History:Menhir of Outeiro

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Short description: Phallic monolith in Évora district, Portugal
Outeiro Menhir
Menir do Outeiro
OuteiroMenhir1.jpg
A view of the menhir
Alternative namePenedo comprido
LocationOuteiro, Évora, Alentejo, Portugal
Coordinates [ ⚑ ] : 38°28′13″N 7°23′37″W / 38.470381°N 7.393626°W / 38.470381; -7.393626
TypePhallic menhir
Height5.6 m (18 ft)
History
PeriodsNeolithic
Site notes
Discovered1969
ArchaeologistsHenrique Leonor Pina; José Pires Gonçalves
ConditionVery good
OwnershipPortuguese Republic
Public accessYes

The Menhir of Outeiro (Portuguese: Menir do Outeiro), also known as the Penedo Comprido (long boulder) is a megalith located midway between the villages of Outeiro and Barrada near the municipality of Reguengos de Monsaraz, in the district of Évora, in the Alentejo region of Portugal. It is a few kilometers from the Portuguese-Spanish-border. The stone was discovered on its side in 1969 by Henrique Leonor Pina and José Pires Gonçalves and, on the initiative of Gonçalves, it was raised again around 1970.[1] The menhir was classified as a Portuguese National Monument in 1971.[2][3][4]

The granite monolith is 5.6 meters high with an average diameter of one meter, and weighs an estimated 8 tonnes. It is the second largest in Portugal. The top has a hollow of 30 cm in diameter, which is believed to represent a urethra, thus giving rise to the understanding that the megalith symbolizes a phallus. It is considered one of the best examples of a phallic menhir in the Iberian Peninsula. Based on its similarity to other megalithic finds in the Évora district, the menhir is believed to date from the late Neolithic or Chalcolithic.[2][3]

See also

References