Pic of the Day 2019-01-14: Dolmens in Spain

Having got on a roll with dolmen Pic(s) Of The Days, I decided to put some little-known examples from Spain into the mix (also, I wanted to get something there on the Pic Of The Day Map).

The Gorafe depression, a canyon carved by Rio Gor in the “Bad Lands” of Spain; Parque Megalítico de Gorafe with many dolmens extends along the ridge on the right; with some larger ones downslope, as the one with a tumulus at lower left, and others on the opposite ridge—240 in all (photo © Daniel C Browning Jr, 2017-03-17)

Spain is rich in Neolithic remains. Here I present dolmens in the Parque Megalítico de Gorafe. The “Gorafe Megalithic Park” and surrounding area is home to 240 dolmens. Most are rather un-sensational, but they preserve a range of types in the development of megalithic tombs. And the open-access park itself is a model of cultural heritage preservation for an isolated collection of easily destroyed monuments, and for presentation with durable, unintrusive signage.

One of many visually unimpressive but well-conserved dolmens in Parque Megalítico de Gorafe: number 111, near the canyon cliff edge (photo © Daniel C Browning Jr, 2017-03-17)

The most impressive dolmen in the park is number 134, some 40 m below the canyon cliff edge, but still about 100 m above the Rio Gor.

View of the back side of Gorafe 134 (Parque Megalítico de Gorafe), on a ridge about a third of the way down into the canyon (photo © Daniel C Browning Jr, 2017-03-17)

Number 134 combines elements of various megalithic tombs. It appears to be a mashup of dolmen, wedge tomb, and passage tomb features.

Gorafe 134; Parque Megalítico de Gorafe, Grenada Province, Spain (photo © Daniel C Browning Jr, 2017-03-17)

I don’t think you get this on the bus tour; but there is a nice dirt road along the canyon top, and a car pull-off below with a trail up to number 134 (along with 132, 133, 135, and 239).