Alto da Cruz (Mora, Portugal): um exemplo da diversidade e ritualidade megalítica.

Abstract

The group of menhirs of Alto da Cruz (Mora, Portugal) presents several exceptional characteristics which justify new lines of questioning, in regards to the diversity of the open megalithic monuments in the Alentejo and their chrono-cultural relations with funerary megalithism. The megalithic cruciform of Alto da Cruz was identified by the undersigned in August 2011 and archaeological work was carried out in 2012, which allowed the researchers to confirm its cruciform ground plan. In regards to the spatial composition of the group of menhirs and the possible connections to other nearby places, the particularly interesting relation with the Penedo das Almoinhas, the granite outcrop with rock paintings divulged by G. Zbysweski (Zbysweski et al., 1977a) in the 1970s, is noteworthy.