Anta do Tapadão da Relva
DatedEst. 4000–3000 BCE
No licensed photograph yetWe have no photograph we may publish for this site, so the interpretive 3D view leads instead.
Overview
About this site
Overview
The Anta do Tapadão da Relva is a megalithic tomb just under 9 km west of Castelo de Vide, in the parish of São João Baptista, municipality of Castelo de Vide, district of Portalegre, in the north-eastern Alentejo, Portugal.
On the basis of its construction features it is dated from the Late Neolithic to the Chalcolithic (3500–2000 BCE). About 4 m of its east-facing corridor survive in part.
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Where it sits in time
The site's dated range, placed against world reference points.
The scale is logarithmic: each step to the left is about ten times older than the last.
Article
Anta do Tapadão da Relva
The elongated polygonal burial chamber is formed by seven granite orthostats, of which four are still preserved in situ.
DescriptionSources for this section
- Wikipedia (German): Anta do Tapadão da RelvaCC BY-SA 4.0
Sources for this section
- Wikipedia (German): Anta do Tapadão da RelvaCC BY-SA 4.0
The elongated polygonal burial chamber is formed by seven granite orthostats, of which four are still preserved in situ. The capstone, although heavily damaged, is still present and rests on orthostats 4, 5 and 7.
The corridor, about 4 m long, opens to the east. Four stones of its north side and two of its south side survive. One cover stone of the passage still rests at the entrance to the chamber, and another cover stone of the corridor has collapsed. The observations made so far point to a former mound (mámoa) over the grave.
DatingSources for this section
- Wikipedia (German): Anta do Tapadão da RelvaCC BY-SA 4.0
Sources for this section
- Wikipedia (German): Anta do Tapadão da RelvaCC BY-SA 4.0
On the basis of its construction features the anta is dated to the period from the Late Neolithic to the Chalcolithic (3500–2000 BCE). No information exists on any finds from the survey.
Research historySources for this section
- Wikipedia (German): Anta do Tapadão da RelvaCC BY-SA 4.0
Sources for this section
- Wikipedia (German): Anta do Tapadão da RelvaCC BY-SA 4.0
The anta was first published in 1975 and catalogued again in 1986 during a survey. First restoration and conservation work was carried out in 2003, after the site had already been classified as an Imóvel de Interesse Público and placed under protection in 1997. A more extensive archaeological investigation has not yet taken place.
Tradition and region
About this kind of monument
Portuguese antas of the Alentejo
Around Évora, in the Alentejo, megalithic tombs are called antas, and some of the largest in Iberia stand here. The Great Dolmen of Zambujeiro, near Valverde in the municipality of Évora, is considered one of the biggest such structures in Iberia. Research has dated it to between 4000 and 3000 BCE, concurrent with the megalithic building of the Évora region, and it is linked to the Great Dolmen of Comenda da Igreja at Montemor-o-Novo. Henrique Leonor Pina excavated it in 1965, and although his methods caused some controversy, the work recovered slate tablets, necklaces, crosiers, copper objects, ceramics and carinated bowls. The Portuguese government declared it a national monument in 1971.
The finds show that the tombs were used for generations: slate tablets, personal ornaments and copper objects in the chambers reach into the Chalcolithic, so one anta can carry evidence for several centuries of burial custom. Excavated anta chambers are the main source for dating, since the stones themselves cannot be dated.
Nearby, the Almendres Cromlech is a large group of standing stones, a reminder that the Alentejo's megalithic landscape also includes open-air stone enclosures and single menhirs, not only tombs.
The Atlas's records here include small antas, some reduced to a few standing slabs, and many lack a secure excavation date. They are labelled with a typological range.
When visiting, look for the chamber and the passage that leads to it, and for the way the monument sits in its field. Check access in advance.
Paraphrased from Wikipedia: Great Dolmen of Zambujeiro, Wikipedia: Great Dolmen of Comenda da Igreja, Wikipedia: Almendres Cromlech, Wikipedia: Dolmen · CC BY-SA 4.0
From the article
Dated moments in the story
- 2000 BCE
Anhand ihrer Konstruktionsmerkmale wird die Anta in den Zeitraum vom Endneolithikum bis in die Kupfersteinzeit (3500–2000 v. Chr.) datiert.
Source - 1975
Die Anta wurde erstmals 1975 publiziert und 1986 im Rahmen einer Prospektion erneut katalogisiert.
Source - 2003
2003 wurden erste Restaurierungs- und Konservierungsarbeiten durchgeführt, nachdem die Anlage bereits 1997 als IIP – Imóvel de Interesse Público klassifiziert und unter Schutz gestellt worden war.
Source
See it in 3D
An interpretive reconstruction of the monument, standing on the real ground at its exact point, under the sun for that place and season. Drag to look around it.
The reconstruction is ours, not a survey: it shows what a monument of this type looks like, at the size the record gives for this one.
Lore
Evidence & Lore
What the sources actually support — and, kept apart, what has been claimed.
What the evidence supports
Dates
Est. 4000–3000 BCEHow this date was established: Type comparisonTypical range for dolmens in Portugal; this site has not been dated itself. Most dolmens date from the Late Neolithic period (4000-3000 BCE); megalithic tombs at Algarve in Portugal date to c. 2500 BC.Source for this date
Where it stands
Portugal
The pin marks the monument itself — its exact point.
- Coordinates
- 39°23′35″ N, 7°33′18″ WFor a GPS or map app: 39.39302, -7.55501
Access is as our sources describe it; we have not visited the site to check.
Nearby
The closest sites in the Atlas, by straight line.
- DolmenAnta da Fonte de Mouratão4000–3000 BCE
- DolmenAntas da Coutada de Alcogulo4000–3000 BCE
Anta da Nave do Grou4000–3000 BCE- DolmenAnta do Alcogulo II4000–3000 BCE
- DolmenAnta do Alcogulo III4000–3000 BCE
- DolmenAnta da Melriça4000–3000 BCE
- DolmenAnta dos Currais do Galhordas4000–3000 BCE
- DolmenAnta dos Coureleiros I4000–3000 BCE
Sources
Every record behind this page, with the link it came from.
2 sources behind this page
- 01Wikidata Q66814537wikidata.org
- 02Source for this dateen.wikipedia.org
Report a correctionWrong date, name, photograph or source? Tell us and it will be put right.
Around this place
The ten nearest sites, by compass
- Anta da Fonte de Mouratão2.5 km NW
- Antas da Coutada de Alcogulo5.2 km NE
- Anta da Nave do Grou5.6 km E
- Anta do Alcogulo II5.7 km NE
- Anta do Alcogulo III5.8 km NE
- Anta da Melriça6.4 km NE
- Anta dos Currais do Galhordas8.7 km N
- Anta dos Coureleiros I9.1 km NE
- Anta dos Coureleiros IV9.1 km NE
- Anta das Tapadas de Pedro Álvaro9.2 km NE
Credit
Text, licence and sources
Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Anta do Tapadão da Relva" (German), licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; authors are listed in the page history. Reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read on Wikipedia · Edit history and authors