dolmen de La Lastra

The dolmen lies north-west of the village of Salcedo and about 800 metres south-west of the Dolmen de La Mina at Molinilla, with no line of sight between the two. La Mina and La Lastra form an exact north-south alignment, 0º-180º. A salt-carriers' track from Lake Arreo passes 80 metres to the east, and the old Roman road from Astorga to Bordeaux passes 75 metres to the south.

The present appearance of the megalith is the result of poor conservation. It stands in a cultivated field that has been ploughed more than once, so that since its discovery hardly any mound has been discernible. In 1958 the archaeologists José Miguel de Barandiarán and Domingo Fernández Medrano described a barely noticeable cairn. Of the chamber, which then had no cover, only four sandstone slabs remained upright and a fifth lay on the ground beside them. These elements did not complete the enclosure but outlined its polygonal shape and probable dimensions.

In 1979 José Ignacio Vegas Aramburu noted that only 3 slabs remained standing. In 2012 it was confirmed that three of the four slabs are still upright, and that many large fallen slabs lie in the area. The dolmen has traditionally been considered a simple dolmen, but the quantity of fallen slabs around the chamber, and their orientation, could indicate the existence of a passage. No remains of the tumulus are visible, though later geophysical studies have revealed stone structures in the subsoil forming an oval.

The dimensions are a length of two metres and a width of 1.90. Nine slabs can be seen; apart from the three that remain upright, the rest are loose and lying flat.