The Cueva de Menga, or Dolmen of Menga is a megalithic burial mound, barrows or dolmen, dating from the 3rd millennium BCE. It is placed at the surroundings of Antequera, Spain.
It is considered to be the largest such structure in Europe. It is twenty-five metres deep, five metres wide and four metres high, and was built with thirty-two megaliths, the largest weighing about 180 tonnes. After completion of the chamber (which probably served as a grave for the ruling families) and the path leading into the center, the stone structure was covered with earth and built up into the hill that can be seen today. When the grave was opened and examined in the 19th century, archaeologists found the skeletons of several hundred people inside.
The dolmen is located only 70 metres (230 ft) from the Dolmen de Viera[1] and about 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) of another subterranean structure known as Tholos de El Romeral.[2]
Notes
- ^ Dólmenes de Antequera, nuevaacropolismalaga.org. Accessed online 2010-01-23.
- ^ Conjunto Arqueológico Dólmenes de Antequera, Consejería de Cultura, Junta de Andalucía. Accessed online 2010-01-23.
See also
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Coordinates: 37°01′28.51″N 4°32′46.65″W / 37.0245861°N 4.5462917°W
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