Menhirs of Lavajo
Coordinates: 37 ° 30 ′ 5 ″ N , 7 ° 32 ′ 6 ″ W.
The menhirs of Lavajo in the south of Portugal (near Balucos, Alcoutim district in the extreme northeast of the Faro district ) are monoliths and consist of two groups of menhirs at a distance of 250 m, which are separated by the Lavajo valley .
history
The large stones are assigned to the late Neolithic or the early Copper Age , so they were probably around 3500 BC. Set up. Such menhirs appeared more frequently around this time in the south of Portugal, while they did not appear in central Portugal until around 3000 BC. Appeared. They may designate territorial boundaries or sacred places. The stones were examined during excavations in 1998 and 2001, after serious damage had already been caused in 1994 in improper attempts to erect the stones again.
present
Today Lavajo I consists of two monoliths . The original three stones are made of greywacke , the third, heavily crumbled stone is in the Alcoutim Museum . The larger of the two stones still in situ is the largest greywacke menhir in Portugal at 3.14 m. The preserved stones from Lavajo I were decorated , in contrast to the four stones from Lavajo II , which are in the northeast. The four stones of Lavajo II formed a row of stones oriented from west to east . Only the largest stone from Lavajo I is preserved as a monolith, the second was put back together from three blocks, the third is badly damaged. Only a part of the obverse has survived.
The original positions of the stones could not be determined exactly, only the largest belongs in a recess dug for this purpose. This pit was badly damaged in 1994 when attempts were made to restore the menhir. In addition, the stone was set up the wrong way round. Also in Lavajo II, where there were four undecorated menhirs, only one stone was left in situ. Nevertheless, the original layout could be reconstructed using traces of the ground. The remains of offerings left during construction were found in the pits.
It is noteworthy that the sites are among the few in the arid region that offer direct access to drinking water. Which is the rule especially with orcadian menhirs. This possibly served a horticultural tavern on the Neolithic hills. Flint and amphibolite indicate extensive exchange within the Algarve as far as southern Spain.
See also
literature
- Joâo Luís Cardoso: Resultados preliminares das excavaçoes arqueologicas realizadas nos núcleos de Menires de Lavajo I e Lavajo II (Alcoutim) , in: XELB: revista de arqueologia, arte, etnologia e história 4 (2003) 53-68.
- Joao Luís Cardoso, Joao Carlos Caninas, Alexandra Gradim, A. Donascimento Joaquim: Menires do Alto Algarve oriental: Lavajo I e Lavajo II (Alcoutim) , in: Revista portuguesa de arqueologia 5,2 (2002) 99-133 ( online , PDF ).
Web links
supporting documents
- ↑ Lawrence Guy Straus: The Mesolithic of Atlantic Iberia , in: Geoff Bailey, Penny Spikins (Ed.): Mesolithic Europe , Cambridge University Press 2008, pp. 302–327, here: p. 326.