Santa Maria Madalena (Alcobertas)
The megalithic chapel Santa Maria Madalena in Alcobertas , near Rio Maior is a Christianized megalithic monument in the west of Portugal . The Anta dates from the Neolithic Age (around 3,000 BC) and was associated with the baroque church in the village of 2,000 inhabitants in the 17th century. The megalithic chapel in Alcobertas is one of the 10 largest on the Iberian Peninsula . In Portugal there are two other chapels of this specific type: in Pavia the chapels of São Dionisio and São Brissos .
The contrast between the white baroque building with the typical blue wall tiles ( azulejos ) and the brown, millennia-old dolmen couldn't be greater. The Anta consists of eight limestone bearing stones on which a huge (later broken) monolith once rested as a capstone. Today the upper part is bricked up and a roof made of the same red tiles as that of the church covers the outer semicircular masonry of the side chapel. The entrance is made up of two pillars with a tiled support arch (from the 17th century) and a roof stone. In the upper part there is a representation of St. Magdalena at prayer. The simple altar leaning against one of the pillars on which a terracotta figure of Holy Ana stands. Next to this is an altar from the 17th century with a picture of St. Magdalena.
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. 119
Web links
- Santa Maria Madalena (Alcobertas) in the Sistema de Informação para o Património Arquitectónico (Portuguese)
- description
- photos
Coordinates: 39 ° 25 ′ 6.5 ″ N , 8 ° 54 ′ 13.1 ″ W.