Menhir of Outeiro

The Menhir of Outeiro (Portuguese: Menir do Outeiro), also known as the Penedo Comprido (long boulder) is a megalith located midway between the villages of Outeiro and Barrada near the municipality of Reguengos de Monsaraz, in the district of Évora, in the Alentejo region of Portugal. It is a few kilometers from the Portuguese-Spanish-border. The stone was discovered on its side in 1969 by Henrique Leonor Pina and José Pires Gonçalves and, on the initiative of Gonçalves, it was raised again around 1970.[1] The menhir was classified as a Portuguese National Monument in 1971.[2][3][4]

Outeiro Menhir
Menir do Outeiro
A view of the menhir
Alternative namePenedo comprido
LocationOuteiro, Évora, Alentejo, Portugal
Coordinates38°28′13″N 7°23′37″W
TypePhallic menhir
Height5.6 m (18 ft)
History
PeriodsNeolithic
Site notes
Discovered1969
ArchaeologistsHenrique Leonor Pina; José Pires Gonçalves
ConditionVery good
OwnershipPortuguese Republic
Public accessYes

The granite monolith is 5.6 meters high with an average diameter of one meter, and weighs an estimated 8 tonnes. It is the second largest in Portugal. The top has a hollow of 30 cm in diameter, which is believed to represent a urethra, thus giving rise to the understanding that the megalith symbolizes a phallus. It is considered one of the best examples of a phallic menhir in the Iberian Peninsula. Based on its similarity to other megalithic finds in the Évora district the menhir is believed to date from the late Neolithic or Chalcolithic.[2][3]

References
  1. Cardoso, Joao (2015). "Nos 50 Anos da identificação do Megalitismo não funerário Alentejano. O povoamento da região de Reguengos de Monsaraz nos IV e III milénios a.C." Al-Madan. II (19 Tome 2). Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  2. "Menhir de Outeiro - Standing Stone (Menhir) in Portugal in Évora". The Megalithic Portal. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  3. "Menir do Outeiro". Patrimonio Cultural. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  4. "Menir do Outeiro". Município de Reguengos de MonsarazT. Retrieved 18 October 2019.

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