<< Our Photo Pages >> Menir da Meada - Standing Stone (Menhir) in Portugal in Portalegre
Submitted by cmariasousa on Sunday, 14 August 2005 Page Views: 14615
Neolithic and Bronze AgeSite Name: Menir da MeadaCountry: Portugal Distrito: Portalegre Type: Standing Stone (Menhir)
Nearest Town: Castelo de Vide Nearest Village: Póvoa e Meadas
Latitude: 39.495990N Longitude: 7.4457W
Condition:
5 | Perfect |
4 | Almost Perfect |
3 | Reasonable but with some damage |
2 | Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site |
1 | Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks |
0 | No data. |
-1 | Completely destroyed |
5 | Superb |
4 | Good |
3 | Ordinary |
2 | Not Good |
1 | Awful |
0 | No data. |
5 | Can be driven to, probably with disabled access |
4 | Short walk on a footpath |
3 | Requiring a bit more of a walk |
2 | A long walk |
1 | In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find |
0 | No data. |
5 | co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates |
4 | co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map |
3 | co-ordinates scaled from a bad map |
2 | co-ordinates of the nearest village |
1 | co-ordinates of the nearest town |
0 | no data |
Internal Links:
External Links:
I have visited· I would like to visit
Bak_teria visited on 25th Jul 2015 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 4 Access: 5
rrmoser Alta-Falisa DrewParsons Magalhaes have visited here
The Meada menhir is located in the Alto-Alentejo zone, 10 km north of Castelo de Vide, in the Portalegre district and is one of the biggest man made standing stones in the whole Iberian Peninsula. It is believed to have been implanted on the ground in the neo-chalcolithic period and is classified as National Monument since the 24th of June, 2013.
About the size and the location
This menhir is about 7.15 meters high and about 1.25 mts across (3.90m in the perimeter of the base). It's deployed on the line of contact of schist with granite formations, this monolith was obtained in coarse-grained porphyritic granite, extracted from rock outcrops nearby. It was fractured into two parts but is rehabilitated nowadays. It has a phallic configuration and near the top features a large glans.
About the worn-out part of the menhir
In the area from the ground up to 1.60 meters tall the menhir has a noticeable worn-out part. According to local lore it was tradition to ingest stone dust to get a better sexual performance. Still, I think it's only a theory.
Links and information sources (all texts written in portuguese):
- DGPC
- Portal do Arqueólogo
- Taejo Internacional - Roteiro Histórico e Ambiental de Castelo de Vide
Aditional information:
- Follow the sign by the road.
- There's a small picnic park next to the monument.
- Don't make fires and take your garbage with you, maintain the site clean for others to enjoy.
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