Praia Das Maçãs Prehistoric Monument
The artificial cave was probably dug into the rock in the second half of the 4th millennium BC or early in the 3rd. The tholos was added later. The site is seen as a good example of the practice of re-appropriation of symbolic locations, resulting in funeral practices of two different eras coexisting in the same space. After discovery of the site by an agricultural worker in 1927 there were limited excavations by the National Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology but little work on the necropolis was really carried out until archaeologists Vera Leisner, Georges Zbyszewski and Octávio da Veiga Ferreira excavated it, starting in 1969, after having seen items discovered unofficially by a private collector in the 1930s. Further work by Sintra Council was carried out in 1981.
The Neolithic cave has a diameter of around 2 m (6 ft 7 in) and was originally covered with stone supports. The later tholos was composed of a circular chamber with a diameter of approximately 5.5 m (18 ft). Walls were constructed with limestone slabs placed horizontally. A pillar was raised in the centre to support a dome. An access corridor, about 3.5 m (11 ft) long, connected the chamber to a 2-metre-wide atrium. Items found at the site have included geometric microliths, arrowheads, polished axes, and cylindrical idols. These have been preserved at the National Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology in Lisbon, and the Regional Museum of Sintra.
External links
References
- ^ "Monumento Pré-Histórico da Praia das Maçãs". Historia de Portugal. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
- ^ "Monumento pré-histórico da Praia das Maçãs vai ser musealizado". Publico. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
- ^ "Monumento funerário da Praia das Maçãs já tem zona de protecção". Jornal i. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
- ^ "Tholos da Praia das Maçãs". Visitar Portugal. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
- ^ "Megalitismo na região de Lisboa: Tholos da Praia das Maçãs e Sítio do Monte das Pedras". Academia. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
- ^ Martins, A. "Monumento pré-histórico da Praia das Maçãs". Patrimonio Cultural. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
- ^ "Monumento pré-histórico da Praia das Maçãs". Sistema de Informação para o Património Arquitetónico: SIPA. Retrieved 12 March 2019.