Menires da Herdade dos Perdigões

Cromlech - Neolithic (14573)
The megalithic site of the Perdigões is located about 2km northeast of Reguengos de Monsaraz, east of the Perdigões site (CNS 597), in the transition from a natural amphitheatre to the plains of the Álamo Valley, in a landscape with an expressive presence of megalithic monuments. The six Perdigões menhirs were carved in granite, having about 3.00m - 3.40m in length. The largest menhir (menhir 1), possessing a cylindrical shape, was toppled and fractured in two parts, decorated with a hundred cups and a crosier. Menhir 5 had a stellae shape and more modest dimensions, being associated to a stony structure of rectangular plan, formed by a low fence and paved by schist slabs. This structure might have existed due to the reuse of this monolith. The architectural characteristics of these menhirs, the decorations and their deployment, raise the hypothesis of their construction and use to be framed during the middle Neolithic period (5th millennium BC), in a stage prior to the construction of the first ditch structures of the Perdigões. These megalithic elements have undergone various disturbances and revision during the Chalcolithic (3rd millennium BC).

Overview

The site can be visited by booking. The research team (NIA, Era-Archeology) organizes various outreach activities throughout the year. On the ground floor of the Herdade do Esporão Medieval Tower there is a small interpretive center on the Perdigões, with informative panels and archaeological materials on display.

Visit conditions

By booking

Timetables

Documents

    How to get there? Best practices

    Best practices

    Good practices when visiting archaeological sites

    To visit an archaeological site is to connect with our origins, to understand our path and evolution as a species integrated in the environment, and to respect and safeguard our heritage so that future generations can also visit and enjoy it.

    Walking the paths and enjoying the structures and archaeological pieces that survived over time, fosters the understanding of what is different, but also of what is common among different populations: basically, what identifies us as Homo Sapiens.

    More than just vestiges and ruins of the past, archaeological sites showcase our capacity for creative thought, adaptation, interconnection, comprehension and resilience. Without these traits we would not have been successful as cultural beings participating in an ongoing evolutionary process. These sites also allow to consider choices made in the past thus contributing for decisions in the present to be made with greater awareness and knowledge.

    Archaeological sites are unique and irreplaceable. These sites are fragile resources vulnerable to changes driven by human development. The information they keep, if destroyed, can never be recovered again.

    As such, the Directorate-General for Cultural Heritage (DGPC) invites all visitors to enjoy the beauty and authenticity of these sites, while helping to preserve them for future generations by adopting the following set of good practices:

    • Respect all signs; 
    • Do not try to access fenced areas; 
    • Do not climb, sit or walk on archaeological structures and remains; 
    • Respect areas where archaeological excavations are being carried out, not disturbing them; 
    • Do not collect materials or sediments;
    • Do not write or make graffiti on archaeological structures; 
    • Put the garbage in appropriate containers. If none exist, take the garbage with you until you find a suitable container; 
    • Leave the archaeological site as you found it; 
    • Do not drive bicycles or motor vehicles over archaeological sites; 
    • Respect and protect the plants and animals that live in the areas surrounding archaeological sites;
    • Report signs of vandalism or destruction to DGPC or Regional Directorates of Culture (DRC);
    • Share the visiting experience and the archaeological sites, as a way of raising awareness to their preservation and making them better known;
    • Do not buy archaeological materials and report to public security authorities, DGPC or DRC, if you suspect that archaeological materials may be for sale.

    Further information:

    AIA / ATTA (2013) – Guide to best practices for archaeological tourism. 

    Raposo, J. (2016) – Código de conduta para uma visita responsável a sítios arqueológicos. In Sítios arqueológicos portugueses revisitados: 500 arqueossítios ou conjuntos em condições de fruição pública responsável. Al-madan, 2ª série, p. 20 – 77. 

    DGPC contacts

    Phone: +351213614200 | Email: informacaoarqueologica@dgpc.pt

     


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