Mamoa ou Dolmen da Cerqueira 1/ Pedra Moura 1

Anta/Dolmen - Neolithic (1463)
Also known as Anta or Arca da Cerqueira, Dolmen da Arca da Cerqueira or Dolmen da Casa da Moura. The Dolmen da Pedra da Moura I/Cerqueira 1 is located in the vicinity of the Cerqueira place (Couto de Esteves, Sever do Vouga, Aveiro), in the east side of the Serra do Arestal (one of the elevations that constitutes the Gralheira range) and is integrated in the basin of Vouga River. The materials recovered during the excavations, along with the construction typology and regional parallels, indicate that the monument dates from the late 4th millennium and the first half of the 3rd millennium BC, being eventually reused in later eras. The monument has a chamber, a corridor and a mamoa. The polygonal chamber, with about 3m long, 3.54m wide and 2.18m tall, is composed of nine orthostats. The capstone is still preserved, measuring 3.26m long, 3.76m wide and 0.45m of average thickness. The corridor, facing east and well-differentiated from the chamber, still preserves eleven orthostats (six on the north side and five on the south side), having 4.40m of preserved length. The tumulus possesses a superficial stone cover above the compressed soil that sustains the corridor and chamber, as well as a reinforcement ring around the corridor and the chamber. Two circles and two semi-circles were identified engraved in the head orthostat. This monument is inserted in a necropolis with eleven monuments, from which only eight survived to this day: Mamoa da Cerqueira 2/Pedra Moura 5 CNS 2043; Mamoa da Cerqueira 4/Pedra Moura 3 CNS 2284; Mamoa da Cerqueira 5/Pedra Moura 11 CNS 18485; Mamoa da Cerqueira 6/Pedra Moura 9 CNS 18506; Mamoa da Cerqueira 7/Pedra Moura 10 CNS 18513; Mamoa da Cerqueira 8/Pedra Moura 10 (?) CNS 18523.

Overview

The archaeological site has conditions to visit. Free entrance. It is inserted in the footpath Trilho da Pedra Moura. Presence of explanatory panels on site and explanatory leaflet in digital format. Information available on the website of the Municipality of Sever do Vouga.

Visit conditions

Free entrance with information

Timetables

Contacts

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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