One of the largest megalithic concentrations in Europe discovered in Huelva

One of the largest megalithic concentrations in Europe discovered in Huelva Andalusia, Spain.

Archaeologists describe the find as "unique", as it includes the location of 526 menhirs dating from between the sixth and third millennium BC and three sky observation areas.

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As the price of the avocado continued to rise - 96% of production ends up in the European Union - the owner of the 600-hectare La Torre-La Janera estate (in the province of Huelva) decided in 2018 to cover it with this lauráceae plant. The Junta de Andalucía, given the possible archaeological potential of the land, made one condition: a survey had to be carried out first. The result has been spectacular. The archaeologists have discovered three megalithic enclosures, "possibly linked to the control of the cycle of the seasons and the observation of astronomical events", two cromlechs (stone circles similar to those at Stonehenge), 526 menhirs and various groupings of dolmens. Experts from the universities of Huelva and Alcalá de Henares describe this complex - which began to be erected at the end of the sixth millennium BC and was maintained for almost 3,000 years - as "unique", one of the largest megalithic concentrations in Europe.

La Torre-La Janera is located on the left bank of the Guadiana River, around the Monte Gordo hill (155 metres). Nowadays, the land is located some 15 kilometres from the coastline, but this was not always the case. In recent prehistoric times, between 6,500 and 4,000 B.C., the sea level was at the same level as the coastline. BC, the sea level was two metres higher and only the retreat of the waters formed the current fluvial siltation and the marshes.

On both banks of the lower stretch of the Guadiana, on its border with Portugal, archaeologists already knew of several megaliths carved in greywacke, a sandy rock made up of mica, feldspar and quartz. There was evidence of two menhirs, five dolmens, three circular burial areas (tholoi), a quarry and four necropolises, among other constructions. But the new surveys, accompanied by photo-interpretation of satellite and aerial images, as well as the use of LiDAR (laser) data, among other techniques, have revealed a much richer archaeological world.

There has never been such a compact concentration of megalithic sites with such high expectations", says Professor Bueno-Ramirez.

Primitiva Bueno-Ramírez, professor of Prehistory at the University of Alcalá de Henares, defines it as follows: "Up to now, there is no known concentration of megalithic sites so compact and with so many expectations of obtaining archaeological data anywhere in Europe, and I know them all. The important thing is that the Junta de Andalucía, the Delegación de Huelva, the mayors of the area and the landowners are very involved".

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The stone architecture and other associated manifestations refer to different chronological stages of Recent Prehistory, with monuments coexisting with different functions and technical traditions". The site, they add, "stands out for the high density and diversity of greywacke megaliths and associated finds such as extraction areas, rock engravings and dry stone structures".

526 menhirs

The menhirs are the most numerous elements: 526 have been found standing or collapsed. They come in a wide variety of shapes: lenticular, ovoid, subtrapezoidal and rectangular. Their length varies between 1 and 3.5 metres. "Most of them have been found where they were extracted, on the same sites or nearby, as is common in Brittany, France". In addition, there are unfinished menhirs or menhirs that have been discarded by their creators due to breakage. However, on their surfaces, "the roughing, carving and direct percussion chipping of the edges and surfaces, including polishing and abrasion in specific areas, are still visible".

Among the menhirs found in circular burial mounds - burial areas - the one known as API-2 stands out, located on the left bank of the Rocín stream, measuring 3.5 metres long and one metre wide. It is dry-laid with stones arranged obliquely and reinforced with two large parallel walls. "Its monumental construction and the incised engravings on its western face highlight its symbolic value", say the experts.

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Most of the menhirs (up to 260) are concentrated in 26 alignments and two cromlechs. The alignments, from one to six rows, can reach 250 metres in length in some cases. They were all built on slopes or summits. The two cromlechs were built 'on the tops of hills with a clear horizon towards the rising sun, from where the equinoctial and solstitial solar orts can be observed'. The best-preserved one is made up of nine lying menhirs, forming an open U-shape to the east. At a distance of 20 metres there are others, and 300 metres to the southwest there is a similar monument with another six menhirs, which delimit a space measuring 65 by 40 metres.

The cromlechs were built on high ground with a rising horizon to observe the equinoctial and solstitial solar orts", according to the study.

In addition to these constructions, the experts have found another 475 supports for them displaced from their place of origin and scattered throughout the terrain, possibly as a result of ancient agricultural work. But in addition to these spectacular elements, numerous dolmens, tumuli and cists have been detected which "must have been funerary containers, although it is also possible that some may have been associated with evocative practices and commemorative rituals, whether or not involving the deposition of offerings, as has been found in tumuli in other parts of the Iberian Peninsula".

Specifically, the dolmens have been found both isolated and grouped together. One of them has a chamber 3.50 metres long, almost a metre wide and a circular tumulus surrounding it with a diameter of seven metres. The stone tumuli are of varying lengths, ranging from 6 to 17 metres, and have associated stelae. In addition, 41 individual cists or cists for two or more individuals have been documented. They are rectangular structures of between 1 and 2.5 metres in length, carved in stone.

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The three megalithic enclosures found on terraces or platforms are "large open constructions articulated in staggered levels. They contain structures of different functions and chronologies: dolmens, cists and menhirs. According to the study, they are "located on prominent hills, with a high visibility and great landscape perception, whose tops and slopes were topographically transformed. They are concentrated around the Rocín stream and contain reused menhirs, fractured at their ends or in half. One of the enclosures covers an area of 1.95 hectares and is 200 metres long at its longest point. It consists of a circular platform at the top and two surrounding levels formed by masonry walls of large blocks. On the southeastern slope, there are up to six levels. There are 15 re-used menhirs, megalithic cists, rock-hewn structures and masonry constructions.

Another of the enclosures found is H-shaped, occupies 1.18 hectares and is 100 metres long and 80 metres wide. It is located on a steep elevation with a gradual slope of 6.5% from northwest to southeast, with a clear horizon to the east. It comprises an upper platform and a structure formed by the union of three walls of large stone blocks and six re-used menhirs.

The third enclosure, in this case U-shaped, is 150 metres long and extends over 1.2 hectares. Its layout, adapted to two rocky spurs, combines sections of blocks and masonry. Around it are six other menhirs and three quarries. There are also 46 quarrying areas - 24 of them for small and medium-sized blocks and 22 for large ones. Blocks in the process of transformation, quartzite hammers and hammers and discarded supports of between one and three metres can be observed in the surrounding area. As for rock engravings, 10 have been counted, mainly made up of circles and incised lines. Some engravings are superimposed on natural erosion marks to take advantage of linear grooves, furrows and striations.

Dolmens, burial mounds and cists must have functioned as houses of the dead and ritual sites," say archaeologists.


The report recalls that "the fusion between the natural and the anthropic gives La Torre-La Janera a character of its own, with most of the monuments having a rough appearance and a simple look. The alignments and cromlechs reveal the existence of open monuments with more complex forms and functions, possibly linked to the control of the cycle of the seasons and the observation of astronomical events. They were erected in prominent locations with ample visibility of the landscape, connecting them spatially with the surrounding relief, horizon and sky, as is common in this type of grouping".

For the experts, "the dolmens, tumuli and cists must have functioned as houses of the dead and ritual sites, containing the remains of ancestors and offerings. The collective erection and communal activities carried out by the Lower Guadiana communities around the menhirs and dolmens could have served to fix the territory of the ancestors, foster inter-group cohesion ties and create a memory of the place over a long period of time".

They conclude: "Its discovery provides new arguments that reinforce the interpretations of Atlantic megalithism as one of the most ancient human phenomena aimed at the transformation and anthropisation of territories. Consequently, the site broadens the horizon of knowledge of western European megaliths and the potential for research in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula".

The study was carried out as part of the general research project Menhigua. Menhirs and megaliths in the Lower Guadiana. The work began at the end of 2021 and will continue until 2027, when it is planned to conclude "the comprehensive analysis of the site".


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