The Dolmen of Menga (Spanish: Dolmen de Menga) is a large ancient burial mound called a tumulus. It is a type of structure known as a long barrow, and it was built during the Neolithic period, around 3750–3650 BCE. It is located near Antequera, Málaga, Spain.
This structure is one of the largest ancient megalithic buildings in Europe. It is 27.5 meters (90 feet) long, 6 meters (20 feet) wide, and 3.5 meters (11 feet) high. It was built using thirty-two large stones, with the heaviest stone weighing about 180 tonnes (200 tons).
After the chamber (likely used as a burial place for important families) and the path leading to it were completed, the structure was covered with soil to form the hill seen today. In the 19th century, archaeologists who examined the site found the remains of hundreds of people inside.
The Dolmen of Menga is 70 meters (230 feet) away from the Dolmen de Viera and about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) from another underground structure called Tholos de El Romeral.
In 2016, the Dolmen of Menga, Dolmen de Viera, and Tholos de El Romeral were all added to the UNESCO World Heritage List as part of the Antequera Dolmens Site.
Abrigo de Matacabras
The shelter known as Abrigo de Matacabras is located at the base of the northwest side of Peña de los Enamorados. It is connected to the Dolmen of Menga, as the central line of the dolmen points directly toward the shelter. The tomb faces northeast, which is slightly north of the direction where the sun rises on the summer solstice. This is the only known tomb in Europe with this orientation in its cultural time period.
In 2018, the ATLAS research group from the University of Seville published a study that analyzed the simple drawings in the cave paintings of Abrigo de Matacabras. The small cave has both visual and symbolic connections to the Menga dolmen, forming landscape relationships that may be unique in European prehistory. The study confirmed that the cave dates to the Neolithic period, likely beginning in the 4th millennium BC. It also highlighted the cave's importance as a reference point for the Neolithic (and possibly older) people who lived in the region.