More than 500 menhirs, some organized in tombs and cromlechs (stone circles such as the famous Stonehenge) have been discovered on the banks of the Guadiana, a few metres from the border with Portugal, and constitute a “unique” site in the Iberian Peninsula.
The discovery was made on a 600-hectare plot in the extreme southwest of Spain, near Ayamonte, on the banks of the Guadiana River, 15 kilometers from the coast, and the first conclusions of the archaeological explorations, which began in 2021, were recently published in the Spanish specialist magazine Trabajos de Prehistoria , in an article signed by six researchers involved in the project.
“This discovery provides new arguments that reinforce the interpretations of Atlantic megalithism as one of the oldest phenomena leading to the transformation and 'anthropization' [transformation of nature by man] of territories” , reads the article.
The oldest cultural elements (built by man) found must date back to the 6th or 5th century BC , according to the same text, which states that most have a “rough look and simple appearance”, that “the fusion between the natural and the anthropic” gives the place “a character of its own” and that “the stone architectures and other manifestations” refer to “different chronological stages”, “monuments with different functions and technical traditions coexist”.
Among these functions would be territorial delimitation, astronomical observation or rituals associated with death and the knowledge and control of the seasons.
For the anthropologists in charge of these works, the Torre – La Janera property, where this discovery was made, “is a unique site in the Iberian Peninsula” .
In statements to Lusa, archaeologist Primitiva Bueno-Ramírez explained that, “to begin with, the importance of the site is due to three aspects, all of them uncommon in the rest of European megalithic sites and even less common in the extreme south west of Europe” .
The “three aspects” are “the quantity” of discoveries, “their magnificent conservation” and “the fact that dolmens (tombs), alignments and cromlechs appear together”, he added.
“Dolmens usually appear to form necropolises and constitute the most common architecture in European megalithic sites. In some places they appear with alignments, as in Carnac, France, or in the area of the Swiss and Italian Alps. In other places, they appear with cromlechs, as in the Portuguese ensemble of Évora [cromlech of Almendres]. In La Janera, megalithic necropolises are associated with alignments and cromlechs” , explained Primitiva Bueno-Ramírez, professor and researcher at the University of Alcalá de Henares.
In parallel, this site “gathers one of the largest numbers of megalithic architecture in proportion to its extent in the whole of Europe”.
The archaeological exploration was carried out at the request of the regional government of Andalusia, which had pending a response to a request from the landowners to set up a plantation for the production of avocados.
As there was already a suspicion of archaeological interest in that area, the Andalusian government asked experts to explore the land before deciding on the avocados and, given the preliminary evidence, put forward a research project, which started in 2021 and should end in 2027. .
“There is still land to be explored” and it is “very possible” that the number of discoveries will increase, Bueno-Ramírez, who is one of the archaeologists responsible for this research project, told Lusa.
This team includes specialists and researchers from the Spanish universities of Alcalá, Huelva, Córdoba, Seville, Granada, Cantabria and Complutense; the Spanish agency dedicated to science CSIC (Conselho Superior de Investigaciones Científicas); from the University of Tubingen, Germany; and the University of Algarve, in Portugal.
Source Lusa
