Dolmen de Viera
Encyclopedia
The Dolmen de Viera or Dolmen de los Hermanos Viera is a dolmen
—a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb—located in Antequera
, province
of Málaga, Andalusia
, Spain
. It is located only 70 metres (229.7 ft) from the Dolmen de Menga and about 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) of another structure known as Tholos de El Romeral. It was discovered between 1903 and 1905 by brothers Antonio and José Viera from Antequera, who also discovered El Romeral.
Like the Dolmen de Menga, it is built with an orthostatic technique: large stones standing upright. It consists of a long corridor formed by twenty-seven stones, leading to a rectangular chamber. This is presumed to be a burial chamber, although only silica and bone tools and ceramics were discovered there. The burial chamber has different dimensions than the corridor: a little over 200 centimetres (78.7 in) high and 180 centimetres (70.9 in) wide, while the corridor is 185 centimetres (72.8 in) high and ranges from 130 centimetres (51.2 in) wide at the entrance to 160 centimetres (63 in) where it meets up with the chamber. The corridor is a bit over 21 metres (68.9 ft) long. The stones range from 20 centimetres (7.9 in) to 50 centimetres (19.7 in) in thickness.
The dolmen is covered by a mound or tumulus 50 metres (164 ft) in diameter. Like most Iberian
tombs, it is oriented slightly south of east (96º), situated precisely so that at the summer solstice
s the sunlight at daybreak illuminates the burial chamber.
The left and right sides of the corridor appear to have consisted originally of sixteen slabs each; fourteen remain on the left and 15 on the right. Five larger slabs are intact in the roof, and there are fragments of two others; it would appear that three or four more have been entirely lost. The end of the corridor is a single large monolith
with a square hole near its center. This and three other monoliths surround the chamber There is a notable difference between the stones of the sides and those of the roof: the former are much more carefully worked and fit perfectly into the recesses made in the stones of the entrance and the floor.
The Dolmen de Viera was built in the Copper Age
, over 4,000 years ago in the third millennium BCE; the precise date of its construction is uncertain. It has had the status of a Monumento nacional since 1923.
The site is owned by the Council of Culture of the Andalusian Autonomous Government
, who manage it as part of the Conjunto Arqueológico Dólmenes de Antequera. The dolmen was restored recently, and is open for visits by the public.
Dolmen
A dolmen—also known as a portal tomb, portal grave, dolmain , cromlech , anta , Hünengrab/Hünenbett , Adamra , Ispun , Hunebed , dös , goindol or quoit—is a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb, usually consisting of...
—a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb—located in Antequera
Antequera
Antequera is a city and municipality in the province of Málaga, part of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia. It is known as "the heart of Andalusia" because of its central location among Málaga, Granada, Córdoba, and Seville...
, province
Provinces of Spain
Spain and its autonomous communities are divided into fifty provinces .In other languages of Spain:*Catalan/Valencian , sing. província.*Galician , sing. provincia.*Basque |Galicia]] — are not also the capitals of provinces...
of Málaga, Andalusia
Andalusia
Andalusia is the most populous and the second largest in area of the autonomous communities of Spain. The Andalusian autonomous community is officially recognised as a nationality of Spain. The territory is divided into eight provinces: Huelva, Seville, Cádiz, Córdoba, Málaga, Jaén, Granada and...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. It is located only 70 metres (229.7 ft) from the Dolmen de Menga and about 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) of another structure known as Tholos de El Romeral. It was discovered between 1903 and 1905 by brothers Antonio and José Viera from Antequera, who also discovered El Romeral.
Like the Dolmen de Menga, it is built with an orthostatic technique: large stones standing upright. It consists of a long corridor formed by twenty-seven stones, leading to a rectangular chamber. This is presumed to be a burial chamber, although only silica and bone tools and ceramics were discovered there. The burial chamber has different dimensions than the corridor: a little over 200 centimetres (78.7 in) high and 180 centimetres (70.9 in) wide, while the corridor is 185 centimetres (72.8 in) high and ranges from 130 centimetres (51.2 in) wide at the entrance to 160 centimetres (63 in) where it meets up with the chamber. The corridor is a bit over 21 metres (68.9 ft) long. The stones range from 20 centimetres (7.9 in) to 50 centimetres (19.7 in) in thickness.
The dolmen is covered by a mound or tumulus 50 metres (164 ft) in diameter. Like most Iberian
Iberians
The Iberians were a set of peoples that Greek and Roman sources identified with that name in the eastern and southern coasts of the Iberian peninsula at least from the 6th century BC...
tombs, it is oriented slightly south of east (96º), situated precisely so that at the summer solstice
Solstice
A solstice is an astronomical event that happens twice each year when the Sun's apparent position in the sky, as viewed from Earth, reaches its northernmost or southernmost extremes...
s the sunlight at daybreak illuminates the burial chamber.
The left and right sides of the corridor appear to have consisted originally of sixteen slabs each; fourteen remain on the left and 15 on the right. Five larger slabs are intact in the roof, and there are fragments of two others; it would appear that three or four more have been entirely lost. The end of the corridor is a single large monolith
Monolith
A monolith is a geological feature such as a mountain, consisting of a single massive stone or rock, or a single piece of rock placed as, or within, a monument...
with a square hole near its center. This and three other monoliths surround the chamber There is a notable difference between the stones of the sides and those of the roof: the former are much more carefully worked and fit perfectly into the recesses made in the stones of the entrance and the floor.
The Dolmen de Viera was built in the Copper Age
Copper Age
The Chalcolithic |stone]]") period or Copper Age, also known as the Eneolithic/Æneolithic , is a phase of the Bronze Age in which the addition of tin to copper to form bronze during smelting remained yet unknown by the metallurgists of the times...
, over 4,000 years ago in the third millennium BCE; the precise date of its construction is uncertain. It has had the status of a Monumento nacional since 1923.
The site is owned by the Council of Culture of the Andalusian Autonomous Government
Andalusian Autonomous Government
The Andalusian Autonomous Government is the regional government body of Andalusia, one of the 17 autonomous communities which make up Spain...
, who manage it as part of the Conjunto Arqueológico Dólmenes de Antequera. The dolmen was restored recently, and is open for visits by the public.