Portela de Mogos
The cromlech of Portela de Mogos (also dos Mogos) is one of several large stone monuments of the megalithic culture in the Évora district in the Alentejo region in the southeast of present-day Portugal .
location
The stone circle is located on a hilltop about 20 km (driving distance) northwest of the city of Évora at an altitude of about 350 m . The stone circle of Vale Maria do Meio is about 2 km northeast and the much larger and more famous Cromlech of Dos Almendres is about 10 km southwest. The menhirs of San Sebastião are also nearby.
history
The cromlech, only approx. 15 × 12 m in size, was created in the transition period from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age , ie in the period around 3500 to 4000 BC. It was discovered in 1996 in a wood near Almendres and has been slightly restored since then.
Stones
During the excavations carried out in 1995/96 it was found that six of the 40 mostly oval or bulbous stones have flat engravings, especially of faces, and are therefore to be counted among the statue menhirs . 21 large stones stand upright and 15 form a semicircle facing west. The remaining six, including the largest, are in front of the semicircle; 19 others, which, like Almendres' could have belonged to an oval circle, are lying on the floor.
Engravings
The engraved menhirs are predominantly viewed as female, as some pairs of round representations are interpreted as breasts. The stylized faces are framed by semicircles, which have been interpreted as lunulae .
Others
New excavations show the reuse (perhaps as a necropolis ) of the cromlech and the menhir pair of S. Sebastião 1. Numerous ceramic shards (small, mostly wedge-shaped bowls) that can be dated to the early Bronze Age were found in both places .
See also
literature
- J. Cardoso, A. Carvalhosa, J. Pais: Cromeleque de Portela de Mogos (Concelho de Évora) - estudos geoarqueológicos e paleobotânicos. A Cidade de Évora, II Série, n.º 4, et al., Évora 2000, pp. 35-55.
- Ana Palma dos Santos: Monumentos megalíticos do Alto Alentejo . Lisbon 1994, ISBN 972-918416-X .
- 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. 162
Web links
- Portela de Mogos, Statue menhir - Photos and information (English)
- Portela de Mogos - Photos + Info (Megalithic Portal, English)
Coordinates: 38 ° 37 '35 " N , 8 ° 1' 32" W.