell , Bages , Osona and Vallès Oriental .

Dolmen in Catalonia

The main types of megalithic complexes in Catalonia are:

  1. Stone boxes under rectangular hills are the oldest type in the Empordà region. Examples are Sant Sadurní ivy or the Cista Clot del Laurel in Fitor.
  2. Corridors under round hills such as the Dolmen del Puig ses Forques and the Puig d'Arques near Calonge, trapezoidal or polygonal chambers, such as the anta-like dolmen de la Serra Mitjana and del Llobina and rectangular chambers, such as the dolmens of Mas-Bousarenys , the also lie under mounds of stone.
  3. Catalan galleries such as the dolmen of Llanera and the dolmen of Can Boquet , which, unlike Antequera in Andalusia, are reminiscent of Angevin portal dolmen and, like these, have a corridor that is less high than the chamber. Another example is Cova d'en Daina in Romanyà de la Selva.
  4. Dolmen simple, which are characterized by significantly smaller chambers than the previous types and are located under smaller hills. There are examples of this species in the Alt Emporda and Gavarres area. These tombs date between the Chalcolithic and the Bronze Age.
  5. In recent times, alternative megalithic structures such as the paradolms have also been attested between the Chalcolithic and the Bronze Age . They are abrises or caves ( Dolmen de la Quarantena ) that have been supplemented by megaliths. The most recent discovery of this species is the Lluís Esteva Paradolm . Another alternative form are boulder clusters as that of de Tossa Mar .

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