Ancient site · Tomb
Dolmen of Menga
The Dolmen of Menga near Antequera in southern Spain is one of the largest stone tombs in Europe. Builders used 32 huge stone blocks, the biggest weighing about 180 tonnes, to make a long chamber, then covered it with earth to form a hill.
When it was opened in the 19th century, it held the skeletons of several hundred people. Unusually, its entrance faces a nearby mountain, the Peña de los Enamorados, rather than the sunrise. It is part of the Antequera Dolmens World Heritage Site.
- Dates
- built c. 3750–3650 BCE
- Still standing
- Yes
- UNESCO World Heritage
- Yes
- Location
- 37.02° N, 4.55° W
How we know
No writing existed; its age comes from excavation and dating of the site.
Nearby sites
- Los Millares c. 3000–2000 BCE
- El Argar c. 2200–1500 BCE
- Atlantis (legend) Plato (c. 360 BCE) set it c. 9600 BCE
- Pont du Gard 1st century CE; used perhaps until the 6th century
- Carnac stones c. 4500–3300 BCE
- Su Nuraxi di Barumini tower 17th–13th century BCE; village to the 6th century BCE
Related
- Atlantic megalith builders archaeological culture