Dolmen of Casas do Canal 3

Category: Archaeology > Dolmen

District: Évora > Estremoz > Glória > Casas

Location

Located in a quiet rural area, near the village of Glória, in the municipality of Estremoz, the Anta de Casas do Canal 3 is situated in the area known as Casas. It is set within the Alentejo landscape, in an isolated and natural environment, within a rural property.

Origins and Significance

This monument dates back to the distant Megalithic Period, a prehistoric era thousands of years ago. The Anta de Casas do Canal 3 was built for funerary purposes, serving as a collective burial site for the communities that inhabited this region at that time. Currently, it is recognized as a landmark of historical and cultural value.

The Structure of the Anta

The Anta de Casas do Canal 3, like many monuments of its era, features an elongated polygonal funerary chamber. Originally, this chamber was defined by seven large vertical stones, known as esteios, of which six still stand, approximately 1.40 meters high. The structure also included a shorter access corridor, of which only one esteio remains. In the past, there was a mamoa, an artificial mound of earth and stones that covered and protected the entire anta, but little or nothing of this covering remains today.

License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.pt