Megaliths (Archaeology)

El megalito de “la Barraca dels Moixonaires” (Cardona, Barcelona). Estudio arquitectónico de una “cista megalítica” Alfons Fíguls i Alonso, Jorge Bonache Albacete, Joan González Huertas i José Bonache Albacete

by Alfons Fíguls i Alonso

La Barraca dels Moixonaires is a 5,87 m3, rectangular ground plan and trapezoid shape “megalithic cist or case ”,... more La Barraca dels Moixonaires is a 5,87 m3, rectangular ground plan and trapezoid shape “megalithic cist or case ”, placed inside a mound made up of sediments, nodules and rocks, with a 7,6m of diameter cromlech.
This cista is situated in a very privileged place, as it is situated in the top of a range dominating the countryside, but it isn’t in the highest point, which is Sant Quintí hill (715 m). It could be understood as not only a dominating presence in the countryside but as: “to see and to be seen”.
It has been checked that the sepulchral camera constitutes the substructure, whereas the mound covers it forming the superstructure. Technically the object of the mound is to waterproof the funerary structure, and at the same time it has an entrance ramp function, but it isn’t used as a support element, this is to say, it is a supported element. The stones inclination is not due to the passage of time but it is due to the construction technique. The re-excavation in 1998 shows that the sepulchral camera is not placed in the geometrical centre of the mound, but it is offcentre. It shows an assymetrical and non-tectonic shape. It may be that it was done deliberately to resolve the uneveness and at the same time to create harmony in the proportions.

El hemidolmen de Cardona o de la Vinya del Giralt (Cardona, Barcelona). Tecnología y mecánica en la prehistoria. Alfons Fíguls i Alonso, Jorge Bonache Albacete i Joan Aranda Gelabert

by Alfons Fíguls i Alonso

This communication reflects on one of the less well-known megalithic structures like the hemi-dolmens.
The lintel... more This communication reflects on one of the less well-known megalithic structures like the hemi-dolmens.
The lintel of the hemi-dolmen of Cardona or Vineyard of Giralt, it is a big stone with a rounded points, has been studied. From the archaeological and geological results, we have analysed the work applying the force of the lever on the roof.

Reconstrucción virtual de una vivienda talayótica

by Francisco José López Fraile

Realizada para Amalia Perez-Juez

Se presenta una sencilla infografía para representar una hipótesis teórica sobre la arquitectura de una vivienda de época talayótica. Básicamente se presentan posibilidades de interpretación acerca de las techumbres para este tipo de arquitectura talayótica de ortostatos. En concreto se trata de una vivienda excavada en el yacimiento arqueológico de Torre d´en Galmés (Alaior, Menorca).

http://bu.academia.edu/AmaliaPerezJuez/Papers/1548924/Excavaciones_en_la_Casa_2_del_yacimiento_de_Torre_den_Galmes_Alaior_propuestas_para_el_habitat_talayotico

Brizzi, V. Links between Megalithism and Hypogeism in Western Mediterranean Europe (Review)

by Vittorio Brizzi

published in:  European Journal of Archaeology, Volume 15, Number 1, April 2012 , pp. 159-163(5)

Wyniki wstępnej prospekcji geomagnetycznej cmentarzyska megalitycznego kultury pucharów lejkowatych w Muszkowicach, woj. dolnośląskie

by Mirosław Furmanek

Furmanek M., Przybył A., Wyniki wstępnej prospekcji geomagnetycznej cmentarzyska megalitycznego kultury pucharów lejkowatych w Muszkowicach, woj. dolnośląskie (w:) Metody geoinformacyjne w badaniach archeologicznych, Poznań 2011, s. 24-25.

Les monuments mégalithiques du Mänz (Nord-Shoa) : un inventaire provisoire

by François-Xavier Fauvelle-Aymar

Co-authored with Derese Ayenachew, B. Hirsch & R. Bernard
Published in "Annales d'Ethiopie" 23, 2007-2008 : 329-398.

This articles presents a preliminary inventory of megaliths, in particular funerary tumuli, found in Mänz, Ethiopia.... more This articles presents a preliminary inventory of megaliths, in particular funerary tumuli, found in Mänz, Ethiopia. The inventory provides geographical and morphological details, as well as oral information gathered about these monuments.

Siste nytt fra Norges "megalitikum". Om en sikringsgraving nær en megalittgrav på Hurum

by Gaute Reitan

Published in "Neolitikum. Nye resultater fra forskning og forvaltning". Nicolay Skrifter 4, edited by A. Solberg, J. A. Stålesen & C. Prescott

The Latest News from the Megalithic Period of Norway.

This paper deals with the results from a minor... more The Latest News from the Megalithic Period of Norway.

This paper deals with the results from a minor investigation of a Neolithic site. The site is situated few meters from a preserved dolmen at Holtenes in the municipality of Hurum, Buskerud county, i.e. in the inner Oslo Fiord, c. 50 km southwest of Oslo. This dolmen is dated to the EN-MN transition and is one of Norway’s only five known Megalithic graves.

The “dig” was, unfortunately, performed in a somewhat unconventional manner. This was due to severe failure in the formal procedure, allowing the construction work to begin without a proper beforehand excavation. The investigation consisted mainly of sieving through heaps of soil. No squares or layers were dug. The masses had already been removed from the site due to the construction of a new terrace in front of the country house that was built on the site c. 100 years ago. The investigation method obviously does not allow any certain conclusions. Nevertheless,
the sieving yielded a number of diagnostic artifacts, such as blades struck from cylindrical cores, tanged arrowheads, scrapers and other blade tools, and fragments of at least two thin-butted flint axes.
These finds are considered to be of the same age as the nearby dolmen, and the finds and the dolmen are considered to constitute an entity. Hence, the finds shed some new light on the Funnel-Beaker Culture of Eastern Norway.

The relation between the dolmen and the finds is discussed, as is the grave practice of the period, illustrated by both earlier, briefly published finds and some new unpublished finds. Other Neolithic grave finds from Buskerud, i.a. another three dolmens, are presented, along with all the axes of Early Middle Neolithic date known from Buskerud. The article also stresses the meaning of paying attention to Stone Age finds on assumed Iron Age sites.

A biography of D49, the “Papeloze Kerk” (Schoonoord, Dr.)

by Eva Hopman

A paper written for a first year's research master module concentrating on landscape elements, specifically this year on Dutch dolmens.

D49, nicknamed the “Papeloze Kerk”, is a curious dolmen near Schoonoord in Drenthe. The hunebed has known many... more D49, nicknamed the “Papeloze Kerk”, is a curious dolmen near Schoonoord in Drenthe. The hunebed has known many different ‘life phases’ to which it owes its name, appearance, surroundings and perception. For example, the name “Papeloze Kerk” refers to the times the monument was used as the location for illegal protestant church sermons in the sixteenth century. Its appearance is far from authentic thanks to the controversial reconstruction lead by Van Giffen in ca. 1960. In this paper the life phases of D49 will be described; I will reflect upon the role research on the past of monuments plays in the investigation of the ‘Erlebnis’ of the current monument.

Pristine Wilderness, Participatory Archaeology and the Custodianship of Heritage in Mursiland

by Tim Clack

co-authored with Dr Marcus Brittain (CAU, University of Cambridge, UK)


In Mol, L. & T. Sternberg (eds.). 2012. Changing Deserts: Integrating People and Their Environment, Strond: The White Horse Press, pp.192-212.

This chapter explores the imposition, character and history of notions of 'pristine wilderness' in parts of S. W.... more This chapter explores the imposition, character and history of notions of 'pristine wilderness' in parts of S. W. Ethiopia. Moreover, exploration, conservation policy and development initiatives are also considered in addition to the value of anthropological approaches to archaeology in understanding cultural heritage.

Affiche de fouille : dolmens de l'Hérault

by Noisette Bec Drelon

Voici l'annonce des futures campagnes de fouille concernant des monuments mégalithiques dans le département de... more Voici l'annonce des futures campagnes de fouille concernant des monuments mégalithiques dans le département de l'Hérault (Sud de la France).

Locandina Scavo

by Noisette Bec Drelon

Eco la locandina sul futuro scavo dei monumenti megalitici nella provincia del Hérault (Sud della Francia) Eco la locandina sul futuro scavo dei monumenti megalitici nella provincia del Hérault (Sud della Francia)

Poster excavations

by Noisette Bec Drelon

This paper is about future excavations of megalithic monuments in Hérault (South of France). This paper is about future excavations of megalithic monuments in Hérault (South of France).

Investigaciones sistemáticas en torno a los grupos megalíticos en el Alto Valle de Aísa (Jacetania, Huesca). Los trabajos de 1998/2000

by Manuel Bea

Pérez Arrondo, C. & Martínez-Bea, M. 2004: "Investigaciones sistemáticas en torno a los grupos megalíticos en el Alto Valle de Aísa (Jacetania, Huesca). Los trabajos de 1998/2000". Salduie, 4: 407-415.

Excavations and Surveys in Mursiland

by Tim Clack

co-authored with Dr Marcus Brittain (CAU, University of Cambridge, UK)

This brief article represents an interim statement on the first season of field survey and excavation carried out... more This brief article represents an interim statement on the first season of field survey and excavation carried out between May and July 2009.

When Climate Changes: Megaliths, Migrations and Medicines in Mursiland

by Tim Clack

co-authored with Dr Marcus Brittain (CAU, University of Cambridge, UK)

Over the past two summers Timothy Clack and Marcus Brittain
have directed the first archaeological teams in the... more Over the past two summers Timothy Clack and Marcus Brittain
have directed the first archaeological teams in the Lower Omo Valley, a remote part of south-western Ethiopia, to research long-term human responses to environmental change. What did they find there?

Place-making, participative archaeologies and Mursi megaliths

by Tim Clack

co-authored with Dr Marcus Brittain (CAU, University of Cambridge, UK)

Here we present the context and nature of findings from the first season of archaeological survey and trial excavation... more Here we present the context and nature of findings from the first season of archaeological survey and trial excavation in an area of Ethiopia’s Lower Omo Valley. With the exception of well-documented early hominin discoveries, the region has previously been overlooked as a wilderness absent of human inhabitation. Such an outlook has fostered various consequences for strategies of legal, research and conservation policy within the regional boundaries of Mursiland in particular. In this paper recent discoveries of megalithic circular platforms and other archaeological remains are introduced against their dynamic
local and regional placement within present-day understandings of place. Furthermore, we emphasise the value of a participative archaeology research framework in which accountability is directed towards common ground between multiple ‘‘stake-holders’’ within the design and dissemination of the research agenda. This demonstrates important possibilities for intricate understandings of wilderness and landscape linked to heritage, conservation, development and tourism.

Prospección de superficie y documentación gráfica en el Dolmen del Llano de la Belleza (Aroche, Huelva)

by Leonardo García Sanjuán

Co-authored with Timoteo Rivera Jiménez and David W. Wheatley

The primary aim of the fieldwork carried out at the Llano de la Belleza dolmen (Aroche, Huelva) in June 2004 was to... more The primary aim of the fieldwork carried out at the Llano de la Belleza dolmen (Aroche, Huelva) in June 2004 was to provide empirical evidence concerning the internal structure and organisation of this monument in order to facilitate a more informed strategy for its dissemination to the general public. This fieldwork has principally consisted of a high precision topographic survey and magnetometry survey of the mound and its surrounding area, as well as graphic and photographic recording of various menhir-like stones embedded in the architecture of the megalithic chamber and which had not been previously recorded.

Patrimonio del tiempo

by Leonardo García Sanjuán

Muerte, tiempo, memoria. Los megalitos como memoriales culturales

by Leonardo García Sanjuán

En este trabajo se plantea la significación de los sitios megalíticos como dispositivos culturales dedicados a la... more En este trabajo se plantea la significación de los sitios megalíticos como dispositivos culturales dedicados a la fijación material del tiempo. Dado el carácter fundacional que tienen como elemento fundamental de la construcción del paisaje cultural de las primeras sociedades agrarias, los monumentos megalíticos adquieren una extraordinaria capacidad de permanencia en la memoria colectiva, convirtiéndose en referentes materiales de las identidades, las relaciones y prácticas sociales y las ideologías a través de los siglos. Esta capacidad de permanencia excede ampliamente los límites temporales convencionalmente atribuidos a la Prehistoria, entrando de lleno en el ámbito de las sociedades antiguas, medievales y modernas.

Sevilla

by Leonardo García Sanjuán