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<< Our Photo Pages >> Dolmen de Guadalperal - Burial Chamber or Dolmen in Spain in Extremadura

Submitted by TheCaptain on Sunday, 28 August 2022  Page Views: 7564

Neolithic and Bronze AgeSite Name: Dolmen de Guadalperal
Country: Spain
NOTE: This site is 3.712 km away from the location you searched for.
Region: Extremadura Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen
Nearest Town: Caceres  Nearest Village: El Gordo
Latitude: 39.832500N  Longitude: 5.4099W
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
 3 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
 1 Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
 1 Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
 4

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Dolmen de Guadalperal
Dolmen de Guadalperal submitted by dodomad : "The Guadalperal Dolmen, the 'Spanish Stonehenge' that appeared after the extreme drought." Forgiving the cheesy SH cliché this is really interesting. English translation of article in the comments on our main page Photo Credit: National Geographic Spain (Vote or comment on this photo)
A burial chamber in the community of El Gordo, Extremadura, Spain. One of the major megalithic monuments of the Iberian Peninsula, it has been submerged in a reservoir for nearly six decades. The monument disappeared in 1963 under the water of the Valdecañas reservoir — a hydraulic structure in western Spain built under Franco’s regime.

Consisting of 93 menhirs, some call the monument the “Spanish Stonehenge” although prehistory professor Primitiva Bueno Ramírez told Euronews that it’s a different construction to the iconic English monument. [you don't say! - MegP Ed]

Note: Guadalperal Dolmen reappears after the recent extreme drought, more in the comments on our page
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Dolmen de Guadalperal
Dolmen de Guadalperal submitted by dodomad : Dolmen de Guadalperal. Photo credit: Angel Castaño (Vote or comment on this photo)

Dolmen de Guadalperal
Dolmen de Guadalperal submitted by dodomad : Dolmen de Guadalperal Photo from Google (Vote or comment on this photo)

Dolmen de Guadalperal
Dolmen de Guadalperal submitted by dodomad (Vote or comment on this photo)

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Nearby Images from Flickr
Dolmen Guadalperal
Dolmen Guadalperal
Dolmen Guadalperal

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Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
 6.8km WSW 245° Los Mármoles Ancient Village or Settlement
 8.2km SW 229° Los Labranos Burial Chamber or Dolmen
 8.3km SW 229° El Alisar Burial Chamber or Dolmen
 8.3km SW 228° El Gambute Burial Chamber or Dolmen
 8.3km SW 230° Las Murcias Burial Chamber or Dolmen
 8.3km SW 229° Dolmen de Ibor Burial Chamber or Dolmen
 8.4km SW 229° El Horquillo Burial Chamber or Dolmen
 10.8km WSW 250° Los Pibores Burial Chamber or Dolmen
 16.7km SE 140° Las Talayuelas 2 Burial Chamber or Dolmen
 16.8km SE 140° Las Talayuelas 1 Burial Chamber or Dolmen
 16.8km SE 140° El Tesoro Burial Chamber or Dolmen
 22.1km NW 313° Cerro del Puchero Burial Chamber or Dolmen
 22.1km NW 313° Las Lomas Burial Chamber or Dolmen
 22.3km W 261° La Cueva dolmen Burial Chamber or Dolmen
 23.1km ESE 104° Azután dolmen* Burial Chamber or Dolmen
 30.5km SE 127° La Estrella* Burial Chamber or Dolmen
 32.2km N 349° Vega del Nino Burial Chamber or Dolmen
 32.3km NNW 349° Cruz del Pobre Burial Chamber or Dolmen
 33.4km NNW 344° Cerro del Tejar Burial Chamber or Dolmen
 35.2km NW 308° Dolmen de Lamoina* Passage Grave
 35.5km NNW 333° Losar de la Vera Burial Chamber or Dolmen
 36.4km NW 307° El Canchal 1 Burial Chamber or Dolmen
 37.6km NW 310° El Canchal 17 Burial Chamber or Dolmen
 37.6km NW 310° El Canchal 18 Burial Chamber or Dolmen
 37.6km NW 310° El Canchal 13 Burial Chamber or Dolmen
View more nearby sites and additional images

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The Archaeology of Death and Burial, Parker Pearson

The Archaeology of Death and Burial, Parker Pearson

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"Dolmen de Guadalperal" | Login/Create an Account | 8 News and Comments
  
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Dolmen de Guadalperal after extreme drought by Andy B on Sunday, 28 August 2022
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From National Geographic Spain: "The Guadalperal Dolmen, the 'Spanish Stonehenge' that appeared after the extreme drought."
(forgiving the cheesy SH cliché this is really interesting)
English translation of article:

https://www-ngenespanol-com.translate.goog/historia/dolmen-de-guadalperal-el-yacimiento-neolitico-encontrado-en-espana/?_x_tr_sl=es&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US&_x_tr_pto=wapp
[ Reply to This ]

Re: Dolmen de Guadalperal by davidmorgan on Thursday, 18 August 2022
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In The Independent - ‘Spanish Stonehenge’ emerges from drought-hit dam.

It currently sits fully exposed in one corner of the Valdecanas reservoir, in the central province of Caceres, where authorities say the water level has dropped to 28% of capacity.
[ Reply to This ]

Re: Dolmen de Guadalperal change.org petition by Andy B on Thursday, 31 October 2019
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A change.org petition is collecting signatures calling for the monument to be moved/saved, if you want to lend your support go here
https://www.change.org/p/ministerio-de-cultura-de-espa%C3%B1a-salvar-el-dolmen-de-guadalperal-antes-de-que-sea-demasiado-tarde

and another news report here
https://earthsky.org/human-world/drought-reveals-spanish-stonehenge-dolmen-guadalperal
[ Reply to This ]

Drought reveals long lost 'Spanish Stonehenge' in Extremadura reservoir by davidmorgan on Friday, 06 September 2019
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This year's drought may be a nightmare for farmers, but for archaeology buffs it has an unexpected silver lining.

As waters in a reservoir outside Peraleda de la Mata in Cáceres receded, a circle of megalithic standing stones emerged from the deep.

The stones, that date from the second and third millennium BC, form the site of a sun temple on the banks of the River Tagus and were last seen by locals six decades ago before the area was flooded during the Franco-era to create a reservoir.

Excited locals have been making trips out to view the stones that had formed a part of local legend.

“We grew up hearing about the legend of the treasure hidden beneath the lake and now we finally get to view them,” Angel Castaño told the Local.

“There certainly may have been treasures buried beneath the stones once upon a time, but for us now, the treasures are the stones themselves.”

Now, he is leading the race against time to preserve the site before the rains come.

The collection of 144 stones, some of which reach two metres high and have engravings of serpents, are arranged in circles, but like Stonehenge, it is unclear exactly who put them there and for what purpose.

“The site would have been created over thousands of years, using granite transported from kilometres away,” explained Castaño, who is part of the Raíces de Peralêda cultural association fighting to save the stones.

“Like Stonehenge, they formed a sun temple and burial ground. They seemed to have a religious but also economic purpose, being at one of the few points of the river where it was possible to cross, so it was a sort of trading hub.”

The stones began to emerge from the receding waters earlier this summer and now stand on dry land, for now.

“We have had no rain this summer, so the drought but also a policy of extracting water to send to Portugal has combined to lower the water table and reveal the stones. But that can all change very quickly.”

Castaño is leading a group of local residents campaigning to move the stones to a site on dry land before the waters rise again and they are lost.

“If we miss this chance it could be years before they are revealed again,” he explained. “And the stones, which are granite and therefore porous, are already showing signs of erosion and cracking, so if we don't act now it could be too late.”

He hopes that the regional government of Extremadura will step in to move the stones within weeks to a nearby site, that can then put the zone on the tourist map.

“There are already lots of reasons to come to this part of Spain but there is very little tourism,” Castaño said. “This could be the kick start that the region needs to bring tourism to the area.”

The Romans were the first to value the site which was then left neglected until Hugo Obermaier, a German priest and archaeologist enthusiast visited it in the 1920s.

He excavated the site and took whatever treasures could be moved back to Germany where they are displayed in a museum in Munich.

But the stones themselves were left in situ and disappeared beneath a reservoir when a dam was built in 1963.

“It isn't a difficult thing to move them, we have machinery now to do that,” said Castaño. “Let's just hope that there is the political will to save them while we can.”

Source: http://www.thelocal.es
[ Reply to This ]

Exceptional drought uncovers 5,000-year-old Dolmen de Guadalperal by Andy B on Monday, 02 September 2019
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An extraordinary drought has rescued from oblivion the Dolmen de Guadalperal — one of the major megalithic monuments of the Iberian Peninsula, which has been submerged in a swamp for nearly six decades.

The monument disappeared in 1963 under the water of the Valdecañas reservoir — a hydraulic structure in western Spain built under Franco’s regime.

Consisting of 93 menhirs, some call the monument the “Spanish Stonehenge” although prehistory professor Primitiva Bueno Ramírez told Euronews that it’s a different construction to the iconic English monument.

https://www.euronews.com/2019/08/28/spanish-stonehenge-exceptional-drought-uncovers-5-000-year-old-dolmen-de-guadalperal
[ Reply to This ]

Re: Dolmen de Guadalperal by TheCaptain on Sunday, 01 September 2019
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"Spanish Stonehenge"! A further news story in the Current Bun
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