Alapraia necropolis
Coordinates: 38 ° 42 ′ 23 " N , 9 ° 22 ′ 38" W.
The necropolis of Alapraia consists of four rock-domed tombs, some of which are located under the houses at a fountain square in the eponymous place west of Lisbon in Portugal . All four monuments of the necropolis are artificial caves (Grutas artificiais) carved out of the natural rock ( limestone ).
description
Gruta 1 ( German "Cave 1" ) is 19 m long and is the largest facility, which the geologist F. de Paula e Oliveira described as early as 1889. The chamber, which is round and spherical at the bottom, has a diameter of 6.2 m and a height of 2.8 m in the middle. The facility, which has recently been used as a stable, has undergone some changes. The slab ceiling and the square entrance are conversions. The original entrance was smaller and round, as can be seen. Gruta 1 stands free and is surrounded by a higher wall.
The remaining three plants were excavated by E. Jalhay and A. do Paço (Gruta II in 1932, Gruta III in 1942 and Gruta IV in 1943).
Gruta II has a total length of 9 m, the oval chamber has a diameter of 4.4 m by 4.2 m and an average height in the middle of 2.2 m. The long antechamber has bulged sides.
The total length of Gruta III is unknown as the passage area has been removed. The round chamber has a diameter of 6.20 m and an average height of 2.40 m.
Gruta IV is about 11 m long, the diameter of the slightly oval chamber is 4.35 m. In the middle it is 2.4 m high.
Found material
The excavations of Gruta II produced a rich inventory. In addition to numerous finds from the bell beaker culture (second half of the 3rd millennium BC to first half of the 2nd millennium), older ceramics from the Copper Age were also found; including cylindrical vessels decorated with a smooth pattern, hatchets, flint and pearls. Among the 18 idols are cylindrical limestone idols , a lunar and, as a special feature, the replicas of two sandal soles. On the basis of the finds, Gruta IV can only be assigned to the bell beaker horizon, although older material may have been cleared out. The inventory of Gruta I was no longer available in 1889. Gruta III has to be excavated more completely because of the house above. It was largely filled with modern debris. The finds are in Cascais ( Museu Condes de Castro Guimaräes ).
literature
- 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. 144
- A. do Paço: As sandalias de Alapraia. In: Corona de estudios qué la Sociedad Española de Antropología, Etnografía y Prehistoria dedica a sus mártires. Vol 1, 1941, ZDB ID 987663-7 .
- Georg Leisner , Vera Leisner : The megalithic tombs of the Iberian Peninsula . Delivery 3: The West . de Gruyter, Berlin a. a. 1965, p. 91 ff. ( Madrid Research 1, ISSN 0418-9736 ).