Cromeleque do Xarez
A cromlech consisting of 56 monoliths with a rare quadrilateral plan, it was relocated to its current spot when the Alqueva dam was under construction.
Classified as a Property of Public Interest.
The Xarez (or Xerez) cromlech was identified at Herdade do Xerez in 1969 by José Pires Gonçalves following the de-stoning of a field for agriculture. With monoliths toppled and others removed from their position, the cromlech underwent excavations by this physician from Reguengos, being reconstituted in 1972, with a quadrilateral plan with a central menhir, according to the observations provided by the excavation. It was declared a Property of Public Interest in 1986. In 1998, located in an area submerged by the Alqueva dam backwater, it was excavated again, subjected to geophysical prospecting and resettled to its current location, next to Convento de Orada. The monument has a rare (but not unique) plan with a quadrangular tendency, with the sides formed by 55 monoliths and an ample central menhir (3.6m high). Natural blocks, shaped blocks, and other well-regulated blocks were used in its construction, using raw granite material originating from nearby locations. Some menhirs have decorations, namely the central one (with indentations) and numbers 24 (with circle and “waist” line), 37 (with crosier, circle and indentations) and 51 (with ten indentations arranged in a spiral).
If the Xerez cromlech differs from most Alentejo cromlechs in form (these tend to be oval and ellipsoidal, always with curve-like shapes), it would be similar in function, being a ceremonial place for carrying out cyclical rituals, likely propitiatory and regenerative, related to cults of agricultural fertility and cyclical regeneration. In this sense, it relates to the solar cycle, particularly its solstitial and equinoctial moments and its symbolic potential for life regeneration. The very incorporation into the monument of three large blocks that served as millstone sleepers, turning technical objects into symbolic objects, may be associated with this cosmology of fertility and regeneration typical of Neolithic communities dependent on agricultural cycles. Initially located in a small valley, between two water lines, and with circumscribed horizons, it likely had meaningful connections to other landscape elements. This setting ceased to exist due to relocation, and the monument lost that meaningful dimension, which is complex to decode today, namely its integration into a landscape of meaning between related elements.
Subject to archaeological excavation, reconstruction and transfer.
Gomes, M. V. (2000) – Cromeleque do Xarez. A ordenação do Caos. Das pedras do Xerez às novas terras da Luz. Memórias D’Odiana. Estudos Arqueológicos de Alqueva. 2: 17-190.
Administrative location
Telheiro, parish of Monsaraz, municipality of Reguengos de Monsaraz, district of Évora
Access
Public dirt path. Normal vehicle.
Site coordinates (centre)
38.453441, -7.370987
ou
38°27'12.4"N 7°22'15.6"W
Google Maps location
https://maps.app.goo.gl/qrVZkAsZ8Y7UDrYb8
Chronology
From the end of the Early Neolithic to the Chalcolithic (5th to 3rd millennium BC), with several construction/remodelling phases.