dolmans of Antequera viera dolam first

we arrive at the museum Archaeological Dolmens of Antequera. lovely grounds and there are some small trees and shade in the parking lot for us to eat our picnic lunch. its around 34 degrees. I had read that the museum had to limit its height to one storey because if it was too high it would block the view from the menga dolman to the rock formation called Peña de los Enamorados. the museum was very good. had a short film on how these dolmans were constructed. The rock was from a quarry about 1/2 km away according to one of the guides. They moved the uprights. this from a website describing the terminoligy:" This dolmen was built using the 'orthostatic technique', which means constructing a wall from 'planting' large upright stones called orthostats and laying across horizontal capstones to form a roof." They moved the stones on rollers, an entire village of people at least probably more. then once all stones were planted and for the menga dolman once the 3 internal pillars were in place they back filled the entire site. then moved the ceiling stones into place and removed the dirt. again. the internal pillars of the menga dolmans, the largest and oldest did not actually touch the tip. good when there is an earthquake once all the stones were in place they covered the entire structure with cobble stones and dirt. am incredible amount of work.
the menga Dolman ia the oldest around 3500 to 3000 bc or 5500 -5000 yrs ago ( by comparison Mae's howe in orkney is 2800 bc or 4800 yrs ago). its corridor points to the Peña de los Enamorados and at the summer solstice dawn the light illuminates the corridor. this was neolithic farming communities that would have constricted it.
the viega dolman almost next door was built a bit later and is smaller. still neolithic farming community around 3000 bc or 5000 yrs ago. it points to the sunrise on the spring and summer equinox . a time for sowing and harvesting.
the last structure, about 3 km away....we drove is the Tholos de El Romeral. it is later construction 2500 to 2200 bc in the copper age. it points to el torcal a mountain range to the east which we will explore later. this ones construction is circular and much smaller stones. beehive I believe. its corridor also points to the winter solstice .
see this site for even more info: https://www.andalucia.com/antequera/dolmens-de-…Read more