Reguengos de Monsaraz

A megalithic complex that is believed to date back to the 4th or 5th millennium BCE. The present site of the cromlech is not its original location. Due to the construction of the Alqueva Dam for hydroelectric purposes, which led to the flooding of the original site from 2002, it was transferred from an area that is now under water to its present site close to the Orada Convent. Although it has much in common with megalithic stone circles, the Xerez cromlech is, in fact, square. There has been some dispute about the authenticity of the square layout or even whether it is a cromlech at all. When discovered, the stones had been widely dispersed due to agricultural work and an initial topographical survey only identified 12 stones that could be part of a cromlech, although the present layout has 55. It is acknowledged that the square shape results solely from interpretations by José Pires Gonçalves, a doctor and an amateur archaeologist from Reguengos de Monsaraz, who identified the stones as a cromlech in 1969. The 55 menhirs are of different types of granite of local origin. These are mainly between 0.37 and 2.10 meters in height, with varying shapes (ovoid, slightly flattened, cylindrical, sub-square, conical or polyhedral).

Also known as the Menhir of Abelhoa, it is a granite megalithic standing stone. The menhir is thought to date back to between 4000 and 2500 BCE. Overlooked for a long time, it was identified in 1970. At that time it was lying flat on the ground, with the upper part separated from its base, which had been used in a nearby grape press. It was restored to its original shape soon after discovery, with the fracture remaining very noticeable. It has a phallic appearance, being about four meters high and one meter in diameter. The stone is decorated with engravings depicting the sun's rays, a staff, and wavy and zigzagging lines. However, the fact that it lay on the ground for so long has contributed to the erosion of the carvings. It is not known whether the carvings date back to the menhir's origins or were added subsequently, although the motifs are similar to others found from the neolithic and chalcolithic eras.