Statue Menhir – Alto da Escrita

Tabuaço
Description
In mid-1997, archaeologists in the company of the Lord Mayor and Vice-President of the time, a short visit to "Alto da Escrita" resulted in one of the most sensational archaeological discoveries taken in this county.

In fact, a rare and beautiful anthropomorphic sculpture lay anonymously on a wall that goes along one cart road, with the main face up.

Despite this piece was found displaced, it is possible that originally was vertically positioned in the surroundings and can be related to an old passageway.

It is a piece of granite measuring 1.66 m length, 0.42 m in width at the upper end, 0.44 m in the waist area and 0.42 m at the base. The thickness is variable along the piece, being 0.10 m in the upper end, waist 0.18 m and 0.11 m at the base.

It features a sub-rectangular configuration, revealing extreme care in the treatment of surfaces, especially on the obverse. In fact, these were prepared by pricking, only with the exception that the base primitively would be buried. The piece has a slight chipping in the mesial area, corresponding to the right end of the belt.

The motifs were written by pecking, sometimes followed by polishing, presenting a section U.

The main motifs were carved in the obverse. At the top level we can observe a "breastplate" decoration presumably representing a concentric collar.

At the middle was carved a belt 0.12 m wide, displaying a horizontal line center with twelve circular holes.

Completing the set, it was carved a very shallow motif appearing to be a weapon. Under the belt were carved two oblique lines (one with 13 cm and other 19 cm), parallel, whose meaning escapes us.

The Statue-Menhir from Alto da Escrita may generally correspond to a transition   phase of Chalcolithic small parts for larger and anthropomorphic contour, may be chronologically inserted in the transition from IIIº to the IInd millennium b.c..

 



Location: Tabuaço
Casa Dos Ruis

Casa Dos Ruis

Reconstructed house, situated in the middle of the village of Tabuaço, overlooking the Garden...
More info
Douro INN Hotel

Douro INN Hotel

Located in the centre of Tabuaço, this residence features air-conditioned rooms with a private...
More info
Restaurante "5120 Taberna"

Restaurante "5120 Taberna"

Taberna 5120" is a typical small-sized restaurant located in Largo 5 de Outubro, in the...
More info
Pastelaria Tulipa

Pastelaria Tulipa

Production and sale of bread and regional pastry.
More info
Comments There are no comments from our visitors. Be the first to comment.
Evaluate: Make your evaluation