Aitzgain

Aitzgain is a megalithic mound, or tumulus with integral stones, in Oñati, within the Megalithic Station of Orkatzategi in Spain. It stands about 60 metres north of the ironworks at Unión Cerrajera, while Urtapotolueta I, a dolmen, lies 830 metres to the southwest. The mound is situated at an altitude of 740 metres above sea level.

The tumulus has an oval shape, measuring 10 metres north to south and 13 metres east to west. It rises between 0,30-1 metre above the surrounding ground. An oval crater at its centre measures 1x0,60 m across and is 0,25 metres deep, and the mound has an entrance on its eastern side. Several large stones lie on top. It was built using limestone from the surrounding area.

Fidel Alcala, Luis del Barrio and Txomin Ugaldek discovered the site in 1980. No excavation has been carried out. Its dating from 4300 BCE to 1200 BCE is based on a typological estimate rather than excavation evidence.

Monuments of this kind in the Basque Country are generally understood as collective burial mounds without a stone chamber, though some may yet prove to be dolmens. Around 800 dolmens and about 500 mounds are known in the Basque Country. They are often placed in highly visible positions on mountain ridges and built from local materials, with larger examples tending to occur in lowland areas and smaller ones in mountain zones.

Aitzgain is a megalithic mound (tumulus with integral stones) in Oñati, Spain. A typological estimate: 4300 BCE to 1200 BCE. No English Wikipedia article exists for it; the full text below is the Basque article "Aitzgain", shown in the original language.