Carapito megalithic complexes
Coordinates: 40 ° 44 ′ 48.8 " N , 7 ° 28 ′ 1.4" W.
The four megalithic complexes of Carapito are located in the vicinity of the village of Carapito in the Aguiar da Beira district in Portugal , they were the subject of scientific excavations in 1966.
description
"Casa da Moura" (Carapito I)
Carapito I is important for megalithic research because the collapse of the bearing stones and capstone until the excavation left it untouched, so that almost the entire inventory could be recovered.
The Anta Carapito l, popularly known as “Casa da Moura”, is the most impressive tomb. It is located on the right bank of the Ribeiro de Carapito , about 2 km south of the village, and was once again excavated and restored in 1988. Carapito l, with its more than five meter high bearing stones, together with the Anta Grande do Zambujeiro and the Comenda da Igreja (both near Évora ), is one of the largest megalithic complexes in the country. Anta is the Portuguese name for around 5000 megalithic structures or dolmens that were built during the Neolithic in the west of the Iberian Peninsula by the successors of the cardial or imprint culture .
The approximately 18-ton capstone was found inside the chamber. It was lying on the fragments of the broken bearing stones, presumably as a result of an earthquake. The chamber, which is now without the protective hill, has a clear width of 4.7 × 5.15 m and a height of about 4 m. The bearing stones , which are between 0.5 and 1.15 m deep into the ground, have almost all incised decorations , some of which are difficult to see. The motifs are snakes and sun representations . Another ornate stone was found in Carapito's "Casa da Moura", but it did not belong to the grave construction and was only brought in during the period of use. The stone slab of 2.8 × 1.5 m consists of non-porphyry granite with light and dark mica, such as occurs mainly in the Porto area. From Carapito, the closest known occurrence of this type of rock is 17 km away. The stone has grooves. Wavy lines and oval shapes cover the front. Similar images can be found as painting in the Anta pintada de Antelas . The investigations have shown that, similar to Alto do Cotorino , the complex did not have a megalithic corridor .
The finds
In the lower layers there were microliths , flint blades , pearls as well as tools and votive axes made of rock. Ceramic came to light only in the upper, youngest layers. The lower layer can be absolutely determined using charcoal from a fireplace inside the chamber, so that the construction of the monumental building can be dated to the 4th millennium BC (between 3700 and 3500 BC).
Nearby is the Lameira da Cima necropolis .
literature
- Domingos J. da Cruz, Raquel Vilaça: Trabalhos de escavação e restauro no dólmen 1 do Carapito (Aguiar da Beira, Dist. Da Guarda). Resultados preliminares . Universidade do Porto - Instituto de Antropologia, Porto 1990, ( Trabalhos do Instituto de Antropologia "Dr. Mendes Corrêa", Faculdade de Ciências do Porto 45, ZDB -ID 1004522-3 ).
- Philine Kalb: Large stone graves and menhirs In: Hermanfrid Schubart et al. (Ed.) Finds in Portugal. Muster-Schmidt, Göttingen / Zurich 1993 ISBN 3-7881-1512-2
- Thomas G. Schattner (Ed.): Archaeological guide through Portugal (= cultural history of the ancient world . Vol. 74). Philipp von Zabern, Mainz 1998, ISBN 3-8053-2313-1 p. 97