Archaeology in the Western Algarve  

Field Trip on Saturday, February 19th 2000
A tour of the Menhirs at Vila do Bispo in the morning and a visit to Boca do Rio in the afternoon
Led by Dr. Julie Statham.

Interactive Map of the Menhirs

Menhirs, a word coming from Brittany, France, means "Standing stone", but the standing stones of the Vila do Bispo area are smaller than those found there. They are of Neolithic origin, and date to around 5000 B.P. It is known that they were "imported" into their current positions as they are of a Carboniferous Limestone, as opposed to the Jurasic Limestone that outcrops on the hills underfoot. There are Carboniferous Limestones to the North-West. All of the examples found here have been toppled by the religious fanatics of the Middle Ages, and some have been inscribed with Christian symbols. Some may have been deliberately split, and others have broken in falling. A Portuguese term for a Menhir is Pedra Escorregadia

Archaeology in the Western Algarve - Menhir Tour

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