Dolmen of Antequera
Thanks to their spectacular construction system and magnificent state of preservation, the Antequera Dolmens are an essential element to understand the Megalithic period in the Iberian Peninsula and in Europe. The Menga Dolmen was erected around six thousand years ago. It is an enormous corridor sepulcher with an access passage enclosed by ten enormous slabs, five on each side, although it is believed that, originally, there were seven on each side. The passage comes out to the burial chamber which, in turn, is formed by two walls made of seven monoliths on each side and one at the far end. The chamber is covered by five slabs supported by three pillars with square base. It stands out the far end covering slab with a weight of more than 180 tons. The monoliths forming the walls were aligned in a trench dug in the ground and lifted by a combined system of levers and ropes. Then, the interior was filled with land forming a ramp by which the big stones to make the cover were dragged. The last step was to take out the land which occupied the interior of the sepulcher, as it had already fulfilled its constructive function.
