Dolmen of Menga facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Dolmen of Menga |
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Dolmen of Menga entrance
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| Official name: Antequera Dolmens Site | |
| Type | Cultural |
| Criteria | i, iii, iv |
| Designated | 2016 (40th session) |
| Reference no. | 1501 |
| Region | Europe and North America |
The Dolmen of Menga (which means Dolmen de Menga in Spanish) is a very old stone structure. It's a type of ancient burial place called a dolmen, which is covered by a large mound of earth. This amazing monument was built around 3750 to 3650 BCE, which is over 5,700 years ago!
You can find it near the town of Antequera in the Province of Málaga, Spain. It's one of the biggest and oldest stone structures ever found in Europe. The Dolmen of Menga is about 27.5 metres (90 ft) (90 feet) long, 6 metres (20 ft) (20 feet) wide, and 3.5 metres (11 ft) (11.5 feet) high.
It was built using thirty-two huge stones, called megaliths. The biggest of these stones weighs about 180 tonnes (200 tons) (almost 400,000 pounds)! That's like moving 30 large elephants without modern machines!
After the main chamber and the path leading to it were finished, the entire stone structure was covered with soil. This created the large hill you see today. When archaeologists explored the grave in the 1800s, they found the remains of many people inside. It was likely used as a burial site for important families.
The Dolmen of Menga is part of a group of ancient sites. It's only about 70 metres (230 ft) (230 feet) away from the Dolmen de Viera. Another underground structure, called Tholos de El Romeral, is about 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) (2.5 miles) away.
In 2016, these three amazing sites – the dolmens of Menga, Viera, and El Romeral – were recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This means they are very important to the world's history and culture. They are now known together as the "Antequera Dolmens Site."
The Matacabras Shelter
The Abrigo (shelter) of Matacabras is a small cave located near the Dolmen of Menga. It sits at the base of a mountain called the Peña de los Enamorados. What's really cool is that the main entrance of the Dolmen of Menga points directly towards this shelter!
This ancient tomb faces northeast, which is north of where the sun rises during the summer. This direction is quite unusual for tombs from this time in Europe.
Ancient Cave Paintings
In 2018, a group of researchers from the University of Seville studied the cave paintings inside the Abrigo de Matacabras. These paintings are in a simple, "schematic" style. The study found that the small cave has strong visual and symbolic links to the Menga dolmen. This suggests that these two places were connected in a special way during prehistoric times.
The research confirmed that the cave paintings date back to the Neolithic period, probably to the beginning of the 4th millennium BC (around 4000 BCE). This shows how important the Matacabras shelter was as a landmark for the people living in the region during the Stone Age.
Gallery
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The entrance to the Dolmen of Menga
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Looking inside from the entrance
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The back of the chamber, showing the well
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A closer look inside the well
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A wide view of the Dolmen of Menga
See also
- List of megalithic sites
- Antequera Dolmens Site
- Dolmen de Viera
- Dolmen de Soto
In Spanish: Dolmen de Menga para niños
