The Dolmen de Soto is a

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

subterranean tomb in Trigueros,

Andalucía Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

, Spain. It is estimated it was built between 2500 and 3000 BC and is one of about 200 neolithic ritual-burial sites in the

province of Huelva Huelva () is a province of southern Spain, in the western part of the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is bordered by Portugal, the provinces of Badajoz, Seville, and Cádiz, and the Atlantic Ocean. Its capital is Huelva. Its area is ...

History

The site was discovered by Armando de Soto Morillas, as he wanted to build a new house in 1922 on his estate, ''La lobita''. The same year, excavation works were initiated on the burial site and by 1924, the German archaeologist

Hugo Obermaier Hugo Obermaier (29 January 1877, in Regensburg – 12 November 1946, in Fribourg) was a distinguished Spanish-German prehistorian and anthropologist who taught at various European centres of learning. Although he was born in Germany, he was later ...

was asked to perform some research by the

Duke of Alba Duke of Alba de Tormes (), commonly known as Duke of Alba, is a title of Spanish nobility that is accompanied by the dignity of Grandee of Spain. In 1472, the title of ''Count of Alba de Tormes'', inherited by García Álvarez de Toledo, wa ...

, Jacobo Fitz-James Stuart. Obermaier discovered eight buried bodies in a

fetal A fetus or foetus (; : fetuses, foetuses, rarely feti or foeti) is the unborn offspring of a viviparous animal that develops from an embryo. Following the embryonic stage, the fetal stage of development takes place. Prenatal development is a ...

position accompanied with artifacts following which Obermaier published a book describing the results of the excavation and the characteristics of the funerary site. In 1931, it was declared a National Monument of Spain, but it stayed a private property until 1987, when it was included within the jurisdiction of the Spanish

Ministry of Culture Ministry of Culture may refer to: * Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports (Albania) * Ministry of Culture (Algeria) * Ministry of Culture (Argentina) * Minister for the Arts (Australia) * Ministry of Culture (Azerbaijan)Ministry o ...

. Recently, the First Art team, a Portuguese/Spanish/Welsh team undertook a comprehensive study on the engraved and painted uprights that stand within the passage and chamber areas of the monument. The results revealed a unique corpus of material. The results have been published in a large monograph and as a popular article in Current World Archaeology, a summary has also been posted on the Bradshaw Foundation website.

Structure

On the surface it resembles a circle-like mound with a diameter of . It has a V-shaped passage long starting at the wide, high western entrance, which expands to wide and high in the east. In the eastern end of the passage there is a chamber. During the

equinox A solar equinox is a moment in time when the Sun appears directly above the equator, rather than to its north or south. On the day of the equinox, the Sun appears to rise directly east and set directly west. This occurs twice each year, arou ...

, the first sun lights the interior of the passage and the chamber for some minutes, and it is assumed this was to denote an eventual re-birth of the buried. Several of the standing-stones have engravings, and it is viewed as one of the largest dolmens in Spain. The passage has 31 standing-stones in the northern part of the passage and 33 in the southern part. The standing stones are of

quartzite Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock that was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tecton ...

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

, and

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

and carry 20 capstones that make the roof of the passage.

Artifacts and engravings

Each of the discovered eight buried bodies were in fetal position and had their respective artifacts beside them. Daggers, cups, and marine fossils were discovered. The artifacts found were not as abundant as those found in other sites; therefore, it is assumed that the Dolmen de Soto was not used for a long time. Engravings were found on 43 standing stones and describe humans, cups, knives, and geometric forms such as simple lines or circles.

History

Structure

Artifacts and engravings

See also