Vidigueira Dolmen

Category: Archaeology > Dolmen

District: Évora > Redondo > Redondo > Quinta da Vidigueira

Location

- Situated southwest of Freixo, in the municipality of Redondo, district of Évora, Alentejo, Portugal.

Construction Period

- Probable date between the Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods, around the end of the fourth millennium BC to the first half of the third millennium BC.

Classification

- Classified as a National Monument since 1910.

Structure

- Composed of a polygonal chamber with seven granite pillars, each approximately 2.2 meters high.

- The entrance corridor is about four meters long, with four original pillars still visible.

- The burial chamber has a diameter of about three meters.

- Remains of an earth and stone tomb approximately eight meters in diameter.

Artifacts Found

- Discoveries of pottery, flint blades, and arrowheads.

- Four arrowheads in the corridor, made of flint and white quartz.

- Schist necklace beads.

- Pottery from the Roman occupation in Portugal.

Discovery and Study

- First identified by Gabriel Pereira in 1879.

- Referenced in 1883 by Possidónio da Silva.

- Drawn and documented by German archaeologists Georg and Vera Leisner in 1945.

- Formal excavations carried out in 2008 by Rui Mataloto with archaeology students.

Historical Significance

- Represents a typical example of the megalithic monuments of the Alentejo region.

- It is one of about 50 dolmens identified in the municipality of Redondo, with 30 located near Freixo.

Sources: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anta_da_Vidigueira