Anta pintada de Antelas / Dólmen de Antelas

Anta/Dolmen - Neolithic e Neolithic (4018)
The Dolmen or Anta pintada de Antelas is located in the Bouço¿s place, 250m east of the Antelas settlement (Pinheiro, Oliveira de Frades, Viseu). It is situated in the SW slope of the Serra das Talhadas, amidst a pine forest, located in a vast plain surface in the hydrographic basin of the Alfusqueiro, a branch of the Rio Vouga. The dolmen is composed by a mamoa, measuring roughly 20m in diameter and 2.5m tall. It used to have rock coating that covered an eight orthostats chamber, measuring 4.5m in diameter and 2.5m tall. The corridor is composed of nine orthostats (five on the right side, four on the south side), with a total length of 3.5m, quite differentiated from the chamber. The orthostats height varies between 0.9m and 0.3m. On the east side, there is a gap between the corridor and the chamber with roughly 0.15m. The archaeological works revealed the presence of an enveloping reinforcement around the whole structure. An intra-tomb corridor and atrium were identified in the eastern sector. The oval-shaped atrium, measuring roughly 5m in its major axis, was surrounded by a circle of stones. Small hearths and in-situ rock objects were identified, most probably representing offerings or votive deposits. Red and black paintings, along with some engravings, were found in all the chamber¿s orthostats (almost resembling a panel) but were absent from the corridor. This painting can be described as stylized anthropomorphic figurines along with symbols referencing the Sun and the Moon and geometric decorative motifs (serpentine and zigzags, reticulated elements), amongst others. Carbon-14 dating samplings of vegetable coals recovered under the intra-tomb corridor allow to the date the construction of this structure between 3990 and 3700 BC. The results obtained from black painting pigment found in the head slab send us to a construction/adjustment between 3625 and 3140 BC. One cannot exclude the hypothesis that the paintings may have suffered some rekindling and motif expansion during its usage period. Analysis performed to 15 flint artefacts revealed five possible raw material origin areas, showing the complex flint supply lines. Traceology analysis showed that the majority of these artefacts were not used before its discard.

Overview

The Dolmen of Antelas is closed to the public but can be visited with the authorization of the Oliveira de Frades City Council. The Dolmen of Antelas is part of the Viseu Dão Lafões route.

Visit conditions

By booking

Timetables

To be defined by the Oliveira de Frades City Council.

Contacts

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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