Standing Stones Dolmen

Category: Archaeology > Dolmen

District: Faro > Tavira > Mealha > Cerro das Pedras Altas

Location

The Anta das Pedras Altas is situated on a serene hill in the area of Cerro das Pedras Altas, next to the locality of Mealha, in the municipality of Tavira. This elevated position provides a vast perspective over the surrounding landscape, dominated by preserved nature and an environment of profound tranquility. It is a place where the quietness of the countryside predominates, punctuated only by the natural sounds of the surrounding Algarve mountains.

Testimony to the Megalithic Past

This imposing megalithic monument, also known as Anta de Mealha, dates back to the 4th-3rd millennia BC, situating its construction in the late Neolithic or Chalcolithic period. Erected approximately five to six thousand years ago, the Anta das Pedras Altas constitutes a significant remnant of the ancestral civilizations that inhabited this region, originally serving as a burial and funerary worship site.

Structure and Design

The dolmen is characterized by its elongated trapezoidal chamber, formed by twelve large orthostats, or vertical stones, which remain standing. The structure includes a corridor leading to the chamber, with its main entrance oriented towards the east, in accordance with the practices and symbolisms of the time. Although some of its original stones have been moved over the centuries, its peculiar configuration, sometimes described as "pear-shaped," reveals the engineering and ritual significance of the communities that erected it.

An Archaeological Legacy

The importance of the Anta das Pedras Altas was confirmed by archaeological works carried out in the 1970s and 1980s. During these excavations, a valuable collection of artifacts was recovered, which included pieces of chipped, fashioned, and polished stone, such as an adze, as well as necklace beads made of schist and green stones. These findings offer clues about the life and cultural exchanges of the prehistoric populations in the region, even suggesting the possibility of seasonal migrations and an exchange of materials over medium distances, making the site a point of interest for understanding the deep history of the Algarve.

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