dolmens alentejo Archives - Estremoz Guide

In Explore

The standing stones at São Bento do Ameixial

March 8, 2024 No Comments

We have passed this church many, many times on our way home from Estremoz and this week our curiosity finally got the better of us. So we stopped off to take a closer look…

The Chapel of Our Lady of Conceição dos Olivais is located at around two kilometres from the centre of Estremoz, on the road to São Bento do Ameixial. Built in the latter part of the 16^th Century it sits on a slight hill surrounded by vineyards alongside the ancient ‘Pedra da Ronca’ dolmen – which loosely translates as ‘The Snoring Stone’…

In Days Out

Anta Tapadão, Aldeia da Mata

October 10, 2021 1 Comment

Although this monument is a little way off from Estremoz, the Anta Tapadão at Aldeia da Mata really is worth a visit as it is one of the most accessible and complete dolmens in the country.

An hour’s drive north from town, Aldeia da Mata is a small village in the Portalegre district. As you draw close huge rock formations begin to appear in the surrounding fields – some even used as fences or outbuildings by local farmers – conjuring up an ancient medieval atmosphere before you arrive at the historic site.

In Days Out

Visit to the dolmen at Pavia, Alentejo

July 6, 2021 2 Comments

I own a copy of a lovely coffee table book called ‘As Mais Belas Vilas e Aldeias de Portugal’ (Portugal’s Most Beautiful Towns and Villages), which I bought way back in the 1980s—and even though I have moved country a couple of times in the interim, I still have the book with me.

One of the most intriguing places that always stood out for me was the village of Pavia, in the Alentejo, and it makes sense that it was one of the first places that I wanted to visit when we moved here in 2020.

In History

Portugal promotes ‘Megalithic Route’

July 27, 2020 No Comments

It is no secret that Portugal’s Alentejo is full of historic places that in some cases date back to Neolithic times. It is a land that encompasses many secrets of humanity and this is what makes it such an important part of Portugal’s cultural heritage.

In History

Dolmens, Menhirs and Cromlechs – Portugal’s Megalithic Universe

April 30, 2020 No Comments

Early evidence of the first settlers in the Estremoz area dates back to Neolithic or Stone Age times. With over a thousand individual megaliths in the Evora and Estremoz region of the Alentejo alone* it is testament to an early civilisation having made their home here.