A Chousa Nova

A Chousa Nova, also known as Mámoa de Chousa Nova, is a dolmen in Silleda, in Pontevedra province, Galicia, Spain. The word “Mámoa” is used in north-west of the Iberian Peninsula for the funerary tumuli characteristic of the Neolithic. The site was found and excavated during construction of the Renfe AVE line between Ourense and Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle.

The burial chamber was found intact, still containing its funerary goods, making Chousa Nova the second intact dolmen discovered in north-west of the Iberian Peninsula. It consists of a low earth mound surrounded by an outer ditch and a ring of stones. The chamber is formed by five granite orthostates, with an opening to the east, while another pillar and smaller stones appear to mark an entrance. Its covering slab weighed 2 950 kg and had broken into three pieces.

Carbon-14 tests dated Chousa Nova to around 4350 av. J.-C., placing it among the oldest dolmens in Galicia. Excavation revealed a necklace of 35 beads, some of amber and others of variscite, probably from a vein in Zamora province, which seems to have lain on a human chest. It is the second necklace found in situ in Europe. A hoe lay near the head, a chisel near the hand, and a worn sharpener under the feet.

After excavation, the slabs were stored for nearly two years in a warehouse in Silleda. The monument was then reconstructed under archaeological supervision in its original position. The path crossing part of the mound was moved away, electric poles were relocated, and the area was fenced, marked and made museographic, with explanatory panels. Chousa Nova was declared a Bien d interés cultural in 2011.

A Chousa Nova is a dolmen in Abades, Silleda, Spain. Wikidata describes it as: dolmen in Silleda, Spain. A typological estimate: 4000 BCE to 3000 BCE. No English Wikipedia article exists for it; the full text below is the French article "Mámoa de Chousa Nova", shown in the original language.