Menhir de Santa Margarida

Menhir de Santa Margarida is a standing stone in the freguesia of Corval, within the municipality of Reguengos de Monsaraz in the District of Évora, Portugal. It stands beside the municipal road linking Monsaraz to San Pedro do Corval, about 5 km from the latter place. The site is classified as a national monument and an Immeuble d'intérêt public (Catégorie IIP) since 1992.

The menhir is a thick monolith of medium-grained granite, about 3,20 m high above ground level. Its shape is rough, with a very broad base compared with its summit. Tooling marks are visible near the top. The better-preserved north and west sides carry twenty-five scattered hollows, while the south side retains traces of ornamentation, including a raised “baton” motif.

The standing stone is dated by typological estimate to 2800 BCE to 1800 BCE. No particular ancient use, burial association, legend, or later historical connection is stated for this site. Its recorded history includes its classification as a national monument and an Immeuble d'intérêt public (Catégorie IIP) since 1992.

Standing stones of this western European megalithic type are relatively unusual in Spain compared with dolmens, but are common in the northern half of the country, especially in the Basque Country, Navarre, northern Burgos and Palencia, Cantabria, and the Pyrenees. Such monuments usually stand alone or in small groups called cromlechs, often on elevated ground, and are not usually associated with burials. Portugal has its greatest concentration in the Alentejo.

Menhir de Santa Margarida is a menhir (standing stone) in Reguengos de Monsaraz, Spain. A typological estimate: 2800 BCE to 1800 BCE. No English Wikipedia article exists for it; the full text below is the French article "Menhir de Santa Margarida", shown in the original language.